Dealing with Depression

[DA_Champion]

XtremelyBaneful,

For whatever it's worth, ultra-orthodox Jews can be just as repugnant and tribal as fundamentalist Muslims. Religion taken to the extreme thing is generally an ugly thing in my opinion.

 

[Lantern Venom]

So I'm in the beginning stages of depression again.

I was just wondering - does anyone else ever wonder that the reason it happens to you is that there is a part of you that sort of 'likes it in the gutter'? Kind of like an addiction?

There's something almost seductive about depresssion at first for me. It's like a sort of protective padding. That feeling of giving up and not caring can be really relieving when what came before the depression was stress/anxiety/confusion - like relaxing against a wall when your exhausted.

I have a lot of problems with addiction in my life that I try and manage. I'm basically just open to being addicted to anything (other than excersize or anything good for me). Alcohol, drugs, food, shopping, work etc

I was wondering if it's possible to be addicted to depression?

.

One of the usual aspects of addiction is the ease at which the behavior is performed. It is something that is quickly ingested (drugs, food, alcohol) or a process that is so familiar that the person (gambling, spending, affairs) that an episode is readily available to partake. While depression isn't classified as an addiction, it feels much easier wallow in those familiar feelings than to resist them. In that way, it may feel similar to an addiction.

Since I don't know your specific case history, here is an oft-used recommendation that I make for people who suffer from depression: yoga. It might sound silly or cliche', but there is science behind it:

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital have found that practicing yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels, the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. The findings, which appear in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, suggest that the practice of yoga be explored as a possible treatment for depression and anxiety, disorders associated with low GABA levels.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2007-05-yoga-elevated-brain-gaba.html#jCp

 

[DA_Champion]

Is that specifically yoga or any exercise that raises Gaba levels?

 

[Lantern Venom]

Is that specifically yoga or any exercise that raises Gaba levels?

Yoga has proven to surpass other forms of exercise in this area (although many forms of exercise have psychological benefits) due to the specific focus on concentration and lack of bodily antagonism.

 

[DA_Champion]

Yoga has proven to surpass other forms of exercise in this area (although many forms of exercise have psychological benefits) due to the specific focus on concentration and lack of bodily antagonism.

I wish I could you an upvote or reputation points.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

I don't know if I count but a few months back I was in a pretty bad state. Started off bad and got worse over like a month probably. I was basically a recluse and lost my appetite and all motivation. Some days I felt really empty and others I would just cry and others I would feel a little better just to go right back to rock bottom. But I kept it all bottled up pretty much. I talked to no one so I was just going insane dealing with it on my own. It was basically a pity party. I felt so alone even though I wasn't, sort of driving every bit of help away. I don't really know why.. But my mom finally broke through to me one night when I was being a drunk ******* and things finally changed. I started running and exercising, being more healthy. Getting some sun did me good. I got motivation to get off my ass and do stuff for myself. It's weird how good things started coming my way when I chose to make a change. I'm in such a drastically different place now and very much looking forward to what the future holds. I didn't think I'd be saying that back in those days. It sounds cliche but it's true.

 

[Anita18]

So I'm in the beginning stages of depression again.

I was just wondering - does anyone else ever wonder that the reason it happens to you is that there is a part of you that sort of 'likes it in the gutter'? Kind of like an addiction?

There's something almost seductive about depresssion at first for me. It's like a sort of protective padding. That feeling of giving up and not caring can be really relieving when what came before the depression was stress/anxiety/confusion - like relaxing against a wall when your exhausted.

Just giving in to emotionlessness, sitting there, arms slumped, not trying to be happy anymore.

The trouble is when it starts to eat at you (which is what is happening now).

That padding starts to feel like a wall between you and life. You can still see the other side of the wall... you can still remember how you used to be, that things in your life used to be fun, what enthusiasm felt like, what excitement felt like, what happiness felt like... but it's like looking at them through someone elses eyes.

I have a lot of problems with addiction in my life that I try and manage. I'm basically just open to being addicted to anything (other than excersize or anything good for me). Alcohol, drugs, food, shopping, work etc

I was wondering if it's possible to be addicted to depression?

It's not like it feels good... it really doesn't. It's like feeling sick or nauseous constantly... but in your brain rather than your stomach - you feel it all the time other than brief moments of distraction, but then the minute your reminded again it feels just as bad. You want to feel better so you try different treatments

But it's sort of familiar I guess. It calls to me like maleficent calling to aurora to prick her finger on the spinning wheel in Sleeping Beauty. Like this voice in the back of my head telling me it'd all be so much easier if I just stopped fighting it.

It doesn't feel good, but it feels safe, because your mind has been there before and it isn't anything new and scary. I think our bodies crave safety over anything else, at the end of the day.

Trying new things, breaking out of your comfort zone to make progress....if you aren't already used to that kind of uncertainty, your mind may crave safety even if it means going back to a depressive state.

I'm no expert, but friends have told me that it's important to keep active, to keep doing things even if you don't feel like doing them. Once you fall into a "I don't feel like doing anything" mindset, it spirals into a place where you aren't doing anything. It's hard though. My friend with crazy-bad depression with a lot of self-doubt and paranoia, she's in one of those funks right now and she's stopped seeing her therapist because she doesn't think the therapist is helping anymore, even though months ago she said she loved her therapist. But even though she doesn't think it helps during a funk, a funk is where she needs a therapist most.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Researchers predict with high accuracy if antidepressants will help

 

[The Bruce]

Depression, worry and angst is my default state of mind.

If I'm not feeling stressed or in emotional pain it's like something is missing.

I'm addicted to feeling like crap.

 

[Warhammer]

When you become accustomed to your predisposition, it becomes the norm.