Have you ever fought off depression?

Unfortunatly

I remember, once, telling a boyfriend “I can feel myself sinking again.” He didn’t believe me. Mostly because he never knew me when it was really bad. He’d tell me I was fine. Sure enough, I sunk. So, I’ve known it was coming, but I think it was too overpowering for me to fight off. Or I am too weak and without coping skills.
And here I am again, in a similar situation. Learning. Dealing. And hopefully I will gain those skills.

Does Fluther attract depressives or is the number of questions about it simply reflective of how prevalent the disorder is in the general population?

I have had times when I could see depression coming. It is like seeing a rain front approach. There is not any way to stop it. One school of thought says that trying to attack depression directly is counter-productive, that you are better off accepting how you feel.

@LostInParadise: Major depressive disorder has a lifetime prevalence of 21.3% in women and 12.7% in men.

@nikipedia thank you for the statistic.

By forcing myself to run/cross-train 6 days per week.

Yeah running cross country all 4 years of high school definitely helped. But unfortunately the season perfectly coincides with Indian summer. So when the season is over, winter begins and so does SAD. Blech.

@LostInParadise you should pose that first question as to the whole collective. I bet you’d get some interesting answers.

Exercise and Prozac are two of my very best friends. Doing nice things for appreciative people helps a little too.
@avonia- I’ve said those exact same words- “I feel like I’m sinking again.” It describes it perfectly. I’m sorry you didn’t have someone more supportive in your life.
@Lostinparadise- I think a mix of the two ideas work well. I try to accept how I’m feeling, but then figure out what I can do to get out of my hole.

I fight off depression every day. Not just sadness, but depression. You have to get up every day and say, “Not today”. I am a good person and I DESERVE to have a good day! You have to learn to let stuff go. If I laid in bed every morning and thought about the truly crappy things that have happened in my life, I would never get out of bed. Have you talked to anyone? My hubby is taking meds, but they make me to “foggy” so I don’t, felt worse with them, but he feels WAY better. Call your doctor!

I can feel the bad episodes coming. I hate that sinking feeling. I try to keep busy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I’ve found the only way is with DAILY time with the Lord in a quiet time with Him & His Word <reading the Bible>. If I forsake this for very long, I’m headed for the dumps.

Exercise, though, is VERY key to feeling good and energized. If I forsake this, I can kiss feeling good goodbye.

Absolutely. It was bad. I kept reassuring myself it would be okay. I kept a journal to help myself vent when necessary. I promised myself that I would make a better life for myself out side of my mothers home, and I did. I surrounded myself with positive people and learned to love with all my heart.

I’ve never successfully kept it from happening, but I have fought and clawed tooth and nail to get back out again… many times. These days, I am properly medicated, so the lows don’t come quite so often. They still happen, though, and I can usually tell when one is on it’s way. When it gets here, I often fight against it for several days to no avail. When I finally admit that it is present, I’ll take a day and fully wallow in it. The next day, it’s back to the business of living. The most important thing I’ve ever learned about depression is that it will go away. Things always get better. Always.

I’ve always said that depression to me is like wearing a really uncomfortable coat that you can’t take off no matter how hard you try. You have to do something that gets you active. Go talk to a doctor about getting on some anti-depressants. That helps, believe me. Make sure you have the support of your family and close friends because it’s really hard to beat depression on your own. But you can do it.