While there are many people who struggle to understand it, being clinically depressed is much different than being upset or having any sort of emotional response to challenges faced in life. Depression can vary in severity and can put a strain on every aspect of a person's life. This mental disorder makes it harder for a person to perform important tasks at work or school, navigate personal relationships and enjoy activities they take interest in, furthermore, depression symptoms are known to cause a great deal of suffering.
Sadly, depression is far from rare. In fact, it's of the most common mental disorders. According to the World Health Organization, as many as 300 million people of all ages suffer from this mental illness, making it the leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite the fact that there are a variety of effective treatments in fighting depression, due to reasons such as social stigma, common misconceptions about the mental health disorder, financial issues, failing to get the correct diagnosis, and many more, a lot of people don't get treated and continue living with depression.
If you are one of those people who are suffering from this disorder, the good news is that you're not going through this alone. Recently, #HowIFightDepression started trending on Twitter with hundreds of people eager to share what helps them cope with this disorder in hopes that their tips will help others. Scroll down below for some of the best advice people have shared.
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When I'm feeling really down, I make a To Do list. It literally starts with "Get out of bed. Eat breakfast. Watch TV." And then I add small, achievable tasks for the day.
That's what depression is, it's lies, all lies that come from your own head. It builds a false reality around you and makes you feel helpless, numb, and lost in the darkness. If you can replace depression with reality, with hope, literally change the way your brain thinks, even subconsciously, it's possible to improve. That's how I did it. After ten years, I don't have depression anymore.
This seems to be such a difficult concept for people to swallow. No matter how many times I tell people (anyone. Friends, Family, clients, etc.)... over and over... they always, somewhere, somehow ask... "So is it done yet? You fix it yet?" - No... it's not DONE. It's never "done".
I sadly lost my beloved dog/best friend 5 years ago and she helped me so much. She could tell when I was down and would comfort me. Some people may not understand this but her loss effected me more than any other loss including family, pregnancy loss etc. There will always be a special place in my heart for her, she was the best dog ever.
Belly-kissing Boy! I can see how His Gorgeousness might be the moment of inspiration you need. The late, great Petrushka got me through some very bleak days just by sleeping on the pillow next to mine.
Fighting depression isn't a battle, it's a war. Some battles you win, some you lose. What matters is staying in the fight.
This. I don't "self medicate" with drugs but with food. It is why I am so heavy-set. My depression has been a part of me my entire life, and sometimes I get so tired of fighting. I get tired of struggling and the voice in my head, that tells me I'm not worth it anyway, gets so strong. It is posts like this and music that help me.
What if you have no one and can't afford therapy or medication?
They’re really beautiful. I especially like the one in the bottom right corner. I would happily buy that one in the bottom right corner.
I have permanent psychological damage from my parents reading my diary. Sometimes on my bad days I would write suicide notes in my diary, and they read those, and flipped out. I haven't been able to write anything down for years now, because I'm scared of someone reading how I feel.
I resisted medication due to previous adverse reactions to a specific antidepressant. Until I was pregnant and suffering with panic attacks. Thankfully I have a great dr that understood my concerns, started me on the lowest dose and monitors me every 2 months. I am now on a higher dose but the antidepressants I am give me no adverse reactions. Having a good GP is vital, I have experienced good and bad GPs with mental health.
But what if people don't love you enough to give you a full ladder? Instead they give you a ladder that's too short? Either you can't reach the ladder, or the ladder doesn't go all the way out? Or if they just remove the ladder altogether? Am I going to live in this dark pit alone, forever?
Thank you bc most of the time ppl just say be happy or snap out of it. It's not that easy.
This is a good one, but sometimes hard to remember at the crucial juncture.
I like this one the most. Especially point 1. When the thoughts are swarming on me, I pick 1. Try to embrace. Domesticate until it feels almost good. Pick another one... I imagine it to be like an endless cabinet with shelves. It’s endless, so it’s scary, but sometimes those things on the shelves are already familiar to me, so I don’t have to try so hard to tame them. And sometimes the cabinet is just a normal-sized furniture in the room on which I put flowers :-) Whatever works.
it's okay if you can't get out of bed sometimes. it's okay if you don't feel like getting dressed or taking a shower. some days are tougher than others, it doesn't mean you're weak. you're strong for still going against something as tough as depression, and you are doing amazing.
I needed this so much. I am going through a major state of depression and I would never ever wish it on anyone it also helps to know I'm not alone. Thank you also for ideas and toold.
This short article was like a breath of fresh air in the sewer that is my f*****g mind. I needed this, because in the war that is depression, you are always fighting alone and the enemy is a monster who is massive and terrifying and can kill you with a thought. Except, of course, the irony is you are that monster. But to those who have to fight their own minds everyday, to those who have to deal with what I deal with every single f*****g day. I say, hold on. One day. One more. Breathing. Breathe. I'm not out of my dark place yet, but I hope to God and to any other being that will listen, to help those who suffer from their monsters. This post helped me understand that I am not alone, and neither are you. Let us fight the monsters together.
Medication can help, but for me it's never 100% fixed the problem. I don't think it really does for anyone. At first it kind of does because of a placebo effect, but after that it kind of fades off a little, at least in my experience, so I still get touches of bad depression. Honestly, the way I fight depression alongside the meds I use, is to constantly remind myself "I'm alive, and if I continue to stay alive, I'll live through this, and it will pass, if I don't live through this, then I'll be a failure"... it sounds quite strange. But for me, it works. Just to clarify, I am in no way calling victims of suicide failures whatsoever, nor do I think of anyone that way. It's just the way I have to word it to get it into my system, a little bit of "tough love" kind of. xP If you are considering suicide, please, know that there are people who care, and you can always ask for help.
