I suffered from major depression during one period of my life. It was a very difficult time. I didn't really get what was happening to me, since I'm not the type of person who would describe himself as having such tendencies. There were a couple of major factors at work that caused this I believe, but I'm not going to talk about that now.
At first I went to a doctor who gave me only drugs. He was a very poor doctor, I have to say. The next doctor had a more holistic view. He gave me drugs, but he also sent me to a dietist, and a therapist, and wrote a prescription for excersise. (This may sound strange to some who don't know how things work in Sweden. The thing is that the state (or the tax payers, really) sponsor the purchase of drugs and treatments that have been prescribed by a doctor to a very large extent. So what you get is a gym card for an extremely low price).
So this is what helped me beat depression:
Anti-depressants. Everyone knows what that is.
A healthy diet. I still eat the way I was instructed to. It helps me maintain weight. I avoid eating carbohydrates as much as possible. I eat lots of vegetables, a large portion of which is fresh produce. I eat lots of fish -- especially fatty fish like mackerel and salmon. I never eat candy and junk food, and I almost never drink beer. (The beer is the only part that sucks a little, since I love beer) In fact I only drink when I'm on vacation and on special occasions. I eat chocolate with at least 70% cacao content (too much carbs in the other stuff). Chocolate is good, because it makes you feel content.
Exercise. I started with the program I used back then again recently. Every morning I take a brisk walk of at least 45 minutes before breakfast, or a run. In the evening I work out -- this is usually lifting weights or a barbell workout. I've been told that the kind of workout you should do is high exertion, like lifting weights for example.
My problem with this in the beginning was that I often felt too tired to work out. (I wasn't really -- it just felt that way)
My therapist told me this: when you feel tired but you push yourself to work out anyway, have you ever thought like this: 'Shit. I shouldn't have worked out. I really regret doing this.'
No. I always felt much better after. This is one of the best things anyone has said to me in my entire life.
Have a realistic, attainable goal. This can be almost anything, like 'I want to buy a motorcycle' or 'I want to afford to go to Prague next summer'. Then work toward that goal. Rinse and repeat. I can't quite explain why this is so damned good, but it is. It mustn't be something unrealistic, like 'I want to meet the perfect woman of my dreams' or something similar.
Learn to not feel entitled. Understand that the world and the people in it owe you nothing. I've noticed that people who suffer from depression often feel entitled, like they want everything to just come to them without any real effort and when it doesn't, they spiral deeper into depression.
Don't have unrealistic expectations on life. This has a lot to do with entitlement as well as laziness. This is a huge problem nowadays, I've noticed. A lot of people want to become famous musicians, actors, or have their hobby as their job while getting payed really well, or what have you. If you aren't very talented, extremely attractive in some way, and/or willing to work your ass of to the brink of mental and/or physical collapse, this just won't happen, except if there is some one in a million fluke. Even if you are all those things, it will probably still not happen. People who suffer from this problem often end up just sitting around doing nothing while waiting to be discovered or something stupid like that. This makes their depression grow exponentially over time, it seems. I have a friend who had this problem. He ended up almost killing himself through drug abuse. I had slight bouts of this when I was a young adult, from 18-25 or so.
Avoid self pity at all costs. It is impossible to never feel sorry for oneself, but if you start to, pull yourself out of it by doing something constructive or talking to someone about a completely unrelated subject. Self pity is one of the most destructive and pathetic human emotions. Nothing good ever comes out of it. This was a major problem for me when I was depressed.
Avoid histrionics (i.e. being a drama queen) and passive agressive behavior. Learn to ignore the urge to garner attention when you don't really deserve it. In the end, passive agressive and/or drama queen behavior always leads to loneliness, feelings of emptiness and the deepest pits of depression and despair. It also happens to be a complete pain in the ass to other people. I know this is very hard for some, but it is possible unless one suffers from a severe personality disorder. When I was depressed I used to act like that toward women sometimes. I feel ashamed of this nowadays.
At first I went to a doctor who gave me only drugs. He was a very poor doctor, I have to say. The next doctor had a more holistic view. He gave me drugs, but he also sent me to a dietist, and a therapist, and wrote a prescription for excersise. (This may sound strange to some who don't know how things work in Sweden. The thing is that the state (or the tax payers, really) sponsor the purchase of drugs and treatments that have been prescribed by a doctor to a very large extent. So what you get is a gym card for an extremely low price).
So this is what helped me beat depression:
Anti-depressants. Everyone knows what that is.
A healthy diet. I still eat the way I was instructed to. It helps me maintain weight. I avoid eating carbohydrates as much as possible. I eat lots of vegetables, a large portion of which is fresh produce. I eat lots of fish -- especially fatty fish like mackerel and salmon. I never eat candy and junk food, and I almost never drink beer. (The beer is the only part that sucks a little, since I love beer) In fact I only drink when I'm on vacation and on special occasions. I eat chocolate with at least 70% cacao content (too much carbs in the other stuff). Chocolate is good, because it makes you feel content.
Exercise. I started with the program I used back then again recently. Every morning I take a brisk walk of at least 45 minutes before breakfast, or a run. In the evening I work out -- this is usually lifting weights or a barbell workout. I've been told that the kind of workout you should do is high exertion, like lifting weights for example.
My problem with this in the beginning was that I often felt too tired to work out. (I wasn't really -- it just felt that way)
My therapist told me this: when you feel tired but you push yourself to work out anyway, have you ever thought like this: 'Shit. I shouldn't have worked out. I really regret doing this.'
No. I always felt much better after. This is one of the best things anyone has said to me in my entire life.
Have a realistic, attainable goal. This can be almost anything, like 'I want to buy a motorcycle' or 'I want to afford to go to Prague next summer'. Then work toward that goal. Rinse and repeat. I can't quite explain why this is so damned good, but it is. It mustn't be something unrealistic, like 'I want to meet the perfect woman of my dreams' or something similar.
Learn to not feel entitled. Understand that the world and the people in it owe you nothing. I've noticed that people who suffer from depression often feel entitled, like they want everything to just come to them without any real effort and when it doesn't, they spiral deeper into depression.
Don't have unrealistic expectations on life. This has a lot to do with entitlement as well as laziness. This is a huge problem nowadays, I've noticed. A lot of people want to become famous musicians, actors, or have their hobby as their job while getting payed really well, or what have you. If you aren't very talented, extremely attractive in some way, and/or willing to work your ass of to the brink of mental and/or physical collapse, this just won't happen, except if there is some one in a million fluke. Even if you are all those things, it will probably still not happen. People who suffer from this problem often end up just sitting around doing nothing while waiting to be discovered or something stupid like that. This makes their depression grow exponentially over time, it seems. I have a friend who had this problem. He ended up almost killing himself through drug abuse. I had slight bouts of this when I was a young adult, from 18-25 or so.
Avoid self pity at all costs. It is impossible to never feel sorry for oneself, but if you start to, pull yourself out of it by doing something constructive or talking to someone about a completely unrelated subject. Self pity is one of the most destructive and pathetic human emotions. Nothing good ever comes out of it. This was a major problem for me when I was depressed.
Avoid histrionics (i.e. being a drama queen) and passive agressive behavior. Learn to ignore the urge to garner attention when you don't really deserve it. In the end, passive agressive and/or drama queen behavior always leads to loneliness, feelings of emptiness and the deepest pits of depression and despair. It also happens to be a complete pain in the ass to other people. I know this is very hard for some, but it is possible unless one suffers from a severe personality disorder. When I was depressed I used to act like that toward women sometimes. I feel ashamed of this nowadays.
