I don't take antidepressants, because whenever I have tried they seem to make me feel worse.

Here is what I do instead. I'm curious if others use these methods. I'm 47 and I've been depressed most of my life. These things help me function.

(1) I try to ride my exercise bike for about 90 minutes every day as vigorously as I can without injuring my knees.

(2) I try to have mild sex once a week even though I usually don't feel very interested. I'm not in a relationship, but I suspect there are chemicals from sexual arousal that help with depression.

(3) Just recently I've found that fasting helps. I wait until evening to eat or consume any calories, and the low blood sugar seems to help me relax and feel more self disciplined.

Right now I feel depressed, because my work-out apparently wasn't intense enough yesterday. Sometimes I feel like I'm addicted to exercise, but I feel so awful without exercise and nothing else helps. Even when I exercise, I often feel like crying afterwards even though I never cry. It seems like the depression is still there. I feel good from exercising, but I feel bad deep down.