has anyone found that doing math, geometric puzzles or problems helps a lot? i found this out by accident, and it works most of the time. as soon as i realize i'm spiraling down i start doing problems. usually i try to do one or two a day so that i don't have to ramp up during the next "episode".
Tips for the depressed
201–210 of 224 posts
Re: Tips for the depressed
#202I have struggled with "depression" for decades. Now I'm healed. I went to countless psychiatrists, took drugs and everything. I didn't really help much. I told them I feel bad, they labeled me "depressive" without trying to find out what is really going on. In the the end I had to find it out by myself. The depression was just a symptom. The main cause of it was a social phobia. None of the therapists ever addressed…
how did you improve your social phobia?
Re: Tips for the depressed
#203Re: Tips for the depressed
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
> " For that matter, is there a link between depression and feeling overwhelmed with tasks all the time? " If you're talking about work tasks, that seems more likely to be from occupational burnout. Here's a comparison chart that might be helpful: https://mdedge-files-live.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/files/s...
I'm talking about both work tasks, and personal. Surprisingly I can get through assigned work tasks typically without issue. It is the tasks that I set out for myself that I have a problem with. Which fits in with why I'm primarily in a systems administration / engineering role -- I can pull on my decades of experience to solve tasks readily, however whenever I have to do a programming / design related task (which I…
I remember this thread, so maybe you can.
Boss as a Service – Hire a boss, get stuff done
Re: Tips for the depressed
#205Earlier quoted context omitted.
But can a reader who's truly depressed think as rationally as Nietzsche and make sense of it? Because of the views around suicide and how it can be seen as an "out" for issues that are actually only temporary, associating suicide with hope in any sense could be counterproductive. You have to make these people understand. Sometimes they never intend to understand, and only take the parts that validate their preexistin…
One could also view seriously depressed people as extremely lucid. (If it's not brain damage induced of course)
I never really understood the point of view that depressed people somehow are more realistic, seeing things as they “really are”, while non-depressed people are overly optimistic. Maybe it’s true in the limited setting of a study, but depressed people tend to behave in ways that are basically irrational and counterproductive: staying in bed, passively ruminating about the future, procrastinating and avoiding useful/enjoyable activities, etc. These are not the actions of a rational person, and many (perhaps not all) depressed people would feel somewhat better if they didn’t engage in these types of activities. It’s definitely hard to change this type of behavior, and change is not a magic cure, but it is a useful component.
The reason why I believe the “depressed people are just seeing the world as it really is” line of thinking is harmful is that it encourages people to believe that their depression is simply the result of their accurate world view, and that trying to change things in order to feel better would mean they have to fool themselves.
Re: Tips for the depressed
#206This will make a neat self-checkup downward spiral detection checklist. I have one, but it's three items, and I'm not happy with it, I'm still struggling to be aware of how I am on any given day or any given moment.
My current three points are "Feeling sexy?", "Endlessly arguing invisible opponent?", and "Light is fucking annoying?"
Re: Tips for the depressed
#207I have struggled with "depression" for decades. Now I'm healed. I went to countless psychiatrists, took drugs and everything. I didn't really help much. I told them I feel bad, they labeled me "depressive" without trying to find out what is really going on. In the the end I had to find it out by myself. The depression was just a symptom. The main cause of it was a social phobia. None of the therapists ever addressed…
How did you discover these facts about yourself?
Re: Tips for the depressed
#208I was depressed for sometime till I found I've low T, once I supplemented it depression disappeared. I wonder why doctors don't ask you to get your T level checked when they find you depressed instead of prescribing antidepressants.
How are you taking it?
I can't answer for him, but typically it is 100mg/wk for testosterone replacement. This can be taken once a week. For body building administration is usually done twice weekly. There is a newer cream that is applied to the scrotum, otherwise it is usually injection.
If you are doing TRT testicular atrophy usually isn't a concern although it could be a cosmetic concern. Taking human chorionic gonadotropin will preserve testicular function but may not return the look of your saggy nads.
Re: Tips for the depressed
#209I was depressed for sometime till I found I've low T, once I supplemented it depression disappeared. I wonder why doctors don't ask you to get your T level checked when they find you depressed instead of prescribing antidepressants.
Testosterone has a lot of side effects people don't like: "male pattern baldness", hair growth pretty much everywhere else, acne, breast growth, changes in libido (either direction). Testosterone has been implicated in reduced longevity in men, too. As you note, it can have significant impact on emotional wellbeing, and that can also go either way.
If anything those are good reasons to pursue increasing T levels without those side effects. This may be possible if the cause is environmental. The speed with which testosterone levels have been dropping in men seems to indicate it is not natural selection.
There are plenty of people who would trade feeling better for a longer shitty life.
Re: Tips for the depressed
#210I largely agree with all the advice here. I dropped out of college due to depression, then I torched my tech career with a manic episode that led me straight from a FAANG SWE job to an involuntary psych ward patient for a month, which was followed by a half year brutal depression. I’ve done a lot of research and I think psychiatry is pseudoscience and antidepressants are largely placebo. I’m really on the mindfulness…
> I’ve done a lot of research and I think psychiatry is pseudoscience and antidepressants are largely placebo. For you. There are many causes of depression, and many reactions to the depression and to the various treatments. For me, the very day I started taking an SSRI I felt physically different. My brain felt slightly too large for my skull, and it felt "fizzy." That, and the loose stools, went away after a time.…
>We have serotonin receptors in our digestive system, to guard against swallowing poisonous seeds.
Nobody knows the purpose of serotonin in the gut [0]. The fact that you've accepted this theory as fact suggests to me that you've also drank the kool-aid with respect to the role of Serotonin in depression, which is very controversial.
Also the fact that you experienced results with SSRIs in such a short timespan (placebo-controlled trials have found depressive symptoms don't get better for months) suggests to me you are experiencing a placebo effect and not some adjustment of a 'chemical condition'.
And this is fine, and I'm happy for you, but I don't think it's unreasonable to demand a better treatment than placebo. The placebo effect has also been shown to be very strong with cancer patient, but placebo wouldn't be an acceptable treatment for them.