Post: #1

I thought I'd share my journey through the path of depression and related issues.
I've managed to remove depression from my life through being mindful of my thoughts. I used to have occasional depression, emotional swings, and anxiety, which affected my life badly. It wasn't all that bad, since most people didn't even know about my state or notice it. I'd stress out over due dates or I'd over-think social interactions with people. I would overthink things I said in conversations, etc. It negatively affected my life and I was fed up with it. I went to the Dr. and he gave me antidepressant and antianxiety medications, I took them for a week and quit. Why? I felt they made me numb, emotionless, slow, and WEAK. That last feeling is what made me angry, I didn't want to be dependent on drugs to control my life.
So, I just said "Fuck it" and decided I'd root out all my mental/emotional issues and get the the hell out of my life for good.
How? I stopped giving a shit about the little things in life. Instead of worrying about issues, I started taking action to fix them. It sounds pretty vague, but anytime I would begin to feel stress, I'd convert it to excitement and a challenge in my mind. Life began feeling like a competition- I used to dread waking up in the morning, now I dread even going to sleep/slowing down (You can sleep when you're dead!)

Well, that's my story. I hope it made some sense, I just wrote down my thoughts as they popped in my head. Hoping this may help inspire at least one person to make a positive change in their life.

Post: #2

Have you thought about just buying a Jet? I've heard it makes people happy.. Try it!

Post: #3

(03-02-2014 10:57 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  Have you thought about just buying a Jet? I've heard it makes people happy.. Try it!

It's getting old and I don't appreciate it dude.

Post: #4

California:

You might want to check out this thread. REBT is consistent with what you wrote here. Bad emotions like depression are derived by how you think about things. Think differently to make your moods consistently better.

This may give you more tools in your arsenal to stave off depression.

/thread-28873....light=rebt

Post: #5

(03-02-2014 11:02 PM)Dusty Wrote:  California:

You might want to check out this thread. REBT is consistent with what you wrote here. Bad emotions like depression are derived by how you think about things. Think differently to make your moods consistently better.

This may give you more tools in your arsenal to stave off depression.

/thread-28873....light=rebt

Very interesting stuff, thanks for the link.

Post: #6

Funnily enough, you can't dare say that depression = weakness, in society. You'd be absolutely howled down and ostracized.

I tend to agree though. Everyone is in control of their own thoughts and can fight their way out of depression if they have enough motivation to.

Post: #7

Depression is weakness- It leaves you vulnerable, and no man should be in a vulnerable position ever. Just a step on the path, though.

Post: #8

3 Day ban for el mech.

Post: #9

Depression is necessary. It's only through the hard times do you grow and improve as a person. I've had my highs and lows. And yeah the lows suck but through the low times I've learned how to deal with life issues that most people I know still struggle with well into their 40's. It's easy to deal with tragedy or rejection by getting drunk or high. Sure it numbs the pain temporarily. But you gain nothing from the experience. The lows give you a chance to relive and rethink a situation a million different ways from the safety of your own mind. So the next time it happens you're better prepared to handle it. It's a blessing in disguise.

Post: #10

(03-02-2014 10:54 PM)CaliforniaSupreme Wrote:  How? I stopped giving a shit about the little things in life. Instead of worrying about issues, I started taking action to fix them. It sounds pretty vague, but anytime I would begin to feel stress, I'd convert it to excitement and a challenge in my mind. Life began feeling like a competition- I used to dread waking up in the morning, now I dread even going to sleep/slowing down (You can sleep when you're dead!)

Thanks for sharing that. Yes, being proactive in life rather than reactive is half the battle. I would also recommend the pursuit of mindfulness (mediation). There is an excellent thread on point. I am currently reading "The Untethered Soul" by Michael Singer.

Post: #11

In my experience, depression is largely a result of low testosterone. It should be the first thing for men to check if they feel depressed. Free roids.

Post: #12

Have you guys looked at Depression being more of a physical than mental thing?

#1. Average American only gets 100MG of Omega 3 through his diet. A $2 Tin of Sardines instantly provides you with 1,000 MG.

#2. Average American consumes 100-200 Grams of Sugar a day. In those quantities, Sugar has a similar effect on Brain as cocaine.

#3. Only 20% of Americans exercise on a "Regular" Basis, and I'm guessing that leaves 5-10% who do so on a daily basis. Out of that I'm guessing only 1-2% do it correctly (I.E. not that jogging on a treadmill, aerobics bullsh*t)

#4. Average American spends 5% of his day outside (about 45 mins). Daylight is 10x brighter than Indoor light (Sunlight 100x). The result of staying inside all day? Lethargy. (Your Brain Thinks Its Nighttime)

(03-03-2014 04:29 AM)funkyzeit Wrote:  In my experience, depression is largely a result of low testosterone. It should be the first thing for men to check if they feel depressed. Free roids.

co-sign

Post: #13

Agree that depression is largely physical. Get your diet and exercise on point (that means REALLY ON POINT) then your baseline mood will be much, much better.

Post: #14

Just passing of depression as weakness sounds like a typical western Internet warrior statement.

I know people who have lived in war zones, battled cancer, lost children, been the victims of violent crimes. Things that will stick with you forever.

The vast majority of depressed people today are merely blase westerners running for something. Doesn't take away from what people genuinely suffering depression are feeling.

Post: #15

(03-03-2014 05:45 AM)Vicious Wrote:  Just passing of depression as weakness sounds like a typical western Internet warrior statement.

I know people who have lived in war zones, battled cancer, lost children, been the victims of violent crimes. Things that will stick with you forever.

The vast majority of depressed people today are merely blase westerners running for something. Doesn't take away from what people genuinely suffering depression are feeling.

That's the thing. The term depression/depressed loses its meaning when the average Westerner is some form of overweight, lazy, pill taking, depressed person. They're depressed because their lifestyle is depressing and they don't bother making any efforts to do something about it .

Personal tragedy leading to feeling depressed is of course in its own category

Post: #16

Winston Churchill, William Styron and Buzz Aldrin have written about their battles with depression. Ernest Hemingway was a victim.

Extrapolating your own experience to the universe is a form of solipsism.

Post: #17

I think off depression as thinking too much or over analyzing, nothing gets done. Think off your grandfather, did you ever see him depressed? No because he was a man. Take action against depression and kick some ass.

Post: #18

Bi-polar runs in my family.
Before I had known that, a shrink rather tried blaming an obvious (to me) chemical imbalance on 'mommy issues.' (All shrinks do this -- they ignore the empirical in favor of a pat excuse to prescribe meds.)

PROTIP: When you're going through severe mood swings and the shrink asks how you feel about you mother, you know he is full of shit.

Fuck shrinks.

Vitamin B12 is your friend.

Post: #19

There's a HUGE amount of people sitting on desks or couches for countless hours not doing any sort of physical activity, more so I'd guess then any other point in time. I remember reading somewhere that sitting down lowers your testosterone levels. You get busy, you get moving doing physical stuff weights, hiking, get into fights(go to a local sparring gym so you don't hurt somebody) a month or two down the road you won't be depressed. You're an animal, part of you doesn't want to be calm quiet and civilized and you need to exercise that part of you or you can get dull and depressed quick.

Also the way you breathe can be a big factor for how you feel throughout the day. You might have habituated yourself to breathing shallow or holding your breath, especially when you think about things or fall into an emotion that might makes you less then happy. Take a couple days to focus on your breathing, try to keep a good consistent rhythm breathing deeper then you normally do. I still don't fully understand why this works so effectively at counteracting a negative state but it's one of the few ways I know of that allows you to WILL yourself into a better emotional state.

Post: #20

(03-03-2014 05:45 AM)Vicious Wrote:  Just passing of depression as weakness sounds like a typical western Internet warrior statement.

I know people who have lived in war zones, battled cancer, lost children, been the victims of violent crimes. Things that will stick with you forever.

The vast majority of depressed people today are merely blase westerners running for something. Doesn't take away from what people genuinely suffering depression are feeling.

Seems to me that depression is like rape. There is the serious, but rare clinical depression as there is the rare serious violent rape, but most of what western people call depression is just attention whoring, entitlement and laziness, much like most of what gets called a rape today is just regret and trying to escape responsibility.

Post: #21

(03-03-2014 07:55 AM)Sp5 Wrote:  Winston Churchill, William Styron and Buzz Aldrin have written about their battles with depression. Ernest Hemingway was a victim.

Extrapolating your own experience to the universe is a form of solipsism.

Add Abe Lincoln to that list. Lincoln was, according to a History Channel Documentary I watched a few weeks backs, chronically depressed for pretty much his entire life, without respite or "deliverance" or cure. He is still regarded as the best president the US has ever have.

Post: #22

Sound good California. Worry is something that affects many of us. I'm not sure where it comes from, but for sure we all want to feel like we are in control of our lives. I wonder if worrying is an attempt at that also. Taking action is another kind of attempt at it too, I think.

I've found that there are some things one can take action of, but most of life and what happens to us is really out of our control. Ex. You can approach a girl (take action), but you can't really control the outcome. You can be the perfect husband/father, but you can't really control whether the marriage will implode. You can do your best at work, but you can't really control whether you are rewarded of if they even fire you.

All one can really do is be responsible for the effort, not the outcome. Seeing and accepting that most everything in the world is out of our control can be a real relief.

Post: #23

In my experience and own struggle with depression:

Depression is a sign of stagnation. If you're feeling depressed it is because you have stagnated mentally, physically, professionally, etc.

Stolen from the Matrix, humans define themselves by their struggles. Without our struggles, we're miserable.

Go out and lift is my solution to anyone who complains of depression. Anything beyond a, "I will go tomorrow." or "I need help getting form right." is an excuse.

Assholes are like excuses, everybody has one (reversed on purpose).

Post: #24

I've struggled with depression for a few years. I've found it difficult to work, sometimes difficult to get out of bed in the morning. There are times I've motivated myself by scolding myself to stop being such a chick and man up. Lifting definitely helps. I was curious though, what does this forum think abt taking medication?

Post: #25

(03-07-2014 07:22 AM)astronut Wrote:  I've struggled with depression for a few years. I've found it difficult to work, sometimes difficult to get out of bed in the morning. There are times I've motivated myself by scolding myself to stop being such a chick and man up. Lifting definitely helps. I was curious though, what does this forum think abt taking medication?

Honestly, I have my own opinions, but I know a few people who are on meds and the difference is night and day for them.

I wouldn't let meds get in the way of self improvement. You may end up finding yourself not needing the meds after a certain amount of time if you go down this path.