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How would you describe depression?

Discussion in 'Loneliness' started by Verhart, Jul 24, 2016.

  1. Thanks for this @Verhart !
     
  2. Don Gately

    Don Gately Fapstronaut

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    I really didn't believe I was depressed. I figured if I could just nail down enough exercise, schedule my day right, meditate, pray, eat right, and work hard, the emotional unbalance, pain, anxiousness, loneliness, guilt, etc. would just go away. But even when I was doing those things pretty well, I felt like every happy moment was just a facade on a bleak life. I'm starting to recover, and one of the biggest things has been reading about people who actually got healthy again. I really didn't believe someone could be cured of depression, but it does happen. I've been taking a depression inventory test every so often that I found in the book Feeling Good (which I highly recommend), and I went from a 67 down to being in the 30s. Now, that means I still have depression and things to work on, but recognizing cognitive distortions and the guilt I was piling on myself that wasn't helpful has really alleviated a lot of pain.

    One quote that has helped me recognize that things were awry is from one of the LDS Church leaders. Elder Richard G. Scott said "The challenges you face, the growth experiences you encounter, are intended to be temporary scenes played out on the stage of a life of continuing peace and happiness. Sadness, heartache, and disappointment are events in life. It is not intended that they be the substance of life. I do not minimize how hard some of these events can be. When the lesson you are to learn is very important, trials can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining focus of everything you do. Your life can and should be wondrously rewarding. It is your understanding and application of the laws of God that will give your life glorious purpose as you ascend and conquer the difficulties of life. That perspective keeps challenges confined to their proper place—stepping-stones to further growth and attainment."

    I know some of you probably don't believe in God, but for me this teaching has been really important. It helped me realize that my beliefs were really not going to allow me to be happy, and I needed some help.
     
  3. Macca

    Macca Fapstronaut

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    Like falling down a deep dark rancid hole, and having no strength to climb out. If you summon strength and try to climb you just fall back down, usually deeper, over and over until you reach the conclusion "what's the fucking point?". There's no hope for today or the future. I know that there are many causes for depression. For me personally, having now climbed out of that hole, depression was a signal. I now understand big change was required in my life. Finding out quite what needs changing is the hard part. I was like a machine being fed dirty fuel, poorly maintained, not being used for the right task and overworked. No wonder I broke. Once I got myself running right my life started to change. That process took many years, hard work on my own with occasional visits to therapists. I think i would have recovered much quicker without my addictions. They fuck with clear thought. They hold you back, but that's the way it was. I cannot believe how weak I thought i was! But it was all in the mind. A horrible trick. Having reached sunlight I decided I needed a purpose for this life. We must have a mission in life to be healthy humans, a goal. As we journey to achieve that purpose we start to add extra things to our life, and we get stronger and stronger. I must say it again, I cannot believe how that very reserved, nervous, anxious, shy, mumbling and unhappy a man I was. Virtually the opposite of now. It's the same brain.
     
    Theshadowe, Merlionno and HopeFaith like this.
  4. Lone_Wolf

    Lone_Wolf Fapstronaut

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    I'm there now. Contemplating what to do.
     
    Mitchell's Way and AndySky180 like this.

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