Depression

[Lizz]

I hope this subject is not too taboo. I was diagnosed with clinical and situational depression years ago. I'd rather not get into what happened, but I found normal routes of therapy nad drugs not working for me. Instead I found being busy, and engaged the best way to keep it at bay. Works great for a Nerd Fitness mentality when it is constnat challenges and improvements.

 

Sometimes things happen and I slip, I have found that I must take small steps to get back to a regular routine before I can accept new challenges. Jumping back to a regular routine is overwhelming and can cause a recession into depression again. If anyone else on here has a similar issue/ finds this approach helpful, what do you do to keep from getting overwhelmed coming out of depression? 

 

If people consider this to be too taboo, I have no heartache in removing it.

[Frost of the Gloaming]

I set up myself a to do list and start with small things; and for the most part it has the snowball effect and it builds up until I stupidly crash into something and I have to re-start it all over again. Hooorraaayyy for triggers :ugh:

[Morrigainz]

Hey there!

 

Definitely not a taboo topic. I think a lot of nerds suffer from depression. I am just coming out of a depressive episode myself (with the help of medication and CBT [no not THAT CBT]) and that is what my focus is around for this challenge. I too find myself overwhelmed if I try to add too many things at once. If you want to check out my challenge, I've linked it below. I'm hoping the approach will be helpful for me to rebuild my habits and my life. There's a link in my challenge to a Reddit thread which is the inspiration for the challenge. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you do so.

 

Good luck to you!

 

http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/49139-mirs-no-zero-days-challenge/

[JessOfAllTrades]

Definitely not a taboo topic here. Much like you, it doesn't take much for me to slip back into a depressed state, and getting back to a place where I'm "normal" and "functioning" again takes so much time. I don't have an answer yet, but I'm hoping the little things will help. Trying to reframe things, accomplishing one small thing a day, it adds up eventually.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

We even have an accountability group for people who suffer from depression and similar conditions:  http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/49035-black-dog-tamers/

[Lizz]

Thank you all who replied. I never can seem to line up my goal planning cycle with a six week challenge. Does anyone else have this issue? Do you hold off for the next cycle, or start without it?

[Morrigainz]

I would just start. Something is better than nothing. What kind of goal planning are you trying for?

[Lizz]

I would just start. Something is better than nothing. What kind of goal planning are you trying for?

 

I always want to do everything at once: foreign languages, new work out routine on my own (I just moved and my best friend personal traininer is at my old location), investing...

[Morrigainz]

Omigod. DO ALL THE THINGS! Trust me I feel you. And then you get overwhelmed? So maybe make a challenge to focus on one thing for six weeks.

[Lizz]

By the way I love your sheep picture. I just feel like I should always be father along than I am. Faster running, learning faster etc. It takes alot to ground me and not get discouraged.

[Guest Hornbeam]

I've often stymied myself by wanting to do too many things at once. What I find great on NF, is that the six week challenges enable me to take things slowly, and if there's something else I want to do, I can think, "Next challenge" and not get overwhelmed.

[MariahSnow]

For me, depression is that little devil on your shoulder who tells you that you're fat and lazy and mocks your efforts.

 

The best solution I've found for that demon is to ignore it. Just like you ignore negative people, I ignore negative thoughts.

 

There are also a few things that help me when I end up crumbling under the weight of that little devil and can't ignore his taunts anymore. The first is the movie Cast Away, and specifically the ending. He talks about the deep depression he fell into after his plans for suicide were thwarted, so he just went through the motions of living. Eating, sleeping, surviving. And it probably wasn't very fun, but one day his entire situation changed because of a new variable (trying not to give away the movie if some haven't seen it). So I just try to keep surviving until the circumstances change. This is incredibly tiring, so eventually I'll crumble and then that leads into the second thing that has helped me a lot lately....

 

Stephen Fry is an author, actor, comedian, etc, and he is bipolar. A fan reached out to him about depression and his answer was outstanding. To paraphrase:

"I've found that it's of some help to think of one's moods and feelings about the world as being similar to weather:

Here are some obvious things about the weather:

It's real.
You can't change it by wishing it away.
If it's dark and rainy it really is dark and rainy and you can't alter it.
It might be dark and rainy for two weeks in a row.

BUT

It will be sunny one day.
It isn't under one's control as to when the sun comes out, but come out it will.
One day."

[Morrigainz]

Oh wow. That is awesome! I will have to keep that in mind.

Having a low day today and I am just trying to keep in mind that it is OK to have a bad day. Or a few bad days. But I am not going to let anything or anyone get in the way of what I want. So I will continue on and trust that tomorrow will be better. And I will did everything I can to make sure it is better.

Pardon typos. Sheep have hooves, not hands.

[Bearded_Dragon]

Toates not taboo at all, Lizz, I can't really build on the posts of those above as they've been brill. 

 

Just wanted to say how much I love this community where we can talk so openly about these things and how everyone is so supportive. Love you lot!

[Viscura]

I call my little voices the Imp - it's a concept from Poe, the Imp of the Perverse. It's the little voice that tells you to do it, even when you know it's wrong, even when you know you shouldn't.

 

My Imp has had more control over me than I realised.

 

Alright, sometime a reason really is genuine. Sometimmes there are days when I genuinely cannot get out the house, or whatever. But a lot of the time they're excuses masquerading as reasons - it's the Imp in my ear, telling me not to bother. The same way it tells me nobody cares. The same way it tells me nobody would notice if I died.

 

The Imp is NOT the boss of me, dammit*.

 

*Note to self: write that in big letters and stick it on the door.

[MariahSnow]

I call my little voices the Imp - it's a concept from Poe, the Imp of the Perverse. It's the little voice that tells you to do it, even when you know it's wrong, even when you know you shouldn't.

 

My Imp has had more control over me than I realised.

 

Alright, sometime a reason really is genuine. Sometimmes there are days when I genuinely cannot get out the house, or whatever. But a lot of the time they're excuses masquerading as reasons - it's the Imp in my ear, telling me not to bother. The same way it tells me nobody cares. The same way it tells me nobody would notice if I died.

 

The Imp is NOT the boss of me, dammit*.

 

*Note to self: write that in big letters and stick it on the door.

 

I hate that guy, the imp. He's such a jerk. He actually told me during a triathlon this weekend that I should just stop swimming and drown. Really? That's when I was like, "hey buddy, fu, go sell your crazy elsewhere, I'm busy"

[Viscura]

I hate that guy, the imp. He's such a jerk. He actually told me during a triathlon this weekend that I should just stop swimming and drown. Really? That's when I was like, "hey buddy, fu, go sell your crazy elsewhere, I'm busy"

 

You gotta put that little git in his place, else he'll take right over. Good for you!

[Teros]

what do you do to keep from getting overwhelmed coming out of depression? 

Reflecting on this:

 

This is 1 year's worth of encouraging comments said to me in my 6-week challenges. I copy/pasted them into a word doc, then printed them out and made a collage with them.

 

I call depression my Dark Passenger.

[Lizz]

Thank you all for the responses. I have been having an up and down week Some days are much easier than others.

[Candace Koller]

I've been struggling with depression my entire life but it took a much darker turn about 4 years ago. I found medicine and traditional treatments made things worse for me instead of helping. Everyone is different in what works for them.

 

I find that blogging about it helps me. I've had a lot of people tell me that reading what I write helps them too. A lot of people feel alone because no one is usually willing to talk about it. I know I felt alone for the longest time. Writing the blog helps me by getting everything out in the open so I don't have to hide it anymore and it can help people who don't understand learn a little more too. I'm kind of on a mission to do whatever it is I can to make it less taboo. I'm just one person though, I can't do much. But I don't let that stop me from doing what I can anymore.

 

I also found that (this may be weird) getting a bunch of chickens helped me tremendously. They were originally just for food but I fell in love with them. Now I have something that depends on me so I don't feel so useless but they're self sufficient enough that if I can't get out of bed one day they won't keel over. A little responsibility helped me feel like I had a bit more worth. I don't know if you struggle with that but it's a biggie for me.

 

Best of luck to you in your fight.

[unapologetic]

I am so glad to see this thread and see that I'm not the only one struggling with depression here. I was diagnosed with clinical depression 10 years ago and it's been a rollercoaster ever since. And that played a direct role in my weight gain. For those of you who have used meds to help manage depression, have you had any where you didn't gain weight? I know my weight and depression are linked and if my antidepressant didn't have weight gain as a side effect I imagine losing weight would be easier.

[Ciara]

I was originally diagnosed with depression, but it turned into a diagnosis of bipolar disorder....am I still welcome?

[Lizz]

I have the oposite effect of depressive swings, I lose weight. It is due to a general lack of appetite thoguh, and not a healthy or permament loss.

[Candace Koller]

I go up and down. When depressed I lose my appetite but when stressed I eat everything. And depression and stress go hand in hand so my weight fluctuates all the time. I can't say what doesn't cause weight gain but I can say saphris and seroquil caused a lot of gain in me.

[Varelse]

I don't feel any difference in easier or more difficult losing weight. What I feel when I medicate is a lot of disorder in my animic state which has a result in my eating / exercising habits.

I had a bad/horrible experience with meds. I know they are sometimes useful - maybe for me they were too - but the side effects are too much for me. I prefer not being so 'happy' but having control of myself.

I was originally diagnosed with depression, but it turned into a diagnosis of bipolar disorder....am I still welcome?

Of course you are.