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i'd say being around calm, relaxed and balanced people has helped me a lot.
a relaxed environment is really helpful.

and when you aren't in that kind of situation, get busy, do stuff.
the most common depressive forms feed off inactivity (when not being directly caused from it).

Don't fear the meds, and don't give up on meds in general if your first one doesn't work. For depression it's something of a crap shoot. It may seem like your doctor is just guessing, and that's sometimes true. It's typical to try two or three different meds before finding the right one. Nobody entirely understands exactly how they work. There are broad theories, but nothing predictive enough to get the meds right on the first try.

Recreational drugs (including booze) can greatly undermine using meds to regulate mood swings and depression. Give'em up, at least for a while, and give the meds a chance to do their thing.

wes9 wrote:
You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day!

Rock on, wes9!

Galanter makes a good point. Some meds work wonderfully on some people, and others are ineffectual or even counter-productive. Prozac's great on me; a friend of mine told me that he can't get past al dente with his wife when he takes the stuff. He takes Effexor. All that stuff did was make me sweat profusely, which made me sadder because I smelled bad to boot. C'est la vie.

A hearty bit of patience is needed, because a lot of these SSRIs and stuff take a few weeks to build up in your system before any effect is apparent. Even when it does, it's a subtle change, unlike the magical lifting of a headache after a few Aleves.

Take care.

Smokin' some pot before bed always did good things for me in the depression arena. I guess you could call this "escapism" or whatever, but shit man... its all chemicals, right? The next day I felt better, more appreciative and friendly. Most people have the opposite effect though.

Exercise, something totally foriegn to me until recently, is the ticket. Cardiovascular exercise, in its own weird way, changes your mood on a very fundamental level. Its not a conscious change so much, but rather a change in "who you are." If you can't run on a treadmill, take long walks.

Go to the doctor too, as its damn near impossible to motivate yourself when you're depressed.

Matt,
I don't have anything to add to the great advice people have already offered. I just want you to know that I'm pulling for you and hope you find the solution that's right for you. Hang in there.

(Maybe a day trip to Tinkertown would be a nice distraction. Grab a bag of nickels and your girl and spend them all.)

wes9 wrote:These Des'ree lyrics usually help me through rough periods. Just play the song as loud as possible on infinite repeat:


Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry


You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day!

That made me lol. The people around me now think I'm crazy.

mattw,
Fuck traditional exercise. Start Shovelglovin' asap.

Pure L wrote:Start Shovelglovin' asap.

Thats fucking brilliant. I really may have to go buy a sledgehammer this weekend.

NerblyBear wrote:The things that make me depressed have nothing to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain. These are: a shitty, repetitive day job; irritating people; bad music; and sitting through bad movies. These are the worst things in the world.

This isn't the case at all. Most of these day-to-day annoyances are easy to laugh off when in the right frame of mind.

Braden wrote:

NerblyBear wrote:The things that make me depressed have nothing to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain. These are: a shitty, repetitive day job; irritating people; bad music; and sitting through bad movies. These are the worst things in the world.

This isn't the case at all. Most of these day-to-day annoyances are easy to laugh off when in the right frame of mind.

Just a note:

My experience of a severe depressive episode wasn't emotional at all. It was a complete LACK of emotion, mixed with a TOTAL lack of motivation. As in, unable to get out of bed. Unable to even think about doing anything. Completely flat emotional affect. I was dying to feel something, anything. Luckily, it hasn't happened for years.

Pretty horrible. Wouldn't wish it on most people.