TOPIC: Self-Therapy.

Your program sounds awesome. Meditation and exercise where also the key ingredients for me. Plus a lot of self help / motivational stuff. Personally I like Abraham Hicks (Law of Attraction) a lot. Thats a spiritual teaching and sounds very esoteric and out there in the beginning - so it's definitely not for everyone. But they also have a lot stuff that helps on a practical level and for me it's one of the best motivations I know.

One thing that is missing on your list, that is very important is sun exposure. Window-glass is filtering out a lot of the light spectrum, so you have to go outside (clouds don't matter btw). You could combine this with cardio - e.g. taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes as often as possible.

And dude, start looking for a therapist. A good therapist, that you can connect to, is really hard to find. That may take quite a while anyways. I was very lucky in that regard and it sped up my process immensely. Do you know what kind of therapy you would prefer. I had a talk therapy, because thats more focused on the now and on the future (what can I do the next days / weeks to improve my condition). But you should make that decision before you start looking, otherwise you will be lost in the therapy jungle. Btw my therapist also was a psychiatrist (which didn't matter for me much - just a coincidence). As you are already taking medication, that combination would probably be super awesome for you.

Good luck, bro.

Awesome to hear this. But, I have a tip for you as you're reaching what is considered "normal":

Don't ever stop improving. Now you're taking yourself from weak/depressed to normal, but the best way to make sure you never become depressed again is to take it a notch further to very strong/ very happy - do you get what I mean?

You'll want to become above average. I'm doing this by getting an awesome physique, a bigger dick and starting my own company. Reach for the stars. I find that the more excited I am about something the happier I am. Boredom is unnatural and damaging.

Now, I'm not saying to active all the time, I spend a lot of time resting/recovering which is why I can push myself so hard. I think you're experiencing the same thing now. You're able to work much harder then everyone else because you spend more time recovering/resting than everyone else.

Good luck!

Agreed! I'm currently reading a book called The Depression Cure that mentions this. I ironically get enough sun exposure in my every day life anyways, so that is not something I need to go out of my way to do. The time I spend in the sun per day is approximately totaled up to an hour. The book also suggests taking omega-3 fatty acids, which I will be starting soon.

I'll definitely get a therapist sometime in the near future. Money is the main issue pertaining to that for me. I've also noticed my mood raise since I've started hanging out with a social circle regularly again. Instead of being in pure isolation all day.

Stormageddon wrote: Your program sounds awesome. Meditation and exercise where also the key ingredients for me. Plus a lot of self help / motivational stuff. Personally I like Abraham Hicks (Law of Attraction) a lot. Thats a spiritual teaching and sounds very esoteric and out there in the beginning - so it's definitely not for everyone. But they also have a lot stuff that helps on a practical level and for me it's one of the best motivations I know.

One thing that is missing on your list, that is very important is sun exposure. Window-glass is filtering out a lot of the light spectrum, so you have to go outside (clouds don't matter btw). You could combine this with cardio - e.g. taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes as often as possible.

And dude, start looking for a therapist. A good therapist, that you can connect to, is really hard to find. That may take quite a while anyways. I was very lucky in that regard and it sped up my process immensely. Do you know what kind of therapy you would prefer. I had a talk therapy, because thats more focused on the now and on the future (what can I do the next days / weeks to improve my condition). But you should make that decision before you start looking, otherwise you will be lost in the therapy jungle. Btw my therapist also was a psychiatrist (which didn't matter for me much - just a coincidence). As you are already taking medication, that combination would probably be super awesome for you.

Good luck, bro.

Dannn wrote: Awesome to hear this. But, I have a tip for you as you're reaching what is considered "normal":

Don't ever stop improving. Now you're taking yourself from weak/depressed to normal, but the best way to make sure you never become depressed again is to take it a notch further to very strong/ very happy - do you get what I mean?

You'll want to become above average. I'm doing this by getting an awesome physique, a bigger dick and starting my own company. Reach for the stars. I find that the more excited I am about something the happier I am. Boredom is unnatural and damaging.

Now, I'm not saying to active all the time, I spend a lot of time resting/recovering which is why I can push myself so hard. I think you're experiencing the same thing now. You're able to work much harder then everyone else because you spend more time recovering/resting than everyone else.

Good luck!

Thanks for that distinction! I didn't even think about that. I will definitely need to keep improving even after I hit that "normal" baseline that I am aiming for. There's no final destination, just constant improvement!

Mithril wrote: I'll definitely get a therapist sometime in the near future. Money is the main issue pertaining to that for me.]

Ok, that's a problem. Thankfully my therapy was paid by my health insurance. But I have another idea. Ever heard of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or Tapping). This guy explains that very well:



Just give it a try. At least it might help you to get over acute downs.

And yes, self improvement never stops. But thats something to look forward to. Once you managed to get yourself out of a depression, everything else seems easy in comparison. And you will be a lot more motivated than most other guys out there, because you will not want to risk getting back to the state you're in now. That's at least the sense I found in this damn disease.

Note: I wrote this post out of order so some things repeat because I wrote it then went back and added it elsewhere.

So, it's been about 5 months since I've posted on this thread. I think my depression is largely beaten, at least for now. I feel much better. Ironically, studying for the MCAT helped in ways I didn't expect it to. I was literally starving myself and studying 10+ hours a day for several months, and skipping the gym and other things that were normally important for me for that entire duration of time.

After taking it, I feel a huge psychological burden lift, and EVERYTHING in my life seems easier. Because in comparison to the rigorous schedule I had set up, nothing I can do (in the near future) can even compare in difficulty or in required discipline. THat being said, here's some other things that have helped.

1. Got to go traveling a bit this summer.
2. Spent time with family, and resolved a lot of tensions between us, we haven't argued in a long time, whereas we used to argue on a daily basis. This was largely from a shift in my perspectives about things, I used to always argue about petty things.
3. Got a light therapy lamp, not sure how much this helps, but it seems like it is helping.
4. Started taking fish oil, supposed to help, according to the book Curing Depression or something.
5. Started working out consistently again.
6. Focused on my studies again, but avoiding nonsensical short-term enjoyment by focusing on achieving "flow" an working towards something meaningful for a long duration of time, focusing on the process over the outcome.
7. Started volunteering.
8. Eating healthier.
9. Socializing a little more than before, but not enough.
10. Reading daily, I always enjoyed this.
11. Procrastinating less.
12. Started drinking more alkaline water, not sure if this matters or not. Just started doing it to test the effects.
13. Still taking antidepressants, not consistently so that might be bad, but almost consistently.

Side note, my seduction has gone to nil and my socializing has gone down dramatically, so I have to do more of that, one area of your life improves and another suffers. Ha.

I have a lot of things that I am looking forward to, and my perspectives on things have changed too. I'm looking at depression a lot more objectively as a biological phenomenon due to either internal imbalances (either mental or chemical), or external stimuli (specific triggers and events that occur that bring my mood down, sometimes without me even knowing). For example, I always get depressed around the same time of year, so I will be wary of this from now on, usually between November and March, the winter months where there is less sunlight out AND people (including myself) go out less and receive less sunlight, