does anyone here suffer from depression?
if so, here is a thread to talk about experiences and how you personally deal with it. . . .

i'm currently quite depressed and fed up.
i'm home from university, a way a way from all the friends i have their.
i've lsot touch with most my friends where i am now, and and am also suffering from a lack of self-confidence, which means i find it hard to even contact/ go out with what friend s ido have here, because i'm not that close to them.
i need to find a job. . .have been seraching for 3 weeks with no effect, so im unemployed . . .
As i have nothign to do, i find it hard to gain isnpiration to do anything creaitve, or basic motivation.
. . . . and like i have throughout my life this causes me to judge my personailty and self . . . and focus on the negative. which in turn makes me feel worse.. . . . .

i hate my mind.

ever tried dancing? i've read lately that swedish researchers have found it to crank up the energy and joy of living, and cheer up those suffering from depression. here's the article. just disregard the references to "children" and "girls" since it could very well apply to adults and boys too.

i may add up more things here soon. in the meantime, power up that audio system and play some dance CD, turn up the volume, and DANCE!

Talking about depressions here. Well, I have been that way for quite some time now.

I have a fiancee whom I really love and who really loves me back. Well, we have been planning on getting married for quite some time now. We have done everything to make that possible but there is always some problem for us here and there. We tackle this problem and up sprouts the next. Yea, I know that there can't be life without troubles and one ought to show how matured one is by the way he/she tackles his problems.

One of our troubles is that her dad doesnt like me for some reason which I dont even know. Her mum really likes me and she doesnt mind me getting maried to her daughter. Well, thats one up for me though but I would want her dad to also like me too. I am just praying to God that he changes mind one day.

I am really/quite depressed that we havent been able to achieve our dreams but I can onnly believe one thing, that "as far as I know and as far as is GOD whom I worship and serve, things will definitely get better for us and if GOD supports our marriage, nothing can stop it."

Thats my lil' story.

sounds like you have a grasp on what you're going through. that's good. it's a start in understanding the problem because the problem isn't a lack of motivation or inspiration or being unemployed or feeling negative about yourself. although all these may be true, it's not the problem. the one thing i would suggest is to allow yourself to feel that it's ok to feel the way you do EXCEPT the negativity towards your own self which comes from deep within your own self and knowing who you are inside....which....isn't a bad person at all. just a person having a difficult time in life for the time being. this doesn't define who you are or the negative thoughts that might arise about yourself.

so accept the fact you are in a difficult time in your life. it's good you recognize what's going on. you explained it well. alot of people don't recognize what you do and can't explain what they're going through as well as you have. good. so now you know it hasn't really affected your ability to think rational(even if you feel like it has). so since this is the case, you need to get down to basics, bud and start thinking from the ground up and not from where you're at now to where you came from.

start by defining who you are....not how you are treated or what you experienced in life, but WHO YOU ARE. start from when you were a child and work your way forward. think about what you've learned on the way as you grew older. some things may be silly to others, but not to you because those things helped you grow and become stronger and built character. based on who you are....what nobody can ever touch, think about what you wouldn't change in the choices you made and be proud of those things. then think about what you would change so you don't make the same mistakes in life. then pat yoruself on the back for those things too because you are learning and understanding how life works and you're better for it.

take some time out for yourself. go to those places that you've always found enjoyment and peace. if you feel they don't offer that for you, go anyway and try to capture what you've lost. some people like to go to a creek, or the park because it offers peace within nature. some people like to go somewhere more secluded where there aren't people because any little noise irritates them. so it depends on you really.

there will not be any magical words anyone can say to to make things better for ya. you are going to have to find the key your own self. life is strange. it goes in cycles. sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's crap. but believe me....after you sift through the crap, there are also rewards. it's worth sifting through the crap. the crap doesn't kill ya. we kill our own selves with negative thinking at times.

how did i deal with negativity my own self when i was depressed and even suicidal in my early 20's? i searched deep down within myself. i realized i wasn't living a life for me but for others. my parents, my school, society in general. i was different than any typical guy and i had to fight for who i was and be happy with who i was and understand that it was worth the fight to do what i am meant to do in life. i fought like a mother f$#%#$^. expectations were placed on me at an early age to live a way of life that wasn't me. it sucked when i realized what was going on. that was MY problem. my problem wasn't being unmotivated like others said. it wasn't having a depressing problem like people said. it wasn't that i needed medication because others said i had a chemical imbalance(hahaha i still laugh at that one). it wasn't ANY of those things that people put in my head that made me even more depressed and suicidal. it was the fact that people weren't allowing me to be me. they expected more. anyway. it wasn't easy, bud.....it was like fighting the world but i was strong enough to do it. i know that we weren't placed on this earth to handle more than what we are capable. understand this because what i just said is important. you need to believe in that. we aren't placed on this earth to handle more than what we are capable of handling. life is cruel sometimes, but it isn't THAT cruel. it may seem like it, but trust me. it's not.

my best advice i can ever give is to just love yourself. love who you are and fight for yourself. you're worth it. when you can do this, you will start feeling better about yourself. being unemployed is ok. feeling like crap is ok. also, make the right choices for your life. usually the right choices are the harder choices because it's a harder path. you need to know this and accept this and know what you're fighting for. pretty much what you are fighting for is your life because you're dying inside right now. this isn't how it's meant to be. you're going through what you're going through right now because you are meant to learn something from this....and it's not just learning the world is crap either....something much more deeper and spiritual that only YOU will be able to relate to

i don't know you but i sense you like to think about things. dwell on things sometimes. i sense you are a deep thinker....so deep sometimes that people may not understand you or who you are. i sense you have a good head on your shoulders. i also sense that you are somewhat logical in thinking. your smart. the most important thing i sense is that you are strong willed even if you don't feel you are at times, i sense it strongly that you are. i don't make this crap up, i just sense things and pick up energy from people that others don't notice

i wish you well. i know you will be and i know you will find yourself. it's meant to be so hang in there. there's alot of people that care. i am one of them so if you ever want to talk, send me an email on trap and we can go from there.

-aaron

i have advice for you too my friend.... i tend to ramble though. it's one of my annoying qualities so i'll try not to do that in this reply(although i believe i already am) OK!

you love your fiance. she loves you. there are problems. when one gets resolved, another pops up. good. that's life. now you know how life works. i'm proud of ya. this shouldn't have any limitations on getting married unless there is a direct relation with the problems and getting married. some people create drama so they don't have to concentrate on what they fear. this may not be your problem. i don't know. if it is, stop it! if it isn't, here's my advice. if this marriage is meant to be, and it better or you both should be wasting eachothers time. does she feel like a soul mate to you? does she offer things to help you become a better person? do you offer this in return? does she feel the same way? if not, you aren't meant to be and you are just with eachother for companionship so life doesn't feel so lonely and crappy. if you both offer this, then stop procrastinating. there will be problems before you get married and problems after you get married. that's life, bud. you can't put a stipulation on marriage saying you two will marry when their aren't any problems.

here's the good part now. just get married if you both know it's meant to be. if you both know this, there is no reason to procrastinate for ANY REASON. you two will be commiting to eachother the rest of your lives. the problems you face, you will face together and it will be easier to deal with to gether with the love and support from one another. now the problem arises about her father. STOP caring what other people think if you know what the right choice is. if he deosn't support, then he doesn't have to be at the wedding. i know it will cause problems but you have to make the choice of the lessor of the two evils here. her father isn't going to make you two happy for the rest of your lives. that will be up to you and your fiance to make eachother happy the rest of your lives. knowing this, nobody else matters. it's nice to get the support and combine family's but life isn't all that easy sometimes.

i'll tell you this though. your fiance is your soon to be father in law's little girl who want to protect her from all evil out in the world. if you show the love and he sees his daughters hapiness and that glow that can only mean that you are treating her right, then he will come around. ultimately, he just wants his daughters happiness. have faith bud. with making your fiance happy and your fiance's mother with support, he'll come around.

good luck with your situation. sometimes when you know what's right, all that's left to do is to just DO IT!
right? right.... take care.... you know what the right choice is, you're avoiding it




hahaha, that post made me laugh. you do know that advice like that can only be said on the internet so you don't have to look at the facial responses you get, right? i mean if someone came to you with a problem and said "hey! you ever try dancing?" with one of those big grins, you'd get a lot of strange reactions

but the thing is, strange reactions are a good thing sometimes. sometimes that reaction includes a smile or a laugh....heck....i had to laugh. but most important was the good advice in what dancing has to offer.

haha i'm gonna have to remember that and use it sometime when someone else comes up to me to talk about their problems....

Sorry to hear about your state of mind. It's hard to take when you are unemployed and not sure of what direction to take in your life. Ive been through it more or less like you and I will tell you how I overcame it.

First, I decided what I wanted to do, or could do at the time, in my case it was hotel work. I did any short courses that were around, focused on anything to do with hotel wotk, bar, yard, cleaning anything , got course diplomas, with these I got a job. Didn't matter what job, it was a start. Pretty measly, but this focus got me going, from there on I went on to other things.

Secondly, I joined a beginners dance club (just like serverph said before), in my case it was Square Dancing. This gave me something new to learn and focus on in my spare time, but more importantly it got me out of the house and meeting other poeple boys and girls. It eventually developed and I made some great relationships out of it. Because you know what ? - there were a lot of other people out there with problems just like me.

The whole point I'm trying to make is, you have to decide on something tangible now to get you going again and focus on this, if nothing else.

i hear you man, although im not experiencing anything any similiar to you, i can just understand by tryin to put myself in position. But listen to serverph, hes right dancing does help, but not only that but also exercising. I normally dance by break dancing, thats just what i do as a hobby. It puts my mind off everything and focuses on one thing, dancing. Not only it would help you emotionally but of course physically, its really healthy of course. But im sure you know that. Yo but keep your head up, try to be socialable n try opening up more to people and try not to be shy. Self Confidence is prolly the most important thing you need so try your best to keep that up.

ive been depressed and sad myself. All that because i know tomorrow morning were going to put my cat to sleep =(. Had him for about 16 years or so. Hes really looking bad, hes mouth looks swollen, he constantly drools, and sometimes is blood and hes really skinny, its disgusting. i can touch every bone of his body. This is so hard to do but its something that must be done. i dont know how to think, all i can think is that this is the best thing to do for him becuase i know hes really struggling =(. sigh ive already teared lke two days thinkn about how were puttin him to sleep, i just hope i dont take it as bad tomorrow when we take him down.

So to help im going to go breakdance, with my friend. hopefully this will help me and hopefully i wont go back into the sad state again.