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Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

zakhomuth.com

21–30 of 105 posts

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#21

I don't want to be pedantic, but this is not depression. Depression is 6 months without a single high point. Depression is not a roller coaster- there are no ups. Just down. For a long fucking time. I've been depressed off and on for the past 10 years- about 5 depressive periods, each 6-18 months. I don't want to minimize the OP's struggles- he most certainly has some kind of mood disorder (possibly rapid-cycling bip…

Perhaps you should see Bipolar / Manic Depressive disorder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder

There are many forms of depression as well as Major Depressive Disorder.

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#22
post #20

If you have a depression you need help. Talk to your doctor, and don't dismiss the assistance of drugs. Also exercising is known to help against depression.

If you have any kind of trouble with depression the first thing you should always check is that you exercise and eat right. It really makes a huge difference. You may also need to experiment with different drugs to find one that works for you but you're wasting your time if you don't exercise. EXERCISE!

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#23
1. Eat slow burning carbs. This has the double effect of forcing you to eat slower[ie you will eat less] and giving you a longer lasting energy.

2. Eat foods that will enhance dopamine: banana, avocado, almond nuts, ginseng, tangerine, red clover.

3. Keep away from food you are allergy too.

4. 10 minutes of exercise can get endorphins pumping but for a good kick, look for like 20mins. [You might struggle to get your first 10mins in but push through]

5. Give friends a call[maybe even by cam], better yet visit them.

6. Go get three massages[consecutive days] or ask a friend to give you a hand massage.

7. Cinnamon and Honey Tea. Mix a teaspoon of cinnamon and honey in hot water[about a cup]. Cinnamon and Honey both have anti-bacterial properties and strengthen the immune system.

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#24

I don't want to be pedantic, but this is not depression. Depression is 6 months without a single high point. Depression is not a roller coaster- there are no ups. Just down. For a long fucking time. I've been depressed off and on for the past 10 years- about 5 depressive periods, each 6-18 months. I don't want to minimize the OP's struggles- he most certainly has some kind of mood disorder (possibly rapid-cycling bip…

Major episodic depression only has to last two weeks or so to be a clinical episode, but what I read in between the lines is a general dysthymia punctuated by some nasty episodes. But I am not a clinician. :)

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#25
post #23

1. Eat slow burning carbs. This has the double effect of forcing you to eat slower[ie you will eat less] and giving you a longer lasting energy. 2. Eat foods that will enhance dopamine: banana, avocado, almond nuts, ginseng, tangerine, red clover. 3. Keep away from food you are allergy too. 4. 10 minutes of exercise can get endorphins pumping but for a good kick, look for like 20mins. [You might struggle to get your…

I concur that diet and general physical well-being, as well as social interactions, do indeed matter very much, and apparently heavily influence in often not obvious ways our mood and outlook.

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#26
Speaking as a straight male:

Surround yourself with beautiful women; it's hard to get sad around beautiful women. I'm no stranger to the darkness, and I know that in some environments, I feel everyday, just as you do.

Force a change, go somewhere else. I found SV to be beautiful, but how long can you really stay in a male-dominated atmosphere, and still stay sane/happy? I know this sounds really shallow, but pause for a moment and think about it. Regardless of what's logical, sometimes you need to surrender to your base instincts - especially when you're dealing with illogical, irrational emotions.

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#27

I don't want to be pedantic, but this is not depression. Depression is 6 months without a single high point. Depression is not a roller coaster- there are no ups. Just down. For a long fucking time. I've been depressed off and on for the past 10 years- about 5 depressive periods, each 6-18 months. I don't want to minimize the OP's struggles- he most certainly has some kind of mood disorder (possibly rapid-cycling bip…

I am sympathetic both to your comment, and those replying to it. I think what this suggests is that modern psychiatry does not have a rich enough understanding of the enormous variety of mood disorders involving depressed states. If it did, we'd probably have less confusing names for them.

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#28

Speaking as a straight male: Surround yourself with beautiful women; it's hard to get sad around beautiful women. I'm no stranger to the darkness, and I know that in some environments, I feel everyday, just as you do. Force a change, go somewhere else. I found SV to be beautiful, but how long can you really stay in a male-dominated atmosphere, and still stay sane/happy? I know this sounds really shallow, but pause fo…

Surround yourself with beautiful women; it's hard to get sad around beautiful women.

If you actually do this, you may find that you'll be sad in a way that you never expected before. Fantasies unexpectedly realized are emptied of their purpose and become just another form of unsatisfactory reality.

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#29
post #15

Hi, Thanks for writing this, it's a brave and open and honest thing to do where people are afraid of doing those things. At a certain point, we have to get over what others think and get to figuring out what we think, and how it should be. I believe a person does whatever they do to find a certain amount of peace in themselves and their lives. I'd like to share some scraps I've scraped together on finding, and keepin…

[deleted]

Re: Sad, Tired, and Alone: My Ongoing Battle With Startup Depression

#30
post #15

Hi, Thanks for writing this, it's a brave and open and honest thing to do where people are afraid of doing those things. At a certain point, we have to get over what others think and get to figuring out what we think, and how it should be. I believe a person does whatever they do to find a certain amount of peace in themselves and their lives. I'd like to share some scraps I've scraped together on finding, and keepin…

You seem to be saying: "be peaceful". That is all well and good, but it is all theory, not very practical. It is like if you want to be happy, try to be happy. It is a cyclical argument.

I'm sorry to be bit critical here, but your comment sounded slightly as a self-help type of advice (which sounds very good but doesn't usually work -- it is addicting but didn't help a lot of people I know). What would really help someone are some concrete, practical steps.

If person knew how to be peaceful, happy, content, wouldn't s/he already be peaceful, happy and content?

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