Depression - how do you cheer yourself up?

[just me]

Sadly, today's antidepressants are more effective at relieving misery than promoting an expression of well-being.

Having never taken antidepressants, I would not know. I have been depressed here and there and sometimes quite depressed, but never dwelt or lived in it too long. Maybe I am not wise enough to know when something may be missing or something else needed. Maybe I know I will walk out of it eventually or know it won't kill me. Hearing some folk call it a disease is depressing.

 

[jn56uytrx]

I've only been diagnosed as depressed once in my life and it was attributed primarily to situation, however it was said I likely have a level of sensitivity that makes me susceptible to emotional discomfort.

I concur heartily with what has been said about exercise. I also agree eating well and making sure you get the right amount of rest is a huge part of feeling emotionally well. I am no professional and admittedly do not understand the mechanics of depression, however my experience indicates these measures of taking good care of yourself make a big difference in body chemistry and how you experience emotion.

I also think what has been mentioned about the perspective of time is very important. When I was most vulnerable to psychological distress it was when I had begun to believe things would not ever get any better. There was a time in my late teenage years when things were similarly bad for me and though I was never diagnosed, I suspect I would have fallen into the depressed diagnosis then as well. Both times I felt hopeless. Nothing good existed beyond the pain I was experiencing in that moment and if I did make it to next moment, it would likely only be worse and more unbearable than the present one. Perhaps needless to say, in not trusting time to bring me anything good, I wished for it to stop. Time did keep coming though, and it brought beautiful gifts I was eventually able to see and appreciate. In my better frame of mind, I tend to think the good things and the difficult things are always present in every moment. I don't know if it's actually something that can be chosen, so I don't know if it qualifies as advice that can be taken, but if there's any way to meditate on what good might be present and unseen in your moment, it might help make the issue of time and what menace it brings less unbearable.

 

[Pristinegirl]

Having never taken antidepressants, I would not know. I have been depressed here and there and sometimes quite depressed, but never dwelt or lived in it too long. Maybe I am not wise enough to know when something may be missing or something else needed. Maybe I know I will walk out of it eventually or know it won't kill me. Hearing some folk call it a disease is depressing.

Actually I'm with you on this one because life comes with ups and down, they go together, which is why balance should be encouraged. If your too high up on the spectrum of well being then you are ought to have a low.

Good, I thought you were going to take medication, AVOID IT! ^^ Anyway what I meant was that the common medication, SSRI's alleviate the symptoms of depression but don't induce the symptoms of well-being, which are the feelings one wants. =)

 

[Lirial]

OMG these monkeys are the best thing ever. Okay, that aside, usually I work on a project, even if it's just cleaning my house. Sometimes I exercise or go for long walks, sometimes I sing at home by myself at the top of my lungs or if I feel like I can tolerate people I go out with friends. Sometimes all I can do is cry so I watch movies and let my rabbits lick me. LOL sometimes I just tell my bf to baby me HAHA.

 

[Pristinegirl]

sometimes I just tell my bf to baby me HAHA

Haha that is the best cure against it ^^ I wish I had a boyfriend.

 

[1/2 Human]

how do I cheer myself up when i am feeling a bit depressed....

I remind myself to open my eyes, ...
and see that there is really nothing to be depressed about..
( sure, its a genuine feeling that causes genuine problems)
But when i truly think about all of it.......

I think to myself how completely silly i am being,
like.. what do i have to be depressed about?
sure some things suck.......

But look at third world countries that are LUCKY to get a sip of water in a day or a bite of food.....

entire villages full of this.....
a large part of this Planet is still like this!

yet,
We could walk into one of those villages..
FULL of starving and dehydrated and sick people...

and ask them, in general... " How do you feel about life?"

Surprisingly..... Most of them will tell you " Life is good "

So that makes me think...... that depression is manufactured BS that we've all been victim to.....

Im sure some of those starving, thirsty people are depressed and down many times....
Yet they will still tell you life is good.

However.... Bring your butt to amerika....

and ask wealthy, healthy, fed and watered people how they feel about life..
You may be surprised to learn that the majority of them will tell you how bummed and depressed they are.

to me , it makes no sense...
and THAT is what helps me deal with depression.

