Poll: Have you been depressed?

[Lunar Shadow]

I have suffered from depression in the past, and am just recently coming out of it. All I can say is that there is no surefire way to break depression, as the reasons for it vary from person to person. What happened with me was a double whammy of converting to Buddhism and falling in love. All I have to say is don't get discouraged, try and find the cause of your depression and find your answer from that.

 

[badgersprite]

Yes. I suffered from depression in early high school, grades 7-9. Like you, I have an analytical mind, which does contribute to depression. I don't know about your experience, but, well, chronic depression runs in my family, so I'm predisposed to it, but the main instance of depression in my life was situational.

I got into a selective school, but I didn't know anybody else there, so I couldn't really form friendships with other people. Along with that, the fact that I was in a school with so many other smart kids meant I no longer stood out because of my intellect, and I lost the one thing that gave me self-esteem. Plus, at that age, girls are really fucking bitchy. Even people who I considered my friends would deliberately speak in Canto around me so that I couldn't understand what they were talking about.

The reason why I'm telling you this is because going through that taught me something; if you're in a bad situation, and there are things in your life making you depressed, you are not the one with the problem. If you are in a place that really affects you negatively, the best thing you can do is to get out of there, and make a change. The best thing I ever did was to take control of my life, say, "I can't take this anymore," and move to a different place.

I don't know if your situation is similar to mine, but, I just wanted you to know that, if you ever need somebody to talk to, I'm always available if you just need somebody to listen. There's always people here for you. Even though it might feel like it sometimes, you're not alone. You're really not.

 

[UltraParanoia]

One good thing about not giving a shit about much is that it's really hard for me to get depressed.

 

[T3h Camp3r T3rr0r1st]

not so much depressed just really sad, mainly about frivolous things like release dates or annoying lawyer types (hint, hint, guess who!).

get well soon

 

[NotAPie]

Yeah, when my girlfriend left me but I convinced myself some people have it worse might aswell man up.

 

[IronDuke]

Whoever said "No" isn't human.

You think society should have a 100% depression rate? That's more than a little disturbing.

As for me, yes, on and off for a few years, which was eventually diagnosed as bi-polar disorder. The medication helps, but it makes my thoughts feel cloudy so I often don't take it :S

 

[A_Parked_Car]

Yeah I have been depressed, still am really. As for what you can do to help ease the pain, it depends on the person. For me the whole reason I play video games is to try and forget how crappy my actual life is. It doesn't get rid of it, but it gives me some relief for at least a few hours.

 

[KittywifaMohawk]

Yea, I have sadly.
It's not a fun feeling.

 

[Florion]

I was constantly depressed from Grade 5 until I came to high school (Grade 9), and it really sucked that nobody believed me. My mother just thought it was hormones because every other week I would find my life tolerable for a day or two.

I'm better now... Because my depression was related to my unhappiness with the people at the schools I attended, once I switched to my current school, where everyone is very kind, I felt much better. I still got depressed sometimes, periods of a couple weeks or months every year because of my anxiety. Since Grade 11 I've been pretty solid, aside from the occasional existential crisis, but typically they don't bother me for more than an evening at a time, so that's good.

If your depression has a specific root that you can discover and change with the help of a therapist, that's best. If it has a specific cause that you can't change, drugs and really good friends/family can help you deal with it. Taking good care of yourself physically always really helps - make sure you're getting enough exercise, eating right, enough sleep (but not too much; if you're an adult and you're getting 10 hours or more every single day, that's probably too much and you should think about getting something to do in the mornings or afternoons or whenever you're getting that extra sleep). And always have faith: everyone is a beautiful person, whether you see it or not, and someone always loves you (whether it's God or your mother or your girlfriend or son or you yourself. It's hard to wrap your mind around when you're depressed, but the best thing you can do is try to learn to love yourself or at least accept that you can be loved).

Whoever said "No" isn't human.

You think society should have a 100% depression rate? That's more than a little disturbing.

As for me, yes, on and off for a few years, which was eventually diagnosed as bi-polar disorder. The medication helps, but it makes my thoughts feel cloudy so I often don't take it :S

Well, everyone has had depression or is going to get depression unless they die first. The question was not "Are you depressed?" but "Have you been depressed?"

 

[bcponpcp27]

Once, as a side effect of some cough medicine. I had a cold, my parents gave me some, and I got really REALLY depressed. I started bursting out crying randomly, nothing seemed like it would ever work out, and I was only like 10 years old. We checked the side effects on the side of the bottle, and lo and behold, depression was one of em. Steered clear of that stuff ever since.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

My advice: Listen to music that you really enjoy, and get some exorcise. Even if your never an active person, just go for a walk or something. Fresh air and exhaustion do wonders for the brain.

 

[Azraellod]

I get depression at least once every year. I'm very prone to stress, anxiety, and depression.

Currently, yes I am. I consider my future prospects bleak and miserable, and I cant see any way forward for myself.

My only counter method is to try and distract myself from it, but it doesn't really help the problem, it merely delays it.

 

[CobaltBomber]

Drink to get rid of your feelings, and then realize you've wasted your life and decide to fucking do something about it. As in, become successful. Not as in 'go kill a bunch of people'. Just to clarify.

 

[Ristoril]

My advice: Listen to music that you really enjoy, and get some exorcise. Even if your never an active person, just go for a walk or something. Fresh air and exhaustion do wonders for the brain.

This is the music Im listening to, and this is the music that I like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQVeaIHWWck

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

My advice: Listen to music that you really enjoy, and get some exorcise. Even if your never an active person, just go for a walk or something. Fresh air and exhaustion do wonders for the brain.

This is the music Im listening to, and this is the music that I like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQVeaIHWWck

Do you enjoy it? If so continue I suppose. I usually listen to something like Opeth. If you've never heard them, check them out. I'm a listener of metal myself, so my sadness often becomes anger rather quickly. And anger is much better as long as it's dealt with properly.

 

[Handofpwn]

I get horribly depressed a lot. What i do to stay off the edge is hang out with my best friend and talk to her. or i get drunk. really drunk. or get high. or, and this one is my favorite, go smoke a hookah. its just tobacco, so it wont kill you as fast as cigarettes and is incredibly relaxing. but its a social thing, so do it with friends. but these are all social things, so i guess you could say its because i chill with friends.

 

[TheMadTypist]

I like to go for walks at night, when I'm overly depressed or anxious. Music is good too, go for something comforting but not too familiar. Pandora can be a great help there.

And if you're depressed during the day, what I used to do was take the long and unpaved way down to a park in the same little valley as the last rapid station. Sometimes I took the camera and took pictures of the trees and houses too, and then I made a big series of pictures that showed the grassy-undeveloped area at different times of day, and in different seasons. Projects like that can help.