can you beat depression w/out meds?

>>17950761
Which kind of depression? You feel unhappy? You want to kill youself?

>>17950761
I've been diagnosed with depression in 2013 and couldn't take meds because of other health conditions.

What worked for me was:
>therapy
>support from my loved ones
>talking openly about depression
>volunteering
>travelling
>reading
>working out
>bullet journaling/making lists of things I had to do

Medication is only a start and will only go so far. Then you have to make life changes. It will take a long time, count with at least a year. It's your decision.

I wanted to start a thread on depression too
>>17950791
I don't feel too unhappy day to day, I can ignore it or do something else, but I just can't understand life
why do people continue? I've been going over it in my head and everything makes sense except for suicide rates being so low
I used to think girls and the possibility of finding love was worth continuing for, but the last year and a bit I found that I've barely been trying to get with girls (actually surprised me when I realised)
I was thinking that I loved a girl but I don't think she's on the same page
I kind of came to the conclusion that anything I want is just built up so much in my own head that it's not trust worthy, it would never live up to the expectations, and even if it occurred/existed I'd still have to go to work the next day, it wouldn't exactly change anything

I masturbate from the muscle memory that it felt good

and the normal reaction to a view point like this is shut up and get a job, but like, it felt the exact same last time I had a job, except I had this trip I'm doing right now to look forward to

are we all just laying ridiculous amounts of value in to the 'next thing' just as a reason to continue?
I've lost all faith in the next thing and I can't even come up with a 'next thing' anyway
I'm sure having children would provide a sense of purpose and would be more fulfilling then I could ever imagine (even though this opinion is blindly based on hearsay) but I don't particularly want children and I feel like I'm far away from that goal anyway

File: 1483041704952.jpg (86KB, 600x800px) Image search: [Google]

86KB, 600x800px

page 9 bump

>>17950879
being sad because you dont have a girlfriend isnt depression anon

Therapy really helped me. No meds.

>>17951663
that's just recently, I've felt similar to this for the past year and a bit
and it was nice to see her but it didn't exactly change too much for the moment

>>17950807
This.
I was on medication and stopped, exercise, lists, and finding smart positive people to spend time with saved my life and kept me productive for nearly 2 years. I cried a lot and often got anxious but I got a job I liked and finshed college after droping out.


For lists, start small. You want to basically rewire your sense of reward/drive so checking off all your daily tasks is more important than having a lot of tasks. Start with 3 things like
>get out of bed and get dressed before 9am
>walk up and down your block once
>do your laundry

And work up from there. I cannot overstate the importance of completing your list, however short it is. It will feel good and eventually it will sustain you.

For exercise, see above and use lists to increase activity weekly, then daily.

For social interaction, find a hobby (swing dancing, bowling, billiards, chess, whatever) and/or a religious group. Use the Internet and local newspapers/bulletins at coffee shops/magazines to find groups that meet up.

SSRI are a meme
dont take them, never

>>17950761
"Depression" means a lot of things to a lot of people, anon.
You'll have to be more specific.

In general, if you can think of reasons/causes/triggers for the "depression", it's the kind that doesn't need meds.

If it doesn't make any sense and nothing seems to improve it (or make it worse), then you will probably need medication (ie because parts of your brain that are supposed to regulate emotions properly got fucked up somehow).

>>17950761
>I masturbate from the muscle memory that it felt good
I know that fucking feel man.
Started to jerk it in the shower today out of habit even though i haven't felt much down there (or been able to cum) for a while now.
Might as well have been pulling on a broom handle.
Guess old habits die hard though.

>>17951759
A ton of SSRIs are FDA-approved and widely proven to be effective in depression (among several other conditions).
Sure they have their issues, but discounting a large and fairly successful class of psychiatric drug as a "meme" is ridiculous.

>>17950879
It sounds to me like you're not sure of who you are and what you want, what you value. It's hard to make goals when one doesn't have clearly defined values.

>>17950761
Exercise and medication are the only things that work for me. I have to use them both. If I stop one or the other for a while, then I start feeling like shit again.

File: natty.png (113KB, 205x264px) Image search: [Google]

113KB, 205x264px

>>17950761
meditate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLjelIPg3ys

>>17950879
Exercise, get plenty of sunlight, drink water, have a healthy diet.

This should treat your "depression". Take up writing too, maybe take a class on it (you need it).

>>17951825
sounds about right, any suggestions on how to do that?

Journaling, exercising, and socializing will be your best bets OP. Take Vitamin D too if you don't get a lot of sunlight. A big thing that helped me was literature as well. I started reading a lot of Carl Jung and it helped me identify and confront my demons. Your mileage may vary with that one, depending on what you believe about yourself and the world around you.

>>17950761
>inb4 you just need to believe in yourself and stay positive

well that stuff is the opposite of low self esteem and hopelessness, the two main characteristics of depression

I don't want to create a new thread so I'll ask here since the topic is similar.
Can you figure out on your own that you have depression and need psychological help?

I'm getting worried because I've been showing some symptoms lately. I wake up late, around noon, and it takes an enormous amount of effort to get up. So much that when I do I'm immediately tired again.
I have low energy and sometimes I feel like sleeping and my head feels heavy even if I didn't do anything during the day.
I can't concentrate and can't study or even read a book without anxiety. I feel like there is an enormous pressure on my heart like it's about to explode and just give up.
I've been feeling extremely sad and cry almost every day now. When I try not to cry I get a headache and feel sleepy again.

This is going on since christmas when it finally hit me that my ex was gone for good from my life. I feel completely worthless because I'm not good enough as a person for him no matter how hard I try, and I've tried seriously hard. My studies are all over the place, I've lost three years now and I feel like there is just no hope for me.

What do I do, adv?

>>17952278
Yeah, it's usually helpful for people to figure out their values first. Values, for example, can be things like truth, hardworking, family, independence, generosity, etc. The list isn't exhaustive. What are some things you value?