I mean.. we can all go to the tap for water anytime we feel a little thirst, or even boredom...
and we can go and open the fridge and have food just about anytime our little bodies desire it.......
when it rains, we have roofs over our heads... we have heat whenever we feel the need,
we have fkn everything, really.. if you think abpout it.

Yet.. we are all still sooo depressed.. and life is so hard and unfair....

pfft...

anyway.. thats how i deal with myself when i get depressed...
I realize..... that there is truly nothing to be depressed about.

 

[bs98r3kjf]

how do I cheer myself up when i am feeling a bit depressed....

I remind myself to open my eyes, ...
and see that there is really nothing to be depressed about..
( sure, its a genuine feeling that causes genuine problems)
But when i truly think about all of it.......

I think to myself how completely silly i am being,
like.. what do i have to be depressed about?
sure some things suck.......

But look at third world countries that are LUCKY to get a sip of water in a day or a bite of food.....

entire villages full of this.....
a large part of this Planet is still like this!

yet,
We could walk into one of those villages..
FULL of starving and dehydrated and sick people...

and ask them, in general... " How do you feel about life?"

Surprisingly..... Most of them will tell you " Life is good "

So that makes me think...... that depression is manufactured BS that we've all been victim to.....

Im sure some of those starving, thirsty people are depressed and down many times....
Yet they will still tell you life is good.

However.... Bring your butt to amerika....

and ask wealthy, healthy, fed and watered people how they feel about life..
You may be surprised to learn that the majority of them will tell you how bummed and depressed they are.

to me , it makes no sense...
and THAT is what helps me deal with depression.

I mean.. we can all go to the tap for water anytime we feel a little thirst, or even boredom...
and we can go and open the fridge and have food just about anytime our little bodies desire it.......
when it rains, we have roofs over our heads... we have heat whenever we feel the need,
we have fkn everything, really.. if you think abpout it.

Yet.. we are all still sooo depressed.. and life is so hard and unfair....

pfft...

anyway.. thats how i deal with myself when i get depressed...
I realize..... that there is truly nothing to be depressed about.

so true, this should be a good reminder for all of us...

 

[Liv]

yep,i agree!

 

[1/2 Human]

thanks!

i love yous. <3

 

[Quinlan]

Re: the thread title, you can't really cheer yourself up out of depression can you? It doesn't work that way?

 

[1/2 Human]

you can't really cheer yourself up out of depression can you? It doesn't work that way?

sure can...
sure does.

all that is needed is the ability to change the way we think.

Change the way we think....
change everything.

 

[Quinlan]

What if it's like a chemical thing?

 

[1/2 Human]

you mean like seratonin and melatonin? kinda? lol

they to can be fluctuated and balanced just by changing thought patterns.

diet can play a big part as well.

i assure you, the drugs they give people for this are not needed.

well.. they are needed.. by the big pharma companies.. needed to take your $$$$.
thats it.

we can fix these things on our own...

we are designed for it...

its just been programmed into us,
to believe it really is a big problem,
and that we cannot fix it on our own...
and can only be fixed through drugs.

ashame, really.

 

[poeticinfp]

1/2 human: depression is more deep-seated than that

1/2 Human,

I have one major problem with your advice about looking at third world countries to cheer yourself up out of depression: if that's what it takes to get you out of depression, then you weren't really depressed in the first place. Perhaps you were having a bad day, perhaps you had trouble putting life into perspective but you weren't really depressed if all it took to cure you was to think of suffering people in third world countries.

I GREW UP in a so-called "Third World" country, and I had first hand experience with starvation, not having tap water, having to toil in the merciless hot sun for minimal gains. Thinking about these life experiences still doesn't keep me from being depressed in America today.

But you did make one point I agree with: even though I grew up around those bad conditions, I NEVER had this kind of depression until I came to live here in America.

And it's clearly not because I am not aware that life could be worse, having grown up in worse conditions, I'm certainly aware that life could be worse. Still doesn't keep me from being depressed. Depression is always a more deep-seated issue than that.

Also, ironically enough, one of the causes of my depression is the inability to relate to people here in America who never lived in a so-called "third world" country. So my life experience in a "third world" country is actually a cause and not a cure for my depression.

 

[1/2 Human]

thanks for sharing.

i was just stating how i deal with it..
( guess i should have added that its not 100% effective all the time) lol

but most times it is very effective for me....

and i dont really think one (you) can really tell another whether they were really depressed or not... or in pain, or happy or anything else.

everyone is of different makes, strengths and deal with things in their own ways..

2 people who experience the same troubles can, and often do.. have quite different outlooks from the other..

its all in the individual , how that individual is put together..
and how that individual was taught to deal with such things.

for example...
I was beaten almost half of my life by my father...
severely.... broken bones and all... ( one thing that severely depresses many it happens to)...
( i could keep the list going if youd like) lol

and I have a friend who was beaten up once or twice by his father...
thats the only real troubles he has ever dealt with.... yet just that little bit of abuse by his father...
has him messed up to this day.. he has a very hard time coping with everyday life.
And feels that his father played a big role....

Two of us, both in similar situations....
only his was a short lived temporary thing... ( still just as bad imo)

and mine went on for 15 years.

yet I can think of unfortunate people in other parts of the world..
and it helps me to realize that what i went through...
is nothing compared to what many many humans have to endure everyday of their lives.

and nothing he does, helps his 'depression'...



That is a tool i have learned to use..
and it works.... (most times) .
(its not just something i thought of off the top of my head and spewed it)



So , please dont tell someone they are not one thing or another,
when truly you do not know others past/present situations.

I am glad that you are in a healthier environment now.
and thanks again for sharing.

Love n Bless

 

[poeticinfp]

1/2 Human

about this quote from my post above:

"if that's what it takes to get you out of depression, then you weren't really depressed in the first place. Perhaps you were having a bad day, perhaps you had trouble putting life into perspective but you weren't really depressed if all it took to cure you was to think of suffering people in third world countries."

I should have mentioned that when I said "you" in this quote above, I actually meant "one"

So I was speaking generally, and I wasn't really talking to you specifically. Yikes...I'm so sorry that I offended you due to this misunderstanding.


I don't doubt that you personally experienced depression, I was simply trying to bring home the point that depression isn't really something that you could just cheer yourself out of in such a rapid way. Or at least that's my view that I got from personal experiences.

 

[1/2 Human]

no offense Bro. /or Sis? lol
i understood that..
its all good.

[SIZE=Default]I was simply trying to bring home the point that depression isn't really something that you could just cheer yourself out of in such a rapid way. Or at least that's my view that I got from personal experiences.[/size]

ahh, there it is , you see...
your own personal experience..
like i said, we are all different.

[SIZE=Default] depression isn't really something that you could just cheer yourself out of in such a rapid way.[/size]

that is part of amerika my friend...
this is what we are told..
but that doesnt make it so.

i also know people whove had it alot worse than i could ever fathom....
yet they deal just fine everyday. (better than me!) lol

you (one, mybad..lol) just has to learn how....
was my point. ...
and it works for depression of all levels colors and creeds....

Sorry if i came out sounding like a dick,
that wasnt my intentions at all.

love n bless

 

[Dynamind]

Somehow, the thought of cheering myself out of depression never occurred to me. Wouldn't that be a kind of fake cheerfulness? I just let it run its course and analyze it until I just don't care anymore.

 

[1/2 Human]

its going to run its course, regardless.

so let it run its course.. and worry...

or let it run its course... and dont.

its still going to be there...

either let it make you miserable ,
or find a better way to deal with it from within..
and dont.

i said it once..
but if you change the way you think,
you change everything...
Lots of studies out there for this as well.
not just me talking.

(interesting to note, that the folks this resonated with were the infj folks)

hmmm...

Peace

 

[Cuddle Donor]

I just try to cheer other people up instead, and in turn that makes me feel better. Simple but it consistently works for me. I understand though that for some people that would have the opposite effect, and that is because their depression might grow from not nurturing their own feelings enough.

I on the other hand used to to dwell on my own feelings too much. I thought that all I was doing was getting it out of my system. Trying to express it helped in being less anxious about toxic emotions but I ended up becoming so comfortable with feeling bad that I didn't see depression as the inhibiting force of evil it was.