Tonight things are just hitting me a lot harder. Just feeling like I am never good enough or can't seem to fix myself to make myself better. I know it is a tough road and I feel like I am letting my partner down by not getting better quicker. It is putting a strain on our relationship. Today I feel like I just want to disappear. Thar everyone's life will be better with out me in it making it complicated. I am just drained and almost to the point where I just don't want to ge near anyone at all. I feel like I have more bad days than good days and I am tired of faking like I am okay. It is draining. I just want to curl up in bed and not move for days. I know I have alot of things to live for. It is just so hard. I am trying to get better through alternatives besides prescriptions. I know I need to do something. Has anyone taken St. Johns Wort?
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Bad day
- Thread starter Rainydays2
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I've taken it but unfortunately it did nothing for me. If you've never done therapy I would advise trying that first. My psychiatrist mentioned that she only found SJW ever worked for mild depression, and it sounds like you might have at least moderate depression.
Since you want to avoid meds, I would also recommend exploring the ancient philosophy of Stoicism (it's not about suppressing emotions - the modern meaning of the word is different). Stoicism is more about emotional processing, trusting your own judgment, and not worrying what others think. It is excellent for dealing with anger (I've heard depression referred to as frozen rage). It has helped me tremendously with depression.
I can certainly send links for article and videos. It may help to know what specific challenges you may be dealing with - a stressful job, family pressure, difficult people or ?
Obviously many other things may help - exercise, certain vitamins, light therapy. My psychiatrist who I saw for 12 years was very open to alternative treatments and gave me a lot of advice. Again it would be useful to know what specific things are a problem for you atm - sleep? fatigue? Do you generally feel worse in the mornings or the evenings? Do you have a lot of anxiety? Do you tend to overeat or eat less with depression?
Most importantly - please be kind and respectful to yourself. You are ill. Don't beat yourself up for being ill. Treat yourself as you would a friend who was going through this. Ask for help if you have people you trust, or reach out to professionals. I'm not very enthusiastic about meds having tried over a dozen and none really worked for me but I have Atypical depression which may be why. However many people are helped by medication.
Since you want to avoid meds, I would also recommend exploring the ancient philosophy of Stoicism (it's not about suppressing emotions - the modern meaning of the word is different). Stoicism is more about emotional processing, trusting your own judgment, and not worrying what others think. It is excellent for dealing with anger (I've heard depression referred to as frozen rage). It has helped me tremendously with depression.
I can certainly send links for article and videos. It may help to know what specific challenges you may be dealing with - a stressful job, family pressure, difficult people or ?
Obviously many other things may help - exercise, certain vitamins, light therapy. My psychiatrist who I saw for 12 years was very open to alternative treatments and gave me a lot of advice. Again it would be useful to know what specific things are a problem for you atm - sleep? fatigue? Do you generally feel worse in the mornings or the evenings? Do you have a lot of anxiety? Do you tend to overeat or eat less with depression?
Most importantly - please be kind and respectful to yourself. You are ill. Don't beat yourself up for being ill. Treat yourself as you would a friend who was going through this. Ask for help if you have people you trust, or reach out to professionals. I'm not very enthusiastic about meds having tried over a dozen and none really worked for me but I have Atypical depression which may be why. However many people are helped by medication.
Other things that it wouldn't hurt to try (that have helped me).
- Getting up at the same time every day
- Doing grounding exercises in the morning to lower cortisol (just take a few minutes to focus on your feet on the ground and your connection to the earth and take a few deep breaths. Meditation is also excellent) Our cortisol (stress hormones) are higher in the morning, and most people worsen it by drinking coffee right away. Coffee is okay but half an hour or hour after waking is best, and obviously 1-2 cups a day should be max.
- Other anxiety reducing exercises if you suffer from anxiety (I can link)
- At night read a book rather than TV for the last hour before bed
- If you can't stay off the phone/computer, get a program like f.lux that red-shifts the light (blue light supresses sleep hormones).
If this advice hasn't helped, don't worry: there are many more helpful things out there. Depression is treatable. Most people experience a lessening of the depression with treatment.
Glad you are here. This is a good site with many kind people.
- Getting up at the same time every day
- Doing grounding exercises in the morning to lower cortisol (just take a few minutes to focus on your feet on the ground and your connection to the earth and take a few deep breaths. Meditation is also excellent) Our cortisol (stress hormones) are higher in the morning, and most people worsen it by drinking coffee right away. Coffee is okay but half an hour or hour after waking is best, and obviously 1-2 cups a day should be max.
- Other anxiety reducing exercises if you suffer from anxiety (I can link)
- At night read a book rather than TV for the last hour before bed
- If you can't stay off the phone/computer, get a program like f.lux that red-shifts the light (blue light supresses sleep hormones).
If this advice hasn't helped, don't worry: there are many more helpful things out there. Depression is treatable. Most people experience a lessening of the depression with treatment.
Glad you are here. This is a good site with many kind people.