If I had a friend who talked to me like my depression/self talks to me, I would 1 pick a fight 2 not talk to them. We don't have to listen to our thoughts. I just this week learnt it is ok to stop trying to have happy thoughts... just look somewhere else, refocus attention on anything really. And adopting a cat who really needed me helps a lot also.
I don't have depression so I can't relate, but some of these really moved me
Having children because I have no choice but to fight. I have to get out of bed, I have to get dressed, I have to go out and take them to nursury and I have to push myself SO hard to take them out places and see family. I get home and I'm exhausted mentally and physically but I HAVE TO do it because of them. Ide love to say they have taken it away and in moments they absolutely do but even tho I'm doing all these things people can't do when depressed it still hasn't taken it away so dong those things or not dosent really make a difference
I don’t know why there isn’t depression anonymous. I feel like working the steps can improve anyone in dire straits regardless of addiction. Plus sponsor and meetings with sharing and advice. At least most addicts deal with depression so some are already there
My doctor tried an experimental treatment on my clinical depression. It worked really well, but I still follow the ladder rule. Have the one thing that starts your day like brush teeth then the second stretch etc. See how far up the ladder you can get. Fall off ladder no big deal. Curl heal try again.
I needed this, too. I have ADD and anxiety and every day is a struggle sometimes. Then, I will have a good run for a while, make plans, am optimistic - and suddenly something happens that throws me off my path and I need all my energy to crawl back onto it. But I need to cancel those things that would have been challenging but that I also looked forward to. I despised myself for being back into panic mode after an unpredicted health problem, but after today I think it is okay to need time to recover. We often forget that we are trying to live a normal life IN ADDITION to constantly working on ourselves. Even "normal" people are exhausted by simply running their daily lives - we have all this extra work, so we need to allow ourselves to be exhausted from that, to recuperate and gather our strength again so we can march on. (And it is still super hard to accept our limitations)
Go to a doctor! Don't be like antivaxers, go to an actual expert instead of asking strangers on the internet!
see, only in a world full of fucktards would THAT get down votes.
Load More Replies...I needed this so much. I am going through a major state of depression and I would never ever wish it on anyone it also helps to know I'm not alone. Thank you also for ideas and toold.
This short article was like a breath of fresh air in the sewer that is my f*****g mind. I needed this, because in the war that is depression, you are always fighting alone and the enemy is a monster who is massive and terrifying and can kill you with a thought. Except, of course, the irony is you are that monster. But to those who have to fight their own minds everyday, to those who have to deal with what I deal with every single f*****g day. I say, hold on. One day. One more. Breathing. Breathe. I'm not out of my dark place yet, but I hope to God and to any other being that will listen, to help those who suffer from their monsters. This post helped me understand that I am not alone, and neither are you. Let us fight the monsters together.
Medication can help, but for me it's never 100% fixed the problem. I don't think it really does for anyone. At first it kind of does because of a placebo effect, but after that it kind of fades off a little, at least in my experience, so I still get touches of bad depression. Honestly, the way I fight depression alongside the meds I use, is to constantly remind myself "I'm alive, and if I continue to stay alive, I'll live through this, and it will pass, if I don't live through this, then I'll be a failure"... it sounds quite strange. But for me, it works. Just to clarify, I am in no way calling victims of suicide failures whatsoever, nor do I think of anyone that way. It's just the way I have to word it to get it into my system, a little bit of "tough love" kind of. xP If you are considering suicide, please, know that there are people who care, and you can always ask for help.
If I had a friend who talked to me like my depression/self talks to me, I would 1 pick a fight 2 not talk to them. We don't have to listen to our thoughts. I just this week learnt it is ok to stop trying to have happy thoughts... just look somewhere else, refocus attention on anything really. And adopting a cat who really needed me helps a lot also.
I don't have depression so I can't relate, but some of these really moved me
Having children because I have no choice but to fight. I have to get out of bed, I have to get dressed, I have to go out and take them to nursury and I have to push myself SO hard to take them out places and see family. I get home and I'm exhausted mentally and physically but I HAVE TO do it because of them. Ide love to say they have taken it away and in moments they absolutely do but even tho I'm doing all these things people can't do when depressed it still hasn't taken it away so dong those things or not dosent really make a difference
I don’t know why there isn’t depression anonymous. I feel like working the steps can improve anyone in dire straits regardless of addiction. Plus sponsor and meetings with sharing and advice. At least most addicts deal with depression so some are already there
My doctor tried an experimental treatment on my clinical depression. It worked really well, but I still follow the ladder rule. Have the one thing that starts your day like brush teeth then the second stretch etc. See how far up the ladder you can get. Fall off ladder no big deal. Curl heal try again.
I needed this, too. I have ADD and anxiety and every day is a struggle sometimes. Then, I will have a good run for a while, make plans, am optimistic - and suddenly something happens that throws me off my path and I need all my energy to crawl back onto it. But I need to cancel those things that would have been challenging but that I also looked forward to. I despised myself for being back into panic mode after an unpredicted health problem, but after today I think it is okay to need time to recover. We often forget that we are trying to live a normal life IN ADDITION to constantly working on ourselves. Even "normal" people are exhausted by simply running their daily lives - we have all this extra work, so we need to allow ourselves to be exhausted from that, to recuperate and gather our strength again so we can march on. (And it is still super hard to accept our limitations)
Go to a doctor! Don't be like antivaxers, go to an actual expert instead of asking strangers on the internet!
see, only in a world full of fucktards would THAT get down votes.
Load More Replies...