[Sliders]

Hi all,

I thought for a little I was doing a bit better. Now I feel like I'm spiraling downwards. I've tried to cheer myself up but it doesn't seem to be working.

How do you pick yourself up when you're feeling bad??

[Dontspeak]

Well there's pick yourself up, hey cheer up dude, and there's spiraling down, which to me suggests intervention. Are you in therapy and do you have a pdoc? Has there been a change to your medicine? Do you live with family?

You are not alone

[Sliders]

Yes in therapy and have a pdoc. I recently raised my antidepressant med. I also do live with family.

Thanks for the support.

[Dontspeak]

Are you talking to them about how you are feeling? Because I know for me, when it's at it's worse is actually when I hide it! Cookoo! So don't do that. These things are usually quick to fix. If it's just your run of the mill blues for your typical life sucks reasons, this seems like a good place to be. When I'm down I watch a ton of television. Marathon style. There is a thread on the main page started by someone dealing with depression that is several pages long now. If you cruise around, you'll probably find people going through your exact situation, and if you don't, and you feel like opening up about, tell your story and people will write back to you.

Do you like your doctors, family? Feel like you can talk to the people in your life too?

[Sliders]

Thanks for your advice. Yes I have opened up to all of them about how I am feeling.

[Sliders]

Any other advice anyone has would be appreciated.

Nothing I do can get me out of a depression when I'm in the thick of it. I try to keep my mind occupied but fail. I try to stay busy but chronic pain keeps me secured to my bed or couch. I get stuck in my head and anything someone offers as a pick me up just makes me feel worse and more like a loser because I can't even enjoy petting my beautiful dogs. Time and meds are my only hope. If I'm in a mild depression, I try to avoid romancing it. I don't watch sad movies or read sad books. I'm able to watch a comedy or have a fun chat with my husband or mom. But severe depression has no insta-cure that I've found. Let me know if you find the secrets.

[gina_re]

Originally Posted by Sliders

How do you pick yourself up when you're feeling bad??

Honestly, I try and sleep it off (which never actually works) or just lose myself in tv land. I don't think there is any set way to pull yourself out of depression. If that were the case, we wouldn't be here. So in my opinion, it's more about distracting yourself from the depressed feelings. Obviously sleeping and tv watching isn't the healthiest way to go about it, but if it makes you happy, well there you go. When depressed, it's hard to do what truly makes you happy, but I would think of those things and maybe start from there. Say you like cooking, watch a cooking show. You're not actually cooking but you may learn something new. Or maybe you like gardening, well if you have an adult coloring book, color some floral pictures.
I'm not sure if this is making any sense right now, but I hope you're able to find some relief from your depression. Please take care.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by Sliders

Hi all,

I thought for a little I was doing a bit better. Now I feel like I'm spiraling downwards. I've tried to cheer myself up but it doesn't seem to be working.

How do you pick yourself up when you're feeling bad??

Don't interact with people. Accept that depression lifts when depression lifts. Don't think about thing but about feelings (so also not their consequences). Think about what you'll do after your depression. Think about what may have caused it. Feelings don't lie, thoughts do.

Take care.

Spiralling is the time to catch it, so it is good you're recognizing that, sliders. (ElsaMars' post reminded me.)

My main coping technique is distraction, usually taking the form of dvd watching (not enough concentration to read, but if you can, go for it.)

Getting into motion is good. Outdoors is good (if it's not too overwhelming). Walk. Run or ride a bike. Maybe put on some music and bop around a bit to it.

Take a shower with a washcloth or loofah or something and do a good scrubbing. Get the circulation going. Maybe finish the shower with an icy blast.

Do you do art? Sometimes people like the brain space doing puzzles brings. Have you tried coloring? It's very "in" in the world of distraction/re-focus these days.

I know. It is not easy, even at the "lesser" levels of depression. But so worth trying. Might not pull you out, but they can fill some gaps of time at least in the meanwhile.

[Sliders]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have been trying to distract with reading and watching some tv.

[jemmi2016]

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; }a:link { } I think that it is definitely possible to recognize and stop the downward spiral. The method may not always be obvious. Sometimes, paradoxical interventions work best. Like participating in some extreme sports/events. Obviously, energy level can be an issue. But sometimes it is possible to find activity that doesn't require much energy, like an amusement ride. But yeah, I actually used old good Cipralex to get through some difficult times in college. So I would never discount that type of intervention as well.