Depression- how do you cope?

[NeXtDimensionVaping]

Since I was about 11 I've suffered from mental disorders such as depression.. I was also a very shy kid, so I isolated myself and that turned into having social anxiety as a teen. I'm now a young adult at 19 and although I have improved, i still have major depressed days where I think about self harm.

I was on medication, but I got off the stuff because it made me feel worse. I have gone to counseling, which helped a bit. Above all, positive thinking and self affirmation is what has made the most positive impact on me, but somedays when you're feeling down its much easier to just wallow in sadness and give in to negative, defeating thoughts than to shift your paradigm into something good.

I know that everybody has sadness, but I have spoken to many people, family, counselors, and friends alike, and they have all assured me that they do not think about "self-harm" , and they do not randomly have mood swings/major depression. I'm not sure exactly what is wrong with my mind, but there is something.


Does anybody here suffer from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, social awkwardness, etc..? And how do you cope with it/grow?

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Since I was about 11 I've suffered from mental disorders such as depression.. I was also a very shy kid, so I isolated myself and that turned into having social anxiety as a teen. I'm now a young adult at 19 and although I have improved, i still have major depressed days where I think about self harm.

I was on medication, but I got off the stuff because it made me feel worse. I have gone to counseling, which helped a bit. Above all, positive thinking and self affirmation is what has made the most positive impact on me, but somedays when you're feeling down its much easier to just wallow in sadness and give in to negative, defeating thoughts than to shift your paradigm into something good.

I know that everybody has sadness, but I have spoken to many people, family, counselors, and friends alike, and they have all assured me that they do not think about "self-harm" , and they do not randomly have mood swings/major depression. I'm not sure exactly what is wrong with my mind, but there is something.


Does anybody here suffer from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, social awkwardness, etc..? And how do you cope with it/grow?

Got em all except for the bipolar. Had em as far back as I can remember. Yep positive thinking seems to work the best. But hard to keep up the positive thinking. Hard to feel positive when you are afraid of so many things in life. Intellectually knowing is not doing. 61 now and tired of the battle.
I know this is not really a help for you, but you are not alone by any means.
Keep working on it and you can get along esp if you find a good partner in life.

 

[mudmanc4]

If I've learned one thing about humanity , we all have issues.
How we conform to and amongst upright walking beings in general, how we constantly compare ourselves, aspects of our live to others individually and with the herd mentality, self reflection is how we inevitably find doubt, fear, assumptions of inadequacies , and the standard 'I just feel depressed', or in my words, that no or low energy feeling.

Go outdoors, ground yourself on the Earth, take a patch the smaller the better 1 sqft, grassy area, vegi plant anything you like to ingest, make it yours, after all it is already. buy a seedling if sprouting isn't your thing. Spend time with it and make sure that area could be no better, could be a planter or small terracotta pot. Even indoors by a window. Focus on what that plant [o]r grassy area requires to survive, were not talking thrive were talking living. After all , living is where it's at.

 

[NeXtDimensionVaping]

self reflection is how we inevitably find doubt, fear, assumptions of inadequacies , and the standard 'I just feel depressed', or in my words, that no or low energy feeling.

Yes, and no.

Self reflection is necessary to grow and learn in a healthy way. It's when we overthink and compare ourselves that we begin to feel hopeless and generally lose sight of who we are.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Yes, and no.

Self reflection is necessary to grow and learn in a healthy way. It's when we overthink and compare ourselves that we begin to feel hopeless and generally lose sight of who we are.

But then self reflection can feed depression because we do not like who we are?

 

[NeXtDimensionVaping]

But then self reflection can feed depression because we do not like who we are?

Indeed. And that is a part of growing. There's things everybody wishes they could change about themselves, but as Reinhold Niebuhr wrote,

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference."

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Indeed. And that is a part of growing. There's things everybody wishes they could change about themselves, but as Reinhold Niebuhr wrote,

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference."

To intellectually know is different from implementation of that knowledge.
As Popeye said:
"I am what I am and that is all that I am."

 

[mudmanc4]

Yes exactly!
Does the plant, blade of grass, or other foliage compare itself to the other vegetation surrounding it? This I cannot answer.
Yet it thrives out of pure love and usage of it's surroundings. Positivity!
But what I do believe is once we begin to focus on nature, and how everything interacts in the gaseous soup of life, to form the viscous fluent and flowing living organism it appears to be, we can begin to grasp the depth and extent of what truly 'matter' in our time in this realm.

Perspective is subjective, better understanding of how important we as individuals are, the better we can serve life.

 

[NeXtDimensionVaping]

To intellectually know is different from implementation of that knowledge.
As Popeye said:
"I am what I am and that is all that I am."

I agree that having wisdom and being wise are two different things. However, I disagree with Popeye.

I am what I want to be.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

I agree that having wisdom and being wise are two different things. However, I disagree with Popeye.

I am what I want to be.

You are fortunate.

 

[pdogreaper]

Maybe try a different combo of meds? It takes a few trys to get it right at least till the self harm goes away.

Joel osteen always has words of encouragement .

I ask my self three questions
What makes me happy?
What do I want to do?
What scares me?

 

[r77r7r]

I was a pretty bad mess until I was 22. Quit some bad habits and became a Christian. Can't even imagine where I'd be today if I hadn't.

Don't need to join a church right off, are you open to opening an online Bible?

I was like you with the social anxiety and such but it disappeared when I put the Lord in the center of my life and joined the rest of the human race encircling Him.

Today, I have situations I work with, I don't really have problems that are remotely overwhelming.

 

[AXIOM_1]

Zoloft

 

[NeXtDimensionVaping]

Zoloft

No way Jose, not for me. That stuff made me feel like a zombie. I'd rather feel sad than feel nothing at all.

 

[AXIOM_1]

No way Jose, not for me. That stuff made me feel like a zombie. I'd rather feel sad than feel nothing at all.

okay, how about Paxil

 

[NeXtDimensionVaping]

okay, how about Paxil

No sir-e-bob. I'm against medication as a whole. For me, at least.

Its much more rewarding and stimulating to make life improvements w/o the aid of chemicals.

 

[AXIOM_1]

No sir-e-bob. I'm against medication as a whole. For me, at least.

Its much more rewarding and stimulating to make life improvements w/o the aid of chemicals.

So, how about St. John's

 

[NeXtDimensionVaping]

So, how about St. John's

I tried St. John's for a few months and it seemed to help a little. I wanna try it again.

The couple problems I had with it were that it took a while to build up and take a effect then once it did my body seemed to kind of get used to it and the effects were weakened

Plus it made me sensitive to UV light


I'm a firm believer in life style changes over medication, except in extreme cases, of course.

 

[AXIOM_1]

I tried St. John's for a few months and it seemed to help a little. I wanna try it again.

The couple problems I had with it were that it took a while to build up and take a effect then once it did my body seemed to kind of get used to it and the effects were weakened

Plus it made me sensitive to UV light


I'm a firm believer in life style changes over medication, except in extreme cases, of course.

so am I....did you visit our "Asperger's and Vaping" thread in the General conversations section? There's lots of discussion about anxiety/depression there.

 

[SUPER K]

I tried St. John's for a few months and it seemed to help a little. I wanna try it again.

The couple problems I had with it were that it took a while to build up and take a effect then once it did my body seemed to kind of get used to it and the effects were weakened

Plus it made me sensitive to UV light


I'm a firm believer in life style changes over medication, except in extreme cases, of course.

I understand this to the fullest and fought meds for a LONG time. Simple Lexapro and Ativan saved my life. It seems like you have support from family and friends, that's huge. Try the meds, the first 2-4 weeks are hell, even more suicidal thoughts than off the meds, you have to be strong and keep pushing, after that the meds help. Your also at a time in life when your hormone balance is probably changing quite a bit, it was a hard time for me as well.
You are not alone, don't give up, and try to stay up!!