Lived Experience Forum

[Shasan]

Hi everyone,

I would love to know your advise/guidance/tips/tricks/actions that help with managing depression as an adult. 

I've been working with a therapist and have figured out that my depression is mostly life-events related. I have periods of stability and then periods of drastic ups & downs. During this time, I feel overwhelmed, hopeless, confused. My other friend anxiety jumps in on the party and this makes the whole experience seem like a much bigger deal than it is. It builds up until I reach breaking point where I feel nothing can help, even sharing/talking/exercising and I'm in a vicious cycle of setting unrealistic goals and feeling blue. Obviously this reinforces all those depressive beliefs that I suck at doing life which is not true at all!! 

So, could you please share with me how you live with and manage depression day to day? What techniques or actions really helped you feel uplifted again..

Have anti depressants helped? I'm considering trying them out. Do you know of natural supplements or remedies that actually move the needle with serotonin and making depression better? 

I want to accept that I'm depressed and that is okay and learn tips to manage when the old friend shows up - sometimes never leaves 😂 Right now, I'm still in the anger stage of grief.

Thank you, kindly! 🙏

[hanami]

Hi @Shasan 

I think you'll have lots of amazing replies to this as I've seen such great advice about depression since I've been around here. I will leave that for others for now as my main issue is anxiety and antidepressants have helped me immensely with that. I couldn't survive without them to be honest. Some people don't find they help much though as we are all so different.

You sound like you really want to get on top of this and admire that strength in you. Sending you hugs,

Hanami 💮

[Historylover]

The only thing that helps me, @Shasan, is keeping busy with things I enjoy and trying to keep my mind on the issue at hand. I send you my best wishes for a happier outlook.😊

[Christheart]

@Shasan I hear you. 

Feeling like you suck at life is a bummer. 

Medication works really well for some people and not for others. Medication has saved my life in the past. I haven't had success with natural supplements but some people may. 

Exercise and eating healthy help but I have been too low and exhausted to do that atm. 

Taking one day at a time is all I can do right now. 

[wellwellwellnez]

Also in an anger stage @Shasan . Right here with you. You can only do the composed version for so long. There come times when you just need to feel.

Axiomatic values has been helping me. In watching debates n such, I've been learning about axioms. It's the "why you believe in", "what you believe in". The one I learned it from identifies their axiom as "freedom". I think mine is "inclusivity". My dear, lost/not-lost, great friend really appreciated and believed in "elegant systems". Axioms can help with the good and the hard times. The spirit that carries you when you can't walk and that stays under you wings during flying time.

[Christheart]

@wellwellwellnez You are such an interesting and kind sounding person

[wellwellwellnez]

I'm feel like I'm riding spirit now @Christheart . Yesterday was a dark night of the soul. It's a fine thing when things come into focus.

Part of the axiom reflections is actually based on the current SANE framework. Apparently this is a "purpose driven" organization. It's a lot like strength-based but more organizationally focused. Policy is, we're all driven by purpose over here. I think that's nice.

[tyme]

Hi @Shasan ,

I think it’s so great that you are reaching out to find a bank of ways to help you with depression. 

For me, I have to say antidepressants were invaluable as part of my recovery. But they did not work in isolation. A lot of psychotherapy accompanied the medication to get be back to a stable baseline.

I also found having a healthy routine helps. Including fitting walks in, eating healthy, setting boundaries as well as having regular therapy sessions. 

Having a good support network including these forums was also a great help. It allowed me to connect with people who really understood.

Hope that helps,

tyme

[Shasan]

Wow, thank you everyone - I really appreciate your suggestions and tips. Thanks for your generosity to help out a friend in need 😊

I've managed to implement the following actions last couple of days and felt much better... Weekends are fine as I have company. Weekdays get very solitary as a solopreneur but I go to my local library to work from as it feels better to be outside..

- I realized with all the life stuff going on, my work/life boundaries became non-existent. I've been thinking about work at all times including in sleep. I've started to get back into routine and parking all thoughts until next work day.

- I realized I set myself up for failure with unrealistic goals. So I'm trying to break down my default goals to the smallest sub-task possible so that I can begin building confidence and self trust again by achieving those small, realistic goals..

- Lastly, I don't enjoy a full Todo list so I'm keeping things fluid and writing 3 things under morning routine, afternoon routine, evening routine. Essentially a to-do list but for some reason this feels more manageable and not like things are piling up. If I can't do something from morning routine, I'm leaving it out until next day unless I leave something out from other routines and pick that up instead - this is really helping with the stress!!!

Thank you so much for all your help... I'm definitely going to talk to the GP about medication. My nervous system is really sensitive to medicines, that's why I'm keen to explore natural remedies but don't think they'll work as much. 

[Shasan]

Hi @tyme @wellwellwellnez @Christheart @Historylover @hanami 

This world is a better place because it has you in it 💝🙏

Good morning and hope you're all doing well this week. I came back to revisit this post for your tips and my heart feels so full and warm to have been touched by your generosity!! 

These tips are so valuable to me. Today, for the situation that I'm in, this tip stood out for me and I'll make it my mantra - "Focus on the issue at hand" 💝 Thank you for sharing. 

It's making me become more mindful of my thoughts and jot them all down. Pick one issue to work on at a time because focusing on everything will just lead to nothing with depression and overwhelm.

I'm still on the fence and feeling scared to talk to the GP about antidepressants - she told me I need to inform myself and tell her if I need them. I just wish they could decide 😂 but well, it's my health and life, I need to appreciate that they're giving me the choice.  Did you have initial fear before exploring medication? Would you mind sharing some of your thoughts or how you finally overcame the fear and jumped into the action mode to trial and error...

The side effects on Google is the main reason I'm feeling anxious. 😕

Thank you...