Is there any way to deal with depression without medication?

>>18121928
Could try subliminal messages in audio while you sleep your brain is more susceptible to ideas implemented while you sleep

>>18121928
>Is there any way to deal with depression without medication?
Realize that it's not real and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

>>18121928
meditation

>>18121928

Therapy. It can be just as effective, depending on where your depression stems from. A good therapist can also help you to help yourself by pointing out where you're loosing your grasp. At least that's what happened to me.

>>18122024
eat shit

>>18122055
seconded. most effective thing i've ever found to deal with depression and anxiety.

look into MBSR or read a mindfulness for depression book or use an app like Headspace or Calm or 10% Happier.

>>18121928
A number of things, it just depends on what you can start on. Eating a healthy diet and exercising both have been shown to help, but they are hard to do. It really depends on where you're at man.

If you have trouble with sleeping in or staying up late, that would be a good place to start. Try to get in the habit of going to bed at a certain time and opening a window for bright light in the morning.

If you wake up and don't feel like doing jack shit, just take small steps. Anything>nothing. Thinking about the big picture will fuck you. So if you can't get out of bed, focus on slowly getting out from the blanket. etc.

Idk how people feel about this but weed has helped me for sure. Not saying it's good to be dependent on it, but it can help some people.

Also like the other guy said, meditation. Even 5 minutes is something. Remember what I said about starting small? That applies to meditation, exercise and diet too. Any exercise/meditation you do will be better than nothing.

You can also go to this site called 7cups and they have little exercises you can do. You click on what issues you have and they just give you things that take less than a few minutes you can do each day.

>>18121928
>I tried keeping a bullet journal
Just started one of these a couple days ago. So far it's kinda just like a to do list with a few random observations but I imagine I'll use it for other ideas and lists as time goes on.
The problem is that sometimes I want to go more in depth about something, but I'm not sure how much you're really supposed to write.
We'll see if it actually helps me at all. I used to keep a real journal, but have gotten out of the habit because it takes too much time to write. Let me know if you have any tips.

Another depressed anon

Just spent the entire day in bed, hate myself, I told myself I'd at least go out for a cup of coffee, then nothing, no breakfast, no lunch, no dinner, nothing.

I'm really struggling, I have nobody to talk to, no friends in this state, I'm trying to leave my job for another, back living at mom's house so no point in dating, struggling with finances and motivation to work out. I really thought setting the bar at "get up and go get coffee" would be easy. Wrong.

Normally I check my phone and get nothing but emails from freelancer, but I got a text from mom saying "you ok?" and I have to go pretend to enjoy dinner like I didn't just lay in bed all day. Great.

I'd be so much happier if I just spent all day playing video games, even. /rant

There's no quick fix for depression, it requires an entire lifestyle change.

Eat healthy, exercise, avoid frequent masturbation, practice an instrument, basically do good things and you'll feel better. Do bad things and you feel bad.

>>18122604

I feel you here.

I was supposed to visit a friend who moved 2h away for some cards and general hanging out last week. Instead, I literally stayed in bed weekend with the exception of seeing a movie and getting a pizza in the same outing, and I almost didn't even do that. This weekend, I forced myself out, though I honestly didn't really enjoy it. I don't know that I felt anything towards it at all, to be honest.

>>18122604
I relate, anon.

>>18122658
>>18122665
The worst part is I don't know what it stems from, from my point of view there's nowhere to start "fixing" anything.

I know I need to watch what I eat to make sure I'm not starving, stay away from alcohol and masturbation, exercise etc. But then what? I do that and still live with that empty, burnt out feeling.

>>18122740
you can do everything successful people seem to be doing and still feel like that. the root cause is in the mind. your mind affects everything. working on it is the highest leverage activity you can do. find a therapist. do gratitude/forgiveness/compassion exercises. meditate (find a technique that works for you, dont do techniques that dont work for you).

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>>18121928
There's no easy answer. It's process.

Some truly have a chemical imbalance in their brain and do require meds. If you are overweight then I would think twice about medication, at least at first..I've seen people balloon up really fast from antidepressants.

