(December 31, 2015 at 8:15 pm)drfuzzy Wrote:(December 31, 2015 at 8:10 pm)MTL Wrote: Well, I've struggled with depression for my entire adult life, and have never availed myself of antidepressants
because I'd rather be authentically miserable than artificially happy.
Damn, I don't mean that to sound as judgmental as it does...perhaps I'm a fool for not taking medication,
and lots of people have benefited from it;
but I think it illustrates that I'm a put-my-hand-on-a-hot-stove-burner-to-make-sure-I'm-really-awake type of girl.
I get you, MTL. They put me on Prozac for a bit and I felt foggy. (or was that fuzzy?) I begged my therapist to help me come up with natural things to fight depression. Diet, exercise, gardening, sunlight, volunteer work, etc. Volunteer work does wonders for me. It gives perspective. It's not the easy road and sometimes it's amazingly hard to drag yourself up and about, but I just didn't like the drugs.
100% with you, there.
Diet, exercise, gardening, sunlight, volunteering...I would add study and learning, travel, contact with animals....yep.
This was a lean holiday, and a sad one, too, for my family;
but I got a lot of joy out of sending cards to some kids I've never met,
kids whose tragic stories went viral on the internet
and whose guardians invited the public to send cards.
it's amazing how doing something little for someone else can lift you.
By contrast, I'm always struck by the contrast between this year's shiny new presents under the tree,
vs. the forgotten, scuffed, lost, or ruined gifts from last christmas.
Same with cars. Everyone wants the newest, shiniest, latest cars and gadgets,
but look through an old magazine from the 80s. Look at the ads from Chevrolet and Buick.
those cars look like dated old junkers, now. In another 30 years, the slick crossovers and SUV's of today
will look just as dull, clunky and dated.
but you can remember a good moment 30 years later and it's still a good memory.
