Category: depression

Posted on

People Talk About How They Managed to Get Out of Deep States of Depression

I’ve been around many people who have struggled with depression during their lives.

Hell, I’ve had my own bouts with it, too.

And unless you’ve been through it yourself, it’s hard to explain to people what it’s really like. And snapping out it is totally different for everyone.

We hope that these responses will help some people out who are struggling.

Did you ever get out of a deep, dark depression?

These AskReddit users did and they shared their stories.

1. A combination.

“For me it was a combination of things..

Music – learned to play guitar on youtube

Books – found out about stoicism

Myself – I was listening to a Pink Floyd song (echoes) and theres a part where they say “I am you and what I see is me” and I realized that we are all going through something, and if I helped someone else then in return I was helping myself.

Lo and behold, I started to feel better about myself after helping others.”

2. You’re in charge.

“My dog. It forces me to get up and do something.

Feed him, take him outside multiple times a day. If I didn’t have him I would spend all my time off work in bed.”

3. Set your goals.

“Setting a schedule for myself.

Setting VERY small and attainable goals (read 1 page of a book, draw for 10 minutes, do a 5 minute exercise warm up, etc).

Making myself reach out to friends when I’m struggling, and getting proper meds.”

4. Get yourself going.

“Cold showers.

Honestly, I lost my job due to COVID and was going through a bunch of other stuff and would lay in the floor and sleep the day away.

Once I figured why not try it?

Oh man, that woke me up and got me just enough energy to start cleaning the house that id been putting off and that would feed into more motivation. Didn’t cure it completely but it helped get me jump started.”

5. Focus!

“Puzzles.

Jigsaw puzzles have brought me out of some dark pits. Gives me something to hyper focus on.

I don’t need to think about it too much or put effort into it, but I can sit there for hours doing one. It’s helped me feel productive again.”

6. Get things done.

“Cleaning up often helps me.

There’s something about staring at a messy room that always brings me down.

Just getting the dirty dishes clean feels like I accomplished something.”

7. Books and music.

“Books can be a great way to get out of your own head, music was able to somewhat help me.

As I got worse myself I had more and more time with nothing to do and being alone with my thoughts was pulling me deeper into the spiral of depression.”

8. Good tip.

“Try to only use your bed for sleeping.

Even if you spend the whole day on the couch instead, it will help your sleep and its a first step to potentially getting other things done.”

9. Start small.

“Exercise.

“‘Ill do 5 push ups and if I dont feel like more, thats okay.”

Or set a 5 min walk as the target. Keep going if you can.”

10. Take care of yourself.

“Eat and take vitamins.

You likely dont feel like eating anything. But you need to. Getting your daily vitamins can go a long way to healing and get easy to make food so you dont have to cook.

Canned soups were my best friend.”

11. No more alcohol.

“Mine was when my alcoholism was at its worst.

As you can guess, the solution was getting sober. At this point I was just drinking all day every day waiting for death to come on its own.

In the state I was in the only thing that meant anything to me was my mom’s dog, Ginger. I don’t really follow any religion, but I truly believe that Ginger is my guardian angel.

I was watching that sweet girl while mom was on vacation. I think it was day two, 8/11/2017, when I decided I had had enough. I needed to get better by any means, or else I wouldn’t be around to watch Ginger the next time mom took a vacation.

So I texted a friend who I knew was in AA, and gave him full decision making power over my life for the time being. After a 3 day hospital stay, I started going to AA meetings and learning how to exist without alcohol. I don’t go much anymore, but have never felt any threat to my sobriety. I know I am one of the lucky ones to have staying sober be so easy.

If you had asked me on 8/10/2017 (the day before I sought help) what I’d be doing today, I would have told you, “I’m not gonna live to see 2018.” But here I am in 2021, telling my story to anyone who cares to hear it and happier than I’ve ever been.”

12. Hobbies are good.

“Really diving deep into my creative hobbies. I had always dabbled in writing and music. Just jumping in with no real plans or expectations and seeing what happens.

I’ve suffered from panic attacks my entire adult life and depression alongside with it. When they reached their worst point most people gave up on me.

I spent a lot of time after that learning more about music. I’d always played bass but I decided I wanted to be able to make music all on my own. I learned how to make mashups, then I learned how to make remixes, then I started composing originals.

I’d previously written two articles on the SCP wiki and then just sort of stopped. I decided to really expand my submissions and wrote a bunch of new articles. I even rewrote one of my old articles because it was kind of weak.

The funny thing is, that became a good measuring stick for me. I always told myself I was awful at everything, but I was basically compiling evidence I was good at something.

Having songs that get praised by people and added to someone’s personal playlists makes you feel validated.

Looking next to a story and see hundreds of upvotes mattered to me.

I realized that when I was depressed it wasn’t that I didn’t want to do anything, it’s that I kept convincing myself that I couldn’t. That I would fail. That I would just waste my time. That I didn’t even deserve success anyways.

And I was wrong.

I have ideas worth sharing, and I’m going to share them.”

Now we want to hear from you.

How did you get out of a deep depression?

Talk to us in the comments and share your stories. Thanks!

The post People Talk About How They Managed to Get Out of Deep States of Depression appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

How Did You Get Out of Deep Depression? Here’s How People Responded.

If you’ve never dealt with depression before, it is really terrible.

You feel aimless, sad, exhausted, and something as small as taking a shower or eating a meal seems like climbing Mount Everest.

But the key is figuring out how to get out of that terrible state. And accomplishing that is different for everyone.

Folks on AskReddit talked about how they were able to get out of deep depressive states. Let’s take a look.

1. That helped.

“I dragged myself out of bed and went for a walk with my little cousin.

Having him hand me flowers and point out planes was the most hopeful thing I’ve ever experienced.

It was if I was seeing the world from his joyful perspective.”

2. Gotta start somewhere.

“I commit myself to brushing my teeth every morning.

I tell myself I don’t have to do literally anything else all day, but this one tiny, easy thing I have to do.

So I brush my teeth, with full permission to go back to bed and wish I was dead right after. But usually once I’ve done it, I feel like maybe I can do one more thing today.

But that’s all! I don’t have to anything else at all today, but I can probably manage to brush my hair. So I do that.

And I just keep doing tiny, easy things, and when I can’t do anymore, I already gave myself full sincere permission to call it a day, so I lay on the couch and wish I was dead, and sometimes while I’m doing that, I’ll think of one more tiny, easy thing I can do, and I’ll do that, and maybe a couple other things.

I want to be clear that it’s not about tricking myself into being productive; it’s about being accepting of my bad days and giving myself permission to do the absolute minimum until the next day, when I will reevaluate where I’m at and what I can do.”

3. Motivators.

“At first: my son. I HAD to get out of bed, he couldn’t take care of himself as he was way too young. (2,5/3 years old).

But it got worse and worse and worse. I realized it was very bad when he came up to me with his toy car and I had absolutely no energy or desire to even say “oooh yes! Car!”

What eventually helped was being dragged to therapy by my aunt. I have had therapy for 2 years. After the first session I went home with one specific idea from my therapist and it helped me most: I put a journal next to my bed and forced myself to write ONE good thing about/for the day.

It started with 30 pages of one line: “Made breakfast for me and son”

Gradually there were 2 things: “Made breakfast for me and son” “Got dressed”

Two notebooks later I could write things as “Thought of a morning routine” And eventually “completed full morning routine”

I have recovered but still have setbacks as I have recurring depression episodes. My son is now 9 years old and he kind of knows what is going on when I have one of the episodes and he knows about the notebooks. To this day I still use them. It has never gotten back to just one line a day. Most beautiful thing? If I can’t think of something……….. my son can think of something.

I have even come across some things HE wrote down for me without me knowing. They’re like secret little surprises to find at night. Those are the BEST motivators!”

4. Give yourself permission.

“I gave myself permission to do nothing. This permission removed feelings of guilt & anxiety about the inactivity.

Then, once I had given myself permission, I relaxed and rested. My body and mind needed that.

Eventually, I got better and felt like doing something again.”

5. You gotta do it.

“Forced myself to see a doctor and get on meds.

Nothing in my life and relationships with people changed, no trigger.

After months I just picked one of those rare “motivated enough to go make myself a sandwich” moments and dragged my *ss to the hospital instead.”

6. Big improvement.

“I had a bad bout of depression the end of last year. I wasn’t going to end it, I don’t think, but I didn’t care if I died.

Just straight apathy for living and everything.

On my absolute worst night, after an entire day of sitting on the side of the bed and staring at the floor, I called my mother. It was late and though we are close, I don’t often call her out of the blue. She knew something was wrong when she answered.

The next day I made an appointment with a doctor and a therapist. I got on medication to fix my non-existent seratonin and started opening up about my feelings with professionals, friends, and family. I realized how much people cared about me.

As the meds started to build up, I found myself exercising everyday, just like pushups and planks and stuff. I started buying more fruits. I eat a lot of berries. All this made me feel physically better.

After a few weeks I got passed up for a job that I had interviewed twice for, thought I had, really wanted, and kind of needed. It didn’t put me into a crashing depression. I was disappointed but it was just a problem to overcome.

Depression is a sickness just like anything else. I totally understand that many of the Americans reading this don’t have insurance but a month supply of lexapro using the Good Rx app is dirt cheap.

I hope the people reading this can find a purpose and a happiness. Life is neat. I know it sucks for you right now though.”

7. Man’s best friend.

“My dog has helped so much with my anxiety and depression.

I would see him just living in the moment and started making attempts at savoring the moment when I felt good. A nice breeze on a hot day, baby animals, a sunset. And then I discovered mindfulness, which led to practicing gratitude and loving-kindness.

I wanted to have more energy to play with my dog so I paid better attention to my diet. The way I used to before I developed a chronic illness. My dog is one of my biggest motivators.”

8. Support system.

“Honestly, my friends and family.

I’ve been so deep into depression that I spent 2 days trying to take my own life. Repeatedly. I remember that I texted my best friend how I was feeling but she didn’t answer so I immediately thought she hated me and wanted me dead. I climbed up on my balcony and almost threw myself off it. But my neighbor came home and I didn’t want to traumatize them.

I ended up in hospital hours later but I was released. My friend texted back and her message was “I wish I texted you back sooner.” But what really sealed the deal was that I was in the psych ward following another suicide attempt. My entire family (unknown to me) was cleaning and refurbishing my apartment. I called my sister to check on my cat when I heard my other little sister.

She didn’t know where I was exactly, she just knew I wasn’t feeling right in my head so she kept repeating “I love you, I love you” Over and over to make sure I heard her. Sometimes I still want to die but then I remember her repeating “I love you” And suddenly I can either find the strength to continue or check myself into a mental ward.”

9. It’s a big world.

“Astronomy.

Something about realizing how huge the universe is & still I was born. For what? Maybe just to be. For so long my depression came from not living up to the expectations I thought I should’ve been. So many people live searching for a purpose, but you ARE the purpose.

Out of all the planets in all of the systems in the WHOLE universe, we found ourselves in the one planet we know of that can sustain life.

Also changing the way I see religion as a result. I was taught (catholic) that we must live good lives to please this man in the sky. But with astronomy I started seeing everything different. To me, God is the universe. It created itself, & created us.

Not for a greater purpose, but just to live. We don’t have to strive to be a perfect human because we are already living in this heaven that as far as we know is the only one. I don’t want to live my whole life for this after life & miss the one Im in.

Perspective changed.”

10. Time to eat.

“Eating.

Doesn’t matter if you want to do it or not, your body needs it so badly. It takes a lot of work to get to the kitchen and scavenge some leftovers or a big snack, but it pays off wonderfully.

It might not make you happy, but it helps give you a little boost of energy to take care of yourself through the day.”

11. Time to move on.

“Quit my job.

On week 3 now of unemployment and never been happier. Turns out my soul sucking job of 6+ years as an accountant has been slowly killing me inside to the point of being suicidal. I’d been doing the job of 3 people for 2+ years (sh*tty company=high turnover issue – shocker) and I fully intended on sticking it out at least 1 more tax season before quitting.

But the first ~2 weeks of January were so bad, workload wise, the worst ever in my entire 6 years working there, that I put my notice in for the end of Jan.

Taking a few months off to work on myself and re-discover my hobbies and interests again before looking for another job, hopefully less soul sucking. I realize most people don’t have this luxury but quitting that sh*thole has given me life back.”

Have you ever been able to snap out of a deep depression?

If so, how did you do it?

Please tell us your stories in the comments. Thanks!

The post How Did You Get Out of Deep Depression? Here’s How People Responded. appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

People Discuss How They Deal With Their Depression

We’re in the dark, freezing months of the year right now and this is when depression really rears its ugly head for a lot of people out there.

Gray skies, more hours of darkness, and freezing temperatures can really do a number on peoples’ mental health so it’s important to take care of yourself.

How do you cope with your depression?

Let’s see what folks on AskReddit had to say about this.

1. Seems to work.

“I like to go outside and write songs.

I act like I’m someone important that people need to survive.

It’s weird, but it works sometimes.”

2. The little things.

“I don’t suffer from major depression, so I know that this may seem rather flyweight. I go for walks.

I put my favorite music on while I’m driving and sing along. If I’m at home (alone–I get embarrassed), I’ll put on some really fun music and dance. I watch stand-up comedy for a laugh.

I’ll allow myself to indulge in some nice chocolate. And I give myself small tasks that I can easily accomplish and pat myself on the back for getting them done.”

3. Depression lies.

“I stubbornly keep on breathing and I ignore everything my head thinks.

Depression lies.

I have a check list on the fridge of things I forget: keep warm, drink tea, take Zinc, being overwhelmed is a symptom you are quite fierce in reality, wear hat, eat proteins before noon, brush teeth before noon.”

4. Dealing with it.

“I have been struggling with anxiety and depression throughout all of Middle School, and into High School. Except no one knows about it, so everyone just thinks I’m fine.

But I don’t talk about it, because I am concerned about how people would react. Which really just makes everything worse. But some things I have done to help my self. I focus on the things that I do have. I am lonely and don’t have many friends but, I realized that thinking senselessly about the people who don’t care about me, doesn’t help at all and makes things worse.

But focusing on who cares about me, make me feel happy and cared for. Additionally, I have started a journal to record my thoughts that I have, when I go through a mental breakdown. Writing it down, helps me think about it more, and cope with it.”

5. Belt it out.

“I sing.

I get anxious a lot and have problems because of it. But when I sing I feel like all my problems are gone.

Also, I read! When I read I’m not me anymore, I’m the book character and that takes all my problems away.”

6. Clear your head.

“I like to walk around outside, I feel like it clears my thoughts.

One of my main things to do is to pour all of my emotions into something physical, ie a drawing, and then destroy it. Listen to happy music, read, take a bath are standard go-to’s. Hope this helps!

And remember you’re loved, wanted and needed in this world. also If you feeling suicidal please call a hotline, the world needs you.”

7. All kinds of things.

“I like to sit and think. some times I will draw and listen to music. I will play my favorite video games and chat with friends. but my favorite thing to do was to make up a new friend in my head then I would talk to them as if they were a therapist.

I like to do that because I feel it is easier to talk and vent to some that are not real then to talk to someone that might tell others. I do this a lot for more than just depression and it really helps if you have.

People say that I’m too old for an “imaginary friend” but I mean they are there for when you are sad and don’t want to talk o someone that’s real.”

8. Comforting.

“I do things that comfort me.

I mostly just watch RuPaul’s drag race, eat food and play video games.

I honestly just ignore it and let it build up. It’s not healthy but I like it.”

9. Ways to survive.

“I’ve dealt with major depression for almost 20 years now. A few ways I survive:

1. Give my dog (who’s passed away, so now my cat) a hug. I also talk(ed) to them

2. Read. Live in that world instead of mine

3. Listen to music

4. Journal (including keeping a gratitude journal), and just go back and reread

5. Sleep, so I don’t feel anything.”

10. Very aware.

“I try not to give myself to much importance. Meaning it’s okay not to succeed or to miss work.

The world doesn’t revolves around you. You are not that important.

For me, it takes all the stress off my shoulder and I can just simply be instead of doing and having.”

11. Escape from reality.

“Reading sci-fi and fantasy adventure books, the further they are from our reality, the better.

Also working with my hands, and doing something good for others (I’m currently renovating my mom’s apartment).”

12. Whatever works for you.

“I have depression & anxiety.

I used to believe it when I was told by media in various forms and by specialists that working or volunteering in something you care about, always helps people with depression. It Doesn’t. Never believe that something Helps Everyone. I had a breakdown, then started volunteering after a while – that caused things to get worse.

How do I cope with depression? I read, if I’m reading I can mostly forget the real world, my real situation, my real future, I feel a bit better. My other coping mechanism is to sleep, even with nightmares sleep is far better than being awake.

If the anxiety worsens at the same time as the depression and becomes very, very bad I lie on my bed and look out the window. I can’t do anything else except get to the bathroom as needed. It’s like a weird paralysis.

In years past, I would cope with depression by drawing a picture daily of how my day had been. Write down 5 good things each day. Write. Just write. Thoughts, fears, worries, hopes, regrets, anything.

Lie on the lounge with my doona and a pillow while my mother did things and I would just watch and we would talk unless I was too bad, then I just observed and Mum did her things and talked to me.”

Now we’d like to hear from you

In the comments, share some tips that you use to deal with depression.

Thanks in advance!

The post People Discuss How They Deal With Their Depression appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

People Share the Secret Battles They Are Currently Fighting in Life

People say that everyone out there is fighting a secret battle. It could be health-related, it could be depression, sadness, rage, money troubles, love troubles, etc. The point is that everyone is dealing with something.

AskReddit users shared the private battles they are currently enduring.

Remember to be kind to everyone and help people out whenever you can. You never know what people are going through.

1. Terrible.

“My mother has weeks or months left… Doctors aren’t optimistic, but this is indeed my last holiday with her.”

2. Still haunted.

“My mom died unexpectedly in December of 2011.

I am haunted by all the ‘what ifs’, ‘should haves’, and ‘never agains’.”

3. Torn apart.

“Honestly….depression. Cancer has literally torn my family apart. I lost my biological father, my stepfather, 2 aunts and numerous cousins to it. My daughter doesn’t have it but she stays sick, a lot.”

4. Hang in there!

“Diagnosed with 2 different types of cancer this year. And surgery, radiation. Starting to recover and figuring out what life will be like from here on out as I turn 40 in 3 months.”

5. A dark abyss.

“Trying to continue life with my daughter gone. I miss her so much every day. I’m fighting the guilt that’s constantly eating me alive because I didn’t protect her. I should’ve been more watchful but I failed my sweet baby. Life is nothing but a dark abyss without her and I’m not sure I’ll ever see light again.”

6. Staying clean.

“Going through methadone treatment while my two brothers are still using drugs. I’m clean now but it’s still a tough battle, especially because we live together.

I appreciate all the support and kind words reddit peeps. I’m in the middle of tapering down already, 30 mg left, and if anyone is facing a similar struggle just know YOU CAN DO IT! You’re the master of your own destiny.”

7. My psychosis.

“Psychosis. I’m under immense pressure to try and seem normal, to laugh like I’m normal and react and talk and socialize like I’m normal. But it’s hard when I’m hearing and feeling things that aren’t real, or when I believe things that make other people get weirded out. I feel like I’m at constant war with my head and I want so hard to just seem well-adjusted, and to not be fucking annoying all the damn time.”

8. Looking for a job is demoralizing.

“Currently dealing with unemployment and trying to stay positive in the sea of rejection letters. Luckily, I have an interview coming up but that is stressing me out because I don’t what I’m going to do if that doesn’t go well.”

9. Still grieving.

“It’s been a while since my husband died and no one talks about him anymore, it’s as though he never existed but I still grieve for him every single day.”

10. Exhausted.

“I just wish I existed outside of my own fucking head. Attempts at reaching out met with indifference feels like contempt after so long. .

3 people I love have died in the last year. I feel so fucking alone.

Nobody is having an easy time and I can barely think of anything positive, and when I do and share it, indifference is what I’m met with.

It’s exhausting. I don’t want to do this anymore for no reason.”

11. Reality.

“I have a baby with serious health issues who will likely have disabilities.

There are a lot of other things along with that situation.

Sprinkle in my own anxiety disorder / depression… Struggling mightily with life right now.

I don’t see it getting better. This is my new reality.”

12. A shell of my former self.

“Depression, Anxiety, PTSD.

Car accident at 16 left me clinically dead and in a coma. Massive anxiety from that along with PTSD.

Last year I lost my S/O because of a drunk driver.

I have horrific nightmares about both incidents. I’m a shell of my former self.”

13. This is sad.

“I want to kill myself, but I’m the only person who gives a crap about and helps my disabled friend in another state who is routinely abused and taken advantage of.

I mean, I guess I also don’t want to hurt my parents, but they should have thought ahead before reproducing when they knew how fucked-up their heads were. But my friend never asked for a neurological disorder. She doesn’t deserve to suffer alone.”

14. He doesn’t need to know.

“My kid is dying. Incurable, fatal disease. My wife and I decided to tell no one, not even family, because at that point our little boy will find out, and why does he need to know? He just needs to be a little boy and enjoy the life he has.”

15. Heartbroken.

“The girl i thought i was gonna marry broke up with me. I’ve been going through a faith crisis which has always been huge for me. I just feel so broken and lonely…”

The post People Share the Secret Battles They Are Currently Fighting in Life appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

The FDA Is Fast-Tracking a Second Psilocybin (Aka Shrooms) Drug to Treat Depression

If you’ve ever struggled with depression, then you know how difficult it is to find the right medication and the right dosage. People often spend months trying to find the right combination that works for them because no two people are the same, and doctors need to adjust.

Well, there might be some pretty good news on that front coming soon in the form of an unexpected source.

The FDA has given the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin a “Breakthrough Therapy” designation for the second time in just over a year. Psilocybin is the compound that gives “magic mushrooms” their hallucinogenic powers.

Magic mushrooms

The Breakthrough Therapy designation is meant to expedite drugs for development and review by the FDA. Furthermore, the designation is only given to drugs and therapies that have been shown to be effective in treating medical conditions in the preliminary phases.

Last year the FDA granted a Breakthrough Therapy designation to a company called Compass Pathways for using psilocybin to help with treatment-resistant depression. This type of depression has been shown to not improve with two or more traditional therapies. Also, earlier this year, the FDA approved a nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression that is intended to mimic the positive effects of the hallucinogenic drug ketamine. Remarkably, his was the first new antidepressant approved by the FDA in decades.

Depression

The difference with the new Breakthrough Therapy designated drug is that this time it is focused on major depressive disorder, which affects at least 17 million adults in America. The new research will go through the Usona Institute in Madison, Wisconsin, where trials will study how depressed patients do after being treated with one dose of psilocybin.

Most likely, it will be several years before any products related to this study would potentially hit the market.

Depressed

Still, this is good news for the millions of people out there struggling with depression.

Are hallucinogens the wave of the future? Seems like the 60s all over again…

What do you think about potentially using hallucinogenic drugs to treat cases of depression? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The post The FDA Is Fast-Tracking a Second Psilocybin (Aka Shrooms) Drug to Treat Depression appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Cows in Russia Are Wearing Virtual Reality Headsets Showing ‘Summer Fields’ to Combat Their Winter Depression

In Russia, cows are getting a new tool to help fight the winter blues that a lot of us deal with. A dairy farm in that country is outfitting its cows with virtual reality headsets to help the animals tone down their anxiety and to fight their winter depression. The moooooove (see what I did there?) is also intended to boost milk production from the farm animals.

The headsets display green fields and pastures to the cows in order to make them feel more relaxed. The project is taking place at RusMoloko farm, outside of Moscow.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Moscow Region said that the virtual reality headsets have achieved “a decrease in anxiety and an increase in the overall emotional mood of the herd.”

The plan is to monitor the cows wearing the headsets to see if their milk production increases throughout the winter. The ministry said that “technology improvements should impact the industry as a whole.”

In addition to the look of green fields and pastures, the developers of the virtual reality headsets gave the design a predominantly red color scheme because studies have shown that cows see red better than other colors of the spectrum.

Is this the wave of the future in farming? Will the results show that the impact of these VR headsets is positive among the cattle and this technology become commonplace for animals?

Time will tell…

But I think I might need to get my hands on one of these for myself this winter.

The post Cows in Russia Are Wearing Virtual Reality Headsets Showing ‘Summer Fields’ to Combat Their Winter Depression appeared first on UberFacts.