Why exactly are you upset? If it's modifiable (weight, social anxiety, clothes, job, education, hair, etc.) then work towards that change.

Read self-help books. Eat a healthy diet, connect with others, exercise (great for depression), MOVE, sorround yourself with only positive people, limit your TV/internet time, etc.

Change your outlook. Don't look at things as a negative; only a positive or neutral. Every small change makes a difference, xoxo

>>18122740
Exercise doesn't help? I instantly get a boost in mood from a good workout. Especially running. Blood pumping throughout your body, and to your brain is fanatic! What kind of exercise are you doing?

When I eat like shit, soda/fastfood, I feel absolutely disgusted and drained. When I limit my calories and eat nutrient dense, fresh, and homemade food I do feel better. Eating better does nothing for you? Do you think you might have an eating disorder?

Constantly looking at porn drains my energy, and I feel like I'm wasting time. Limiting it does make me feel better. Do you think your sexually preoccupied? Or sexually frustrated?

Alcohol (actually a depressant), I don't drink at all. When I do I become very angry. It literally fucks me up so staying away completely is always the best choice for me. Does drinking alcohol make you feel better?

>>18122055
This is one thing I still have to try, with all the stimulation I get some quiet time now and then would hopefully do me good.

>>18122822
Eating healthy and exercise helps me but in a momentary fashion, I exercise Sunday afternoon for instance but Monday morning I have trouble forcing myself to do anything. Typically I run a couple miles and then do weight lifting.

Limiting porn and alcohol is important though. Many times I just feel lonely, which breeds bad habits, which breeds more loneliness.

>>18122308
>Idk how people feel about this but weed has helped me for sure. Not saying it's good to be dependent on it, but it can help some people.
I can attest to this
I went into a really dark period over the summer, and my friends and my hobbies really helped bring me up and smoking weed helped me reduce my anxiety and really think about things to a level I could not before. It helped clear my mind up and pushed me up towards a better situation. Well, until I almost got caught and my friend was jailed...
Meditation also helps a bunch.

Sometimes I keep a "reverse" bullet journal.

I get up for a few minutes and do what I can, what's in front of me without too much planning. Then when I sit down I list the things individually that I did with a check mark beside each one.

This is a list of accomplishments rather than expectations, something to feel good about instead of negative.

The only non-prescription thing I ever found to treat my serious clinical depression was the weed.

Without that, I've been taking both zoloft and wellbutrin for over 10 years now, and will for the rest of my life.

>>18122884
Coincidentally, I just started doing that today. Trying to focus on what I did do rather than what have a list of all the stuff I wanted to do that I didn't get round to.

>>18122884
>>18122894
If you're still depressed while on meds why take them?

I'm not depressed very much now. Just a little slow moving due to habit mostly. Without the meds, I end up hospitalized. (dysthymia, double depression, ptsd since 2003)

>>18121928
Talking to people and letting them know how you feel is the best solution. Getting it out there instead of internalizing it is the best method of dealing with it. It's defiantly worked with me over the years.

Exercise also helps too, if you can find the motivation.

>>18122839
Limiting porn and alcohol stopped the loneliness- bad habits chain?

>>18122938
It's more like loneliness leads to porn and alcohol, which leads to further isolation, which leads to more escapist pursuits, in a big chain until you feel like you don't belong on this planet.

Even though I can recognize loneliness as the root of my depression, I need to take care not to do any of the mind numbing activities that make loneliness bearable, because they in turn make me MORE lonely ... It's a tough cycle to break

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Don't know if this could help you OP but a few days ago someone posted a thread about how he dealt with dealt with depression, too bad people shitted on him because he gave very good advices

>>18123017
I am saving this. Thank you

>>18123017
It's not bad advice, but it's all pretty basic stuff. Sadly not enough for me.

>>18123017
I was working out a some months last year, 4 times a week, and it did help... but only during the workout and a few hours after.

Later in the evening it would progressively come back, and in the morning I'd be back at square one.

I should start again though, but I got sick for a week and then I just ... stopped for some reason.