I feel healthy - a FREE cure to mild, persistent depression?

[3Mer]

Since MMM endorses stoicism I though I might mention Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is loosely based on ancient stoic principles.  A good start is "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Dummies."  It can be done with a therapist or as self-help.

Thanks! I did not know Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was related to stoicism.  That is interesting.  Also, thanks for mentioning the book.

Kim

[poksim]

I would also like to promote cognitive behaviour therapy. I read this book and I can recommend it:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-Low-Self-Esteem-Books/dp/1849010684
There is another one in the same series called "Overcoming Depression", maybe it's a better buy for people who feel more depressed.

CBT therapy is very pragmatic, I don't know if I or anyone in my family suffers from clinical depression but atleast for me it just worked to read the book by myself without any expensive counselling. "Watching Netflix for 16 hours straight" is something I can very much relate to and the kind of habit I still fall in to. In the book, this is called a "rule for living". Basically the book tells you to write a kind of diary of every time you've thought bad about yourself, or every time you had a lapse in to unhealthy/unwanted behaviours. Pretty soon you start seeing patterns in the way you think about yourself and how you act in everyday situations, and if you compare it to situations you remember from your upbringing you can start understanding yourself. I have been bullied and ostracised a lot growing up. I thought I was over it, I never actually think about the things I've been through, or cry, I thought I was "done with it". I really don't care at all that about that I once was bullied, and I have many friends today. But through reading the book I could see how things that have happened to me have affected me subconsciously and made me program myself to follow my own "rules for living" that aren't grounded in reality and often make my life harder and more miserable. My thoughts and actions are based on my unrealistic and dark view of the world and myself, and it wasn't before I started writing them down and analysing them, with the help of this book, that I could start to see clearly. There are many things you don't understand about yourself until you start "looking at yourself from above".

[HAPPYINAZ]

You might find some useful nutritional advice regarding depression on NutritionFacts.org website.  You can search for all kinds of ailments and learn what the science has shown regarding foods that help with those problems.
Many times they prove that foods/spices can help as much or more than the current drug used to treat that symptom.

http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=depression

[retiringearly]

This is a great thread.  Depression runs in my father's family.  I have suffered from clinical depression for a long. long time.  I finally went to a therapist when i was 25 after my mother passed away (this was 23 years ago).  The therapist gave me a series of questions which pointed out that I was clinically depressed - this wasn't a mild case of the blues.

Talking to the therapist was really enlightening, I realized that what I was going through wasn't uncommon and I had a serious depression.

The therapist eventually sent me to a psychiatrist to talk about meds.  I was really reluctant to go on meds.  After enough research I agreed to try Prozac.  It helped a lot.  It didn't take 100% of the depression away, but it helped significantly.  It didn't make me the life of the party - that isn't the goal, it simply lifted up my average mood closer to what it should be.

I was on SSRI's for a little over twenty years.  I weaned myself off of generic Paxil last year over the course of eleven months.  The withdrawals from Paxil can be really harsh, that is why I tapered off my dosage over eleven months.

I still have some level of depression and anxiety.  The single thing that helps me the most is I try to walk at a quick pace for a minimum of thirty minutes per day.  If I miss a day I make up for it over the next day or two. 

Walking just thirty minutes when you are depressed can be a huge challenge - the people that don't understand this most likely have never had serious depression.  Telling someone that is really depressed to suck it up and exercise is the equivalent of telling a cancer patient to suck it up and cure himself.  It is easier said than done. 

Another thing that really helps (literally a life changer) is I use a Philips GoLite Blu energy light every morning as soon as I wake up.  I put it on the bed about 18 inches from my face and use it while I read on my iPad.  It has wired my system to wake up at the same time every morning.  I used to hit the snooze button at least 3 times every morning.  Now I wake up before the alarm goes off.  This is a life changer for me, especially in the winter time when we get little sun light here in Chicago.

Best of luck to anyone that is dealing with depression.

[Classical_Liberal]

Much like ulcers used to be the rage until people found out ulcers were actually caused by stress/mental issues

Not true - the most common cause of ulcers is bacteria (H. pylori).

I personally had carpal tunnel problems until I quit doing data entry (various jobs).  No rage here, just repetitive stress.  I still get tingles in a couple fingers if I knit too long (again, no rage - it's my hobby!)

Also depression, especially familial depression, can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.  Sometime meds can help, even without therapy. 

Interesting blog on what it was like for one person to fall into and crawl out of depression - Hyperbole and a Half

Fabulous link!  Thanks!

You are 100 percent correct about H pylori and the physical causes of Carpel tunnel (now really helped with minor surgery).  However, I also believe our minds play an important in our physical health as well. At the very least our perceptions and psychological reaction to physical problems can improve the outcome. One person with low serotonin levels may never become clinically depressed, while another commits suicide.  There are just so many variables in the human medical world, its difficult to isolate them.  If the OP has found something that works, my advice, keep doing it and to hell with the Prozac!

[Ellabean]

The critical point here is mild depression. I have moderate to severe depression, and I went off my meds because I was feeling great. I had gone through years of therapy, and I was exercising, meditating, not eating wheat... and I crashed, hard. I think of meds as my lifeline-- the basic thing I need in order for anything else to kick in and help. Walking, exercising, dancing, meditating, seeing friends, those things are terrific. But without meds, I sink lower than imaginable and nothing helps.

[retiringearly]

The critical point here is mild depression. I have moderate to severe depression, and I went off my meds because I was feeling great. I had gone through years of therapy, and I was exercising, meditating, not eating wheat... and I crashed, hard. I think of meds as my lifeline-- the basic thing I need in order for anything else to kick in and help. Walking, exercising, dancing, meditating, seeing friends, those things are terrific. But without meds, I sink lower than imaginable and nothing helps.

This sums up my experience perfectly.  I was on SSRI's for over 20 years, decided to wean myself off over a period of 11 months.  I crashed hard.  Exercising every day didn't come close to cutting it for me.   Felt worse than I have felt in my life.  Went back to the doctor and got back on an SSRI 10 days ago.   Starting to feel normal again.  I won't make that mistake ever again.

[BTDretire]

And fish oil or omega oil pills have never changed the way I feel.  Also, the long term research on fish oil is not impressive at all.

RE Fish oil.
 I have always had low HDL, 32 to 34 is where I consistently test.
After one test, (32) the nurse suggested I try a fish oil supplement.
I'm skeptical, but I bought a bottle and take two daily, 1 month later
I had another test. My HDL was up to 40! 40  is still not high, but it is a
25% increase over what I tested before Fish oil supplements. After that test,
I bought walnuts and almonds and have a handful of each every morning along
with my fish oil. Again 30 days later I had another HDL test this one was 42.
  One story is not evidence but I have a long written history of my blood tests
and have never been at 42.  I could stop the supplements and retest, but I
have a physical coming in a couple months and I like my Doc to see  the numbers.
A mustachian thing, Sam's Club has a monthly health screening. I go there
to test my cholesterol. I wouldn't test it monthly except that I was running
the Fish oil experiment.

[Ellabean]

@retiringearly, glad you got help and got back on your meds! I try to think of my meds as glasses-- a basic physical corrective. I wouldn't blame myself for not being able to see without my glasses, why should I feel bad for taking medicine? It's not a short-cut, it's not a band-aid, it's not a crutch. It's a basic corrective for my brain chemistry.

[Duchess of Stratosphear]

You might find some useful nutritional advice regarding depression on NutritionFacts.org website.  You can search for all kinds of ailments and learn what the science has shown regarding foods that help with those problems.
Many times they prove that foods/spices can help as much or more than the current drug used to treat that symptom.

http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=depression

I was going to say you might want to consider a plant-based diet. Nutritionfacts.org is a great website that reports on the research on plant-based diets and related stuff.

Sometimes I think that too much news depresses me. I occasionally take breaks from NPR because Donald Trump. I can't seem to go full on the "low information diet" but I probably should!

I wish you well as you work to feel better.

[FLA]

Walking just thirty minutes when you are depressed can be a huge challenge - the people that don't understand this most likely have never had serious depression.  Telling someone that is really depressed to suck it up and exercise is the equivalent of telling a cancer patient to suck it up and cure himself.  It is easier said than done. 

you explained this very well, thank you

[FLA]

The critical point here is mild depression. I have moderate to severe depression, and I went off my meds because I was feeling great. I had gone through years of therapy, and I was exercising, meditating, not eating wheat... and I crashed, hard. I think of meds as my lifeline-- the basic thing I need in order for anything else to kick in and help. Walking, exercising, dancing, meditating, seeing friends, those things are terrific. But without meds, I sink lower than imaginable and nothing helps.

every time I wean off slowly because I "no longer have depression", within months I am so far down, I can't even believe there is an up anymore.  I accept that to live a relatively happy and healthy life, I need meds, just like a cardiac patient needs digoxin. It's been 18 years with only one year off meds.  I think it's safe to say I will probably need meds for life.  And that is ok.

[retiringearly]

The critical point here is mild depression. I have moderate to severe depression, and I went off my meds because I was feeling great. I had gone through years of therapy, and I was exercising, meditating, not eating wheat... and I crashed, hard. I think of meds as my lifeline-- the basic thing I need in order for anything else to kick in and help. Walking, exercising, dancing, meditating, seeing friends, those things are terrific. But without meds, I sink lower than imaginable and nothing helps.

every time I wean off slowly because I "no longer have depression", within months I am so far down, I can't even believe there is an up anymore.  I accept that to live a relatively happy and healthy life, I need meds, just like a cardiac patient needs digoxin. It's been 18 years with only one year off meds.  I think it's safe to say I will probably need meds for life.  And that is ok.

I just went through this myself.  I weaned myself off generic Paxil.  Three months after stopping I was as low as I have ever been.  I won't make that mistake again.  I will be on meds for the rest of my life and I am 100% good with that.

[ronald123]

The critical point here is mild depression. I have moderate to severe depression, and I went off my meds because I was feeling great. I had gone through years of therapy, and I was exercising, meditating, not eating wheat... and I crashed, hard. I think of meds as my lifeline-- the basic thing I need in order for anything else to kick in and help. Walking, exercising, dancing, meditating, seeing friends, those things are terrific. But without meds, I sink lower than imaginable and nothing helps.

every time I wean off slowly because I "no longer have depression", within months I am so far down, I can't even believe there is an up anymore.  I accept that to live a relatively happy and healthy life, I need meds, just like a cardiac patient needs digoxin. It's been 18 years with only one year off meds.  I think it's safe to say I will probably need meds for life.  And that is ok.

I just went through this myself.  I weaned myself off generic Paxil.  Three months after stopping I was as low as I have ever been.  I won't make that mistake again.  I will be on meds for the rest of my life and I am 100% good with that.

Whatever works for you, but for others, who are still trying to get their head around the 'mind-body or chemicals' discussion, here's some interesting information regarding the difference between antidepressants and the placebo effect: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4172306/
http://alphachoices.com/repository/assets/pdf/EmperorsNewDrugs.pdf

In 'EmperorsNewDrugs' (pdf) it says: "The problem, then, would be to find an alternative, as the
clinical response to both drug and placebo is substantial. Placebo treatment has the
advantage of eliciting fewer side effects. However, the deception that is inherent in clinical
administration of placebos inhibits their use."

So, the deception that is inherent in clinical administration of conventional medicine (and surgery/etc. - read this study: www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa013259 ) is okay, but the same doesn't apply to 'placebos'?

One more thing: maybe it's okay for some people to stay on 'medicine' if other placebos don't work for them, but I for one prefer to do more than just treating symptoms (and it work(ed)(s) marvelously for me). The Sedona Method (just posing three questions regarding your symptoms: 1. could I let it go? 2. would I let it go? 3. When?) instantly got rid of low back pain I've had for many years - which I thought had been caused by 'wrong weight lifting exercises' when I was young. This was in 2011 and these symptoms have never returned... The same goes for my fits of migraine, but without any treatments or medication (I did move to another country and it's my guess that this major attempt to escape the chains of our 'modern enslavement system' was the main reason for ALL my health improvements - placebo is about expectations/beliefs).

Hope this helps some people who are looking for the truth about health and so called dis-ease.
 

[nouveauRiche]

Troll? 

Your first post ever in this forum is to resurrect a thread that's over a year old so you can dismiss the experiences of others with "whatever works for you" and then go on to share your "truth about health and so called dis-ease"?

[retiringearly]

In to follow

[farmecologist]

It looks like much of the discussion here is leaning towards the major depression side of things (subjective..I know).  In that case, seek therapy as soon as you can.  It might seem scary at first but it really does help in the long run.

For mild depression ( i.e. - 'the blues' ), getting into the outdoors really helps me.  I don't know what it is but hiking out in the woods helps me put things into perspective.  Cardio workouts are great for me too.

[LadyStache in Baja]

Troll? 

Your first post ever in this forum is to resurrect a thread that's over a year old so you can dismiss the experiences of others with "whatever works for you" and then go on to share your "truth about health and so called dis-ease"?

eh, he's talking about the sedona method, which is what OP mentioned in his first post. Where is OP, we need an update!