Here I try to provide some resources for people who want to try recovery. I want to give something back to the people who have supported me this much since I have joined.
As I said in another thread: "Recognizing the symptoms is key. Unfortunately, about half the people who have depression never get it diagnosed or treated."
It is important to recognize whether you are depressive. The self-tests with the highest validity are available when you meet a professional. I have done a lot of them in the past. They also assess how severely you are depressed. There also tests on the internet but be careful you cannot trust every of them. You should search for a trustful website. The better option would be to talk to a therapist but I know not everyone in this forum can afford it.
Here are some coping skills how to alleviate your depression. It is pretty individual what works. Some things on this lists are helpful for me. Some are not helpful for me. And I want to add one thing I have never studied psychology I also can make mistakes. This counts for all my threads.
There are many studies that prove doing sports can have a very huge benefit for people who are depressed. It can help to reduce the depressive symptoms a lot. (Personally I don't like it though...) Many people who are depressed lack the motivation to do it. Maybe a family member or friend can motivate you. If you have for example a dog this could force you to take a walk. I could also imagine having a pet can impact you in a positive way. I found that by a quick research: Pets, especially dogs and cats, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness. However you also should treat them in a responsible way.
I am bipolar. Having daily routines and a structured day is really helpful. I know exactly when I need to go to sleep, the time when I have to eat or when I can reward myself. Rewarding yourself when you reach a goal is very important. My therapist tells me this quite often. Being aware about your mental state, reflect on it and sometimes distance yourself from depressive thinking patterns is important. I have a mood diary which I use every day. It helps to see how my mood develops and which strategies are now appropriate. Your depression can sometimes deceive yourself. It can make you think your situation was hopeless despite the fact it isn't. For me reading about my mental illnesses (literature) helped to reflect on that. Moreover psychotherapy was really helpful to recognize whether my depression distorted my thinking pattern.
There are some tricks which can help to fix your sleep schedule. An healthy amount of sleep can influence your well-being a lot. It should neither be too much nor too less time to sleep. If you have major stress it could be helpful to reduce it. (maybe this point is too obvious) But sometimes your mental health is more important than work. I always want to be perfect which can be counterproductive. If you are mentally ill you should not be too harsh to yourself. It is important to learn to accept yourself and your own little mistakes.
There is something called light therapy. This is especially for people helpful who get depression during winter time and dark months. I am not an expert in this kind of treatment. Light therapy is thought to affect brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep, easing SAD (seasonal affective disorder) symptoms. Obvioulsy there are also other forms of therapy. Like antidepressants, mood stabilizer, ECT etc. There are a lot of forms of medical intervention when someone has depression. Even if medication does not work there are still other methods which you can try. There are different forms of psychotherapy. Cognitive, Behavioral, Talking therapy etc. I won't go into details. But different mental illnesses or problems can be adressed with different types of psychotherapy. I am in a support group or self-help group. It helps to know you are not alone with your struggle. There are also other people with similar problems.
Coping with (illegal) drugs is often not a good idea. It is very dangerous to develop comorbidity. With this I mean addiction. Most drugs can increase your depression. This counts for example for cocaine, weed or even alcohol. It is easy to to get accidentaly into a hamster wheel which is pretty hard to quit. Drug-addiction is often a very serious problem. It can make your life a living hell. I have met many people who became schizophrenic despite the fact they "only" smoked weed.
Maybe to add one thing about antidepressants. Jordan Peterson once told that. Antidepressants can be a huge benefit especially for people who don't know why they are depressed. If you think your life was good but you are despite that fact severely depressed an AD can improve your situation a lot. But other people can also benefit from them. An healthy nutrition can also have a positive effect. I am not an expert in that but there are some diets which seem to help against depression.
Social isolation can increase depression and make it worse. Sometimes being too much on social media can influence your health in a negative way. Having someone you can open up to can be really relieving. (I have made another thread how to open up to someone and how to find the best help for recovery. You can find that in recovery.) Here are some other tricks: You can listen to music which is uplifting or is comforting for you. I have read spending time in nature can have a postive effect. Spending time with loved ones. Meditation or yoga can have an healing influence. Setting attainable goal can give you a positive feeling. Of course as I said rewarding yourself when you reach them is important. Sometimes it is absolutely okay just to make it through the day. Not too much worrying about the future is okay when the present is that burdensome.
If you are really extremely depressed going to a clinic can be relieving. I had a lot of hospitalisations/clinic stays in my life. For me they helped to cope with the situation I was in. They could not solve my problems immediately but I felt better. I have met a lot of interesting people there. To be honest I was partly extremely suicidal and had the urge to kill me. It was kind of relieving to know I can't kill myself there. Because at home I tried partial or went to the highest floor of my building to prepare my suicide.
I hope this thread is helpful for some people. If you have more ideas you are welcome to share them with us. I am so thankful for this community. Many people have helped me since I joined. This is why I want to give something back to them.
For me personally I always have a very pessimistic view on the future. But if you have not tried a certain type of therapy you don't know whether it will work or not.
I wish you all good luck.
As I said in another thread: "Recognizing the symptoms is key. Unfortunately, about half the people who have depression never get it diagnosed or treated."
It is important to recognize whether you are depressive. The self-tests with the highest validity are available when you meet a professional. I have done a lot of them in the past. They also assess how severely you are depressed. There also tests on the internet but be careful you cannot trust every of them. You should search for a trustful website. The better option would be to talk to a therapist but I know not everyone in this forum can afford it.
Here are some coping skills how to alleviate your depression. It is pretty individual what works. Some things on this lists are helpful for me. Some are not helpful for me. And I want to add one thing I have never studied psychology I also can make mistakes. This counts for all my threads.
There are many studies that prove doing sports can have a very huge benefit for people who are depressed. It can help to reduce the depressive symptoms a lot. (Personally I don't like it though...) Many people who are depressed lack the motivation to do it. Maybe a family member or friend can motivate you. If you have for example a dog this could force you to take a walk. I could also imagine having a pet can impact you in a positive way. I found that by a quick research: Pets, especially dogs and cats, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness. However you also should treat them in a responsible way.
I am bipolar. Having daily routines and a structured day is really helpful. I know exactly when I need to go to sleep, the time when I have to eat or when I can reward myself. Rewarding yourself when you reach a goal is very important. My therapist tells me this quite often. Being aware about your mental state, reflect on it and sometimes distance yourself from depressive thinking patterns is important. I have a mood diary which I use every day. It helps to see how my mood develops and which strategies are now appropriate. Your depression can sometimes deceive yourself. It can make you think your situation was hopeless despite the fact it isn't. For me reading about my mental illnesses (literature) helped to reflect on that. Moreover psychotherapy was really helpful to recognize whether my depression distorted my thinking pattern.
There are some tricks which can help to fix your sleep schedule. An healthy amount of sleep can influence your well-being a lot. It should neither be too much nor too less time to sleep. If you have major stress it could be helpful to reduce it. (maybe this point is too obvious) But sometimes your mental health is more important than work. I always want to be perfect which can be counterproductive. If you are mentally ill you should not be too harsh to yourself. It is important to learn to accept yourself and your own little mistakes.
There is something called light therapy. This is especially for people helpful who get depression during winter time and dark months. I am not an expert in this kind of treatment. Light therapy is thought to affect brain chemicals linked to mood and sleep, easing SAD (seasonal affective disorder) symptoms. Obvioulsy there are also other forms of therapy. Like antidepressants, mood stabilizer, ECT etc. There are a lot of forms of medical intervention when someone has depression. Even if medication does not work there are still other methods which you can try. There are different forms of psychotherapy. Cognitive, Behavioral, Talking therapy etc. I won't go into details. But different mental illnesses or problems can be adressed with different types of psychotherapy. I am in a support group or self-help group. It helps to know you are not alone with your struggle. There are also other people with similar problems.
Coping with (illegal) drugs is often not a good idea. It is very dangerous to develop comorbidity. With this I mean addiction. Most drugs can increase your depression. This counts for example for cocaine, weed or even alcohol. It is easy to to get accidentaly into a hamster wheel which is pretty hard to quit. Drug-addiction is often a very serious problem. It can make your life a living hell. I have met many people who became schizophrenic despite the fact they "only" smoked weed.
Maybe to add one thing about antidepressants. Jordan Peterson once told that. Antidepressants can be a huge benefit especially for people who don't know why they are depressed. If you think your life was good but you are despite that fact severely depressed an AD can improve your situation a lot. But other people can also benefit from them. An healthy nutrition can also have a positive effect. I am not an expert in that but there are some diets which seem to help against depression.
Social isolation can increase depression and make it worse. Sometimes being too much on social media can influence your health in a negative way. Having someone you can open up to can be really relieving. (I have made another thread how to open up to someone and how to find the best help for recovery. You can find that in recovery.) Here are some other tricks: You can listen to music which is uplifting or is comforting for you. I have read spending time in nature can have a postive effect. Spending time with loved ones. Meditation or yoga can have an healing influence. Setting attainable goal can give you a positive feeling. Of course as I said rewarding yourself when you reach them is important. Sometimes it is absolutely okay just to make it through the day. Not too much worrying about the future is okay when the present is that burdensome.
If you are really extremely depressed going to a clinic can be relieving. I had a lot of hospitalisations/clinic stays in my life. For me they helped to cope with the situation I was in. They could not solve my problems immediately but I felt better. I have met a lot of interesting people there. To be honest I was partly extremely suicidal and had the urge to kill me. It was kind of relieving to know I can't kill myself there. Because at home I tried partial or went to the highest floor of my building to prepare my suicide.
I hope this thread is helpful for some people. If you have more ideas you are welcome to share them with us. I am so thankful for this community. Many people have helped me since I joined. This is why I want to give something back to them.
For me personally I always have a very pessimistic view on the future. But if you have not tried a certain type of therapy you don't know whether it will work or not.
I wish you all good luck.
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