What do you do when you are depressed?

[TheHermit]

Please don't say "nothing". Or "kill yourself". Or "go see the doc". Or "create a new thread".

Cause it doesn't seem to work very well.

 

[Tannhauser]

Try to distract myself with various stimuli (excluding drugs).

It's a bad strategy though – what I ideally want to do is to go back to my old stoic principles and role models.

Edit: I realized you probably mean "you" as in a general you, but whatever.

 

[Bad Itch]

I'm not an INTP so ymmv. So, you think you're depressed so maybe you are, and maybe you know why. Knowing, half the battle, red lasers, blue lasers and all that so....

0) Own it. Only you can fix you.

1) I try to get my mind OFF it, whatever it is - usually I know why or what and to avoid totally spinning out on it I need to be HEAVILY distracted or any spare cycles in my mind are consumed with whatever it is that is bothering me and I kind of lock up. Work, hobby, new hobby, research something.

2) Alienate everyone around me (quietly and passively unless they need to be overtly hated on), so I don't waste time thinking about their "stuff" - they are not necessarily the distraction I am seeking in #1.

3) Flee. One time I moved across town for a bit of a reset. That got me far enough out of my original
(problematic?) context to re-frame some stuff and maaaaaaybe even overcome the root cause of my problem (or more likely just repress it until it comes back later with a vengeance).

4). Call yourself out when you're being a pussy about it ("be mindful"). Once I have identified that I am falling into that state regularly I tend to be able to tell when it's starting. Wherever I am, whatever I am doing at the time I will stop for an instant and tell myself either in my mind, or aloud "You're doing it again, stop it.", as though I were speaking to someone else. Like... I'm in the shower, which is a danger zone for my train of thought, and as soon a I feel myself slipping into the loop I point it out to myself, have a very brief " Oh... Yeah I am..." moment and then stuff gets normal for a few minutes until I slip again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Eventually I will have to figure out how to overcome the "why" or it goes on and on... in the past this seems to happen unconsciously... like I may have managed to stay so distracted from it that it just goes away? It's not like I have REAL problems... just first world white trash annoying pussy shit that really doesn't matter at the end of the day and I'm wasting grey matter on it; life only gets shorter.

If you're "really" depressed and it's controlling you and you can't curb its teeth out after a while then probably you need to consider real support. I think for a lot of people they just need to deliberately help themselves instead of looking to pharma solutions to problems created by broken culture. In the same breath there are those who probably need "treatment" to break out.

Hell... I don't even know if any of the above is working for for me, even, but you asked and here it is FWIW.

Good luck, and mind your mindfulness.

 

[Brontosaurie]

First principles.

Sick body, sick mind. How is your posture? Do you even lift? Anxiety accumulates in muscular tensions. Pride is the warden as it seals off your self-image from the animal you are. You think that your mind alone will have the power to undo years of suffering to which your consciousness is only the tip of the iceberg. Break the circuit. Humble yourself with experience. Kill all your pride and let its corpse decompose to be the soil for self-confidence.

It's gonna hurt. You must be here now by suspending yourself. This great paradox of hope and faith will rip your soul clean. You will disappear and return, no longer clinging to yesterday.

 

[smithcommajohn]

I show up on this forum and try to surround myself with similar minds. It helps.

 

[Cipher]

I try to find a way out through introspection.
If there's no (easy) way out I often find myself striving for dopamine. Music, food, more food, onlinegames.
That just makes things worse, though.

 

[Turnevies]

Night swimming

 

[TheManBeyond]

Be a bit serious about life

 

[Vrecknidj]

Me?

I suffer when I'm depressed.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I would encourage people to mention here if they are currently depressed. There's no shame in it and no need to have silent pride in it.

But personally I developed my motivation for life by outlining a realistic path to achieve career and personal aspirations, I am working on my self-discipline for neglected areas in my life to balance out the internal with the external, and I reconciled with the cosmos that if I didn't succeed then it was a good try and I'll have my eternal peace in the end anyway so I might as well have fun along the way.

For anyone else, the first thing I'd recommend is to get away from toxic people, situations or environments, you can't think straight with those stressors in your life.

 

[Veravera]

I've experienced bad depression more than a couple of times, there was always a cause or trigger. I dig and try to find it (sometimes this turns out to be a horrible idea because I end up being stuck in this weird heavy and cloudy mental loop but eventually I will realize it). Once I have my answer I take actions towards a solution. Doesn't work? Try a different solution. Anything after the main phase, I've found to simply be over identifying with negative thoughts. I become aware of it after a few cycles and can recognize it the next time it arrives.

It's highly dependent on the person and situation though but that's what has worked for me.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I do what I normally do at 10% efficiency. Or I sleep twice as much or have idle thoughts that lead nowhere for hours.

I understand less things, communicate less, work more slowly, I feel dull, weak and stupid when I'm depressed too.

 

[Bad Itch]

I do what I normally do at 10% efficiency. Or I sleep twice as much or have idle thoughts that lead nowhere for hours.

I understand less things, communicate less, work more slowly, I feel dull, weak and stupid when I'm depressed too.

Also this.

 

[intp_xp]

I use it as an opportunity to understand myself (the world?) better, learn from it and emerge a better person. Don't get me wrong, it sucks while happening.

 

[Crux_Cheetah]

I just distract myself. Inspiring music and time with real friends helps. But at first I usually just read a book or something until I feel ready for activity.