How I Beat Depression

Fischer Wallace Cranial Stimulator + Neurotransmitter Supplements (5HTP, etc)

This is worth a try for anyone with depression. There are many different causes, but brain chemistry can be an issue caused by your lifestyle alone, as well as other stuff.

> I don't think one can actually beat depression but instead only really cope with the symptoms. I know that sounds awful and kind of defeatist (and I could be wrong) but I think the idea that you can actually conquer this disease sets you up for failure.

Honestly, for some people depression is effectively cured after a short course of treatment. Once you've treated the depression you develop skills for "resilience" (the new jargon term for 'coping with life'). Some of these skills involve CBT techniques; meditation and relaxation; mindfulness; and building networks of friends and family and developing activities.

Please stop.

You are promoting a stigmatising, out of date, notion of mental illness which is based on ignorance. You are suggesting (whether you know it or not) that some depression is "real" (and based on a chemical imbalance) and some depression is not real (and is not based on a chemical imbalance).

This is unhelpful, and potentially dangerous.

It leads people to think that medication is the only way to treat depression. Medication is not the only way to treat depression; medication alone is unlikely to be much use for long term resilience.

The "Chemical imbalance" model is too simple and has too many flaws to be much use.

When you're about to bunjee jump off a bridge you should be scared. When you're walking down a dark road you probably should feel some fear.

But some people fear death all the time - they're sitting at home, watching tv, and they can feel their heart beating, and they think it's beating in a weird way, and that causes them to feel fear, which causes a bunch of physical reactions. Tense muscles, sweating, breathing changes; the person becomes aware of these and instead of ascribing them to fear they think these are the start of a heart attack. This causes even more fear and anxiety. Their heart is now hammering. They are "hyper aware" of their heart beat and breathing and sweating. They may well feel pain. This is not "in their head". It is real actual pain. It is the same pain that you would feel if someone punched you in the arm. They call an ambulance. They are taken to hospital.

In that situation no doctor is going to say "Don't be stupid, you're not having a heart attack" (because people do have heart attacks), so the doctor will strap the person to all sorts of machines.

But this doesn't relieve the anxiety. If anything, it just makes things worse. "They wouldn't spend all this money and time if it was just anxiety! I wouldn't be in hospital for this long if there was nothing wrong!"

And, when all the results come back negative that doesn't relieve anxiety either. "Oh God! It must be really serious, because they can't find it on their tests! Maybe it's cancer!"

Anxiety disorders quickly develop a strong grip on sufferers. Behaviours can be extraordinary. You only have to see the rituals that people with OCD go through to realise this.

Not yet, ZenoArrow.

I'm "fear of fear", and I can't be strong enough to face up regular life situations. And I have to find a solution, I have to find the strenght to do something before summer comes. Hot wheter increases depression.

At the moment I'm trying to work less and study/read/distract more. I spend great time on the road by car on my own or with my girlfriend, going nowhere and listening to some music I used to listen when everything "was fine".

Some times I can't even remember "how I was" before the whole depression thing. I look at my old pictures and I think to myself: "I was this guy. Really? I used to go to concerts, meet a lot of people, everybody used to love me. Who am I now? And why?"