Is there anyone out there who has successfully overcome depression and if so how did you do it?

Answer 1

Although I was never diagnosed with clinical depression, I have had all of the symptoms for years. Yes, I understand that clinical depression is a result of a chemical imbalance that can be partially addressed medically. However, I prefer to avoid "happy pills" if at all possible.

For me, physical exercise does wonders. It ups my energy level and seems to help my body naturally regulate its functions. The hardest part for me is just getting on with doing things. This is sort of the vicious cycle of depression. You don't feel like doing anything, but not doing anything makes you lethargic and more depressed. the increased energy level from exercise partially helps this. It also helps just to get out and do something fairly often that is not a part of your everyday routine. Hey, if you're like me you might even find yourself having a good time once and awhile.

I can't say I'm not prone to getting depressed anymore, but I do think that taking a general "get on with it" approach to life does me some good.

Of course, your mileage may vary....

Answer 2

Very few people don't suffer depression at some time. In the UK about 1 in 3 of the population will get it bad enough to need medical help at some time in their lives. If you suffer depression, it's likely to recur. Also, it's most likely only temporary. So first you've got to accept it will happen & not worry too much about the fact that you feel depressed. Depression can range from simple low mood right through to totally debilitating. It's about as common as getting a bad cold.

Have you any idea what caused it? It could be the result of an event even 2 or 3 years before you first felt depressed, or it could simply be the result of stress - working too hard & exhausting the synapse chemicals in your brain so that normal functions become difficult - physical functions can be affected as well as mental ones. Knowing the cause can help overcome the problem.

Talking therapies can help, also a good regime of exercise & a decent diet. A doctor might offer you antidepressants. It's up to you whether you choose to use them, but regard them as a temporary help, not a cure. You'll also need to come off them gently.

If your get up & go got up & went, you will need to find something you enjoy doing that relaxes you but involves exercise like swimming or walking & make sure you get to do it at least 30 minutes a day.

There are a few self-medications for depression e.g. St John's Wort you can get it from health food stores, or even eating pork brains! But these are only temporary helps, your lifestyle & beliefs are the permanent factor.

Hope that all helps...

Answer 3

talked to a doctor who prescribed medication. Tried it for a week, but my head didn't feel right. I was under a lot of stress at the time and a friend had been murdered, I was pursuing MBA and working full-time and had lots of family incidents happening. Found that with medication, the problem was still there but I just didn't care and it felt like chemicals were swirling in my brain. Since my brain is what gets me paid I decided to stop taking the drugs.

I got rid of the things that I couldn't control or change easily (such as the family incidents - it's THEIR lives after all), stopped stressing about school - so I didn't get an A, so what? Started exercising again - that helped a lot cause now I was tired enough physically to go to sleep. Also tried Yoga (Doctor recommended for my lower back pain) and that helped with relaxation, back pain and weight loss.

Now I try to catch the despondency early, go out, get moving, exercise, talk to friends and take my mind off myself - I really don't have a bad life (pretty damn good one when I'm not down!).

I hope you or the person you know finds something that will be a useful tool for them during the times that they are prone to depression.

Finally, depression is and ILLNESS and is nothing to be ashamed about. I'm not.

Answer 4

I don't know if you ever really overcome it . I was diagnosed over 25 years ago. For the most part it is controlled using anti-depressants, Exercise helps, as do good friends, and learning some relaxation techniques if anxiety comes along with it as it does for me. You have to learn to tell the difference between a reactive depression, something happened and mad you sad or a clinical depression. caused by brain chemicals that are out of whack. I have found it helpful to see a counselor for a couple of months every now and then. It helps me get things back in perspective from an impartial observer.

Answer 5

Yes, I did. I was very depressed for most of my life and had sought all kinds of help. Talk therapy was all useless and medications ranged from useless to helpful but with unpleasant side effects.

I'll tell you what happened to me that completely made the depression go away a few years ago and not come back, but it is a realization, not something "I did". So I don't know how helpful it would be to someone else because it is hard to internalize someone else's realization.

You know how people tell you to live in the present moment? You have to realize that the only moment you are alive is now, this present instant. At this moment, now, you are not in the past and you are not in the future. And all of time is a bunch of "now" instants. Now, suppose that you are depressed, but that all of a sudden someone you really love calls you. Won't you be happy in that moment? Sure you will. So that means that even though you are thinking that you are depressed, you can choose in any given moment to be happy.

So this brings up the critical question, When are you depressed? You can't be depressed in the past, because it doesn't exist now. You can't be depressed in the future for the same reason. And in this present moment, right now, you can choose for just one moment to be happy if you want to. So this whole idea of depression is really just something that we tell ourselves, a false message about the past and the future, that has nothing to do with the present moment, and therefore nothing to do with reality at all. Depression is a delusion that we pull over ourselves.

The only moment that exists is now. And now, for one moment, I can choose to be happy. So I don't need to keep telling myself (falsely) that I'm depressed. As long as I make that choice to be happy in this moment (and I don't have to do it for all of the future because the future doesn't exist yet), I AM happy.

Answer 6

I think the figure that I heard that about 70% of us will not overcome depression, or we will eventually get it once again. I have a problem just getting out of bed. I tell myself what am I going to do when I get up, stare at the dog?

The only time I am not depressed is when I am riding my Harley.
You can't be depressed riding as you are so busy trying to keep idiots from running you down. Also it is physically impossible to be depressed when doing any "task". But you have to get started, and there lies the problem.

Answer 7

I did and I did it with meds paxil to be specific you hear so much bad publicity about anti- depressants but I will tell you what I honestly don't think I would be alive today if it wasn't for them I have been on paxil for about 7 years it has be a god sent for me depression runs in my family it takes 4 to 6 weeks before the meds start to work and yes there is a adjustment period but once that is over you feel totally normal and NOT DEPRESSED my anxiety was so bad that I physically shook it helps with anxiety also

Answer 8

What's making you depressed?

Job? Change it or make it better.
Relationship? Change it or make it better.

Depressed just some times?

Stand straight up, smile. Think of something that was just wonderful in your life.

Skip. Go to the park or your back yard and Skip. You'll look a little funny...ok...a lot funny...but I swear to God you can't skip and be sad. Try it.

I really hate commercials that tell us we are depressed and need drugs. First of all....Are we taught that taking drugs is bad? Just a quick fix and not the answer to the problem? Yet if it's a prescription...it's ok....MAKES NO SENSE.

I think life is hard. Life is not easy and was never meant to be. Figure out whats wrong and take action to make it better.

Hope it all helps.

Answer 9

After my mother died, I fell into a very deep depression. To get through it I tried anti-depressants, which only made me feel that I had no emotions at all. I tried talking to a therapist, and it, too, was not for me. I know that these do work for some people and they may be a route you could try. I found that making it a priority for me to walk or exercise for 30 minutes to an hour a day GREATLY improved my ability to deal with my depression. I continue to do it now. I lost weight, feel great, and have time set aside every day for me to clear my head. If you only try it for 1 week, keep a journal, begin walking for at least 30 minutes at a moderate pace, preferably somewhere free from stress, and write down how you feel after your walk.

Answer 10

Well, when I was wealthy and had a 6000 sqare foot home, 7 servants, and lived in Indonesia for four years, I was depressed though. When I moved back to the USA and got a divorce and lost my husband, house, kids, everything...and became homeless.....I was very sad but not depressed. I wasn't depressed anymore because when you have nothing, God is all you have. When I got a roof, clothing, and food, I was never depressed again. That's all you need in life.