How do u fight the depression?

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  • I keep falling apart. I will pick myself up gather all the motivation & inspiration in the world. I make a plan. Everything is great. I feel 100% confident that my mind is in this.

    And then something happens, a wrench is thrown into my plans. I get stressed, upset. Depression & my anxiety screams and yells at me and swallows me whole.

    I had lost some weight was so feeling great and then I took a bunch of steps backwards and gained 7 lbs.

    I can't keep yo-yoing, bouncing around 215-200lbs. I lose some, gain it back.

    How do I keep focused and stay motivated when my mind is working against me, feeding me evil/hateful thoughts and all I wanna do is lay in bed, cry & stuff my face?
  • I'm overweight because of anxiety and depression. Take care of your heart first, the weight will come off on it's own. our weight issues are a symptom of a bigger problem. Dieting often become an obsession which makes it worse.

    Time with a therapist/counselor is essential. It is totally worth the money. There are many low-income options. It's the best way for us to take care of ourselves and be better to those around us.
  • Well we don't know much about what you are dealing with so my info is very general.

    Take an approach to weight loss that is quite easy. I would suggest studying the books of Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis: The don't' go hungry diet and Don't go Hungry for life. I'm just reading the second one now.

    Although i am not following her approach to the letter, there is so much in it that is useful and practical for whatever you are doing and it could easily change your approach in the long term.

    Dr Amanda is not your typical diet doctor. She's a diet scientist and has good credentials. She conducts legitimate research into the subject of obesity and weightless through highly credible australian universities. She's not one of these people who are doing it for the money. For her its personal. She also has her own history of weight.

    So i struggle with depression too and i know how it undermines your bets intentions. you need to find every avenue of support you can access. therapy, forums, a helpful doctor and so on. And tackle all your real life issues.

    With mindfulness meditation a la the buddhists you can learn to down play the setbacks and take a lot of things a bit seriously so you are less troubled by them.

    For someone like you who's dealing with lots of stuff, you just have to take it steady and not expect to be gung ho and on project all the time. Just take things a day at a time. Take each moment as it comes. Forgive yourself for your setbacks and don't compound your problems by self punishing thoughts.

    And above all, be patient. Just take little steps to improving the way you eat, the lifestyle you lead and your activity levels. Get plenty of sleep at night.

    Take care.
  • For me personally, I go outside. Try to ground into my body. I smile when I am out. Doing that brings a lot of smiles back to me. I try to be happy. Be in recognition of the song of the birds. The smell and colors of the flowers. Stay engaged as much as possible. Often it is not easy or even attainable in the moment. But this is what helps me.

    Not all people who are depressed can do this. Many expereince depression that is extreme. What works for me does not work for everyone. For some, it is so much more severe and intense.
  • Loving myself and having compassion for my imperfect self has helped with the depression. Also, I try to make it a point to leave the house for the a while. That usually elevates my mood.
  • I am dealing with anxiety issues as well. One moment I'm doing very well and shortly after I start getting evil thoughts. I surf web and try to find motivational stuffs. I don't know what else to do.
  • I know this seems silly, but I have it posted at my desk at work. It helps.
  • I manage it with medication, foremost.

    I also stopped making some grand plan about losing weight and changed it to one day at a time, one good choice at a time, one meal at a time. I have a fit bit so I can see where I am in terms of getting to my 10,000 steps a day. I know that if I get those steps I will be healthier, my mood will be better and I will be out of the house for over an hour which gets me away from food.

    Before I was taking medication for my depression I found it very difficult to stick to any kind of regular diet or exercise regimen. I didn't care about anything due to my depression, so I didn't care about my diet or exercise (except for some fleeting moments of the fog lifting when I'd make grand plans, as you do, before the wave pulled me back under.)

    Seek treatment for your depression. It will help with everything.
  • Quote: I know this seems silly, but I have it posted at my desk at work. It helps.
    Thats just plain lovely. thanks for posting it
  • These are all great suggestions, and I hope you find something that works for you.

    I think it's a good idea to explore activities/hobbies and figure out a. what you like and b. what is healthy. When you can find things that fall in both of those groups, you might just find what you need. For me, it's dancing and tea.

    Self care is about more than exercising and eating your fruits and veggies. It's about taking care of yourself mentally, emotionally, spiritually (however that looks for you), and socially.

    And just like the cells in your body, everyone here cares, and they want you to succeed <3
  • It took me meds, some time in the hospital and therapy before I finally felst strong and confident enough to get to the weight problem. For losing weight I also use some tips I have learned for the rest of my problems there, like:

    - if you feel you can't do this now just start and try, you might find out you CAN
    - go one step after the other, dont do/change everything at once
    - try to find what works for YOU, not what works for others
    - be nice to yourself, and positive about yourself
    - be positive about what you do (like dont imagine how hard it will be to clean up, imagine how nice it will be after)

    etc...
  • Quote: I know this seems silly, but I have it posted at my desk at work. It helps.
    This is a good way of looking at it
  • Eat fish.

    There are studies that say it helps.

    It really helps my anxiety. I can wake depressed, eat fish for breakfast and the world is good again.

    That, and exercise which either chases away my demons or has me running away from them...not sure which.
  • Quote: Eat fish.

    There are studies that say it helps.

    It really helps my anxiety. I can wake depressed, eat fish for breakfast and the world is good again.

    That, and exercise which either chases away my demons or has me running away from them...not sure which.
    Ian I have heard that with exercise the "demons" as you call them, actually do leave. Its like the exercise clears out the body. I believe it can work.
    Amazing that your body reacts so positivily to the omega-3 oils. There is MD/Psychiatrist associated with Harvard who did a whole study on this. He ended up marketing omega 3 oils, at a high price of course, to treat depressive disorders. I think for some it can be a life saver.
  • Thanks flower123. On exercise, the vigorous stuff really does work. If I go for a long, fast run I feel so close to death that life's other problems take a very insignificant second!

    Fish is weirder. I do not take fish oil (often) but I do eat a lot of fish and far more than is recommended. Guidelines are to eat fish/seafood twice a week. I eat six portions....a day!

    I'll live by the fish or die by it. But so far I am willing to take my chances. It has had some amazing effects on my mental and physical well-being.

    (sorry too many death statements in one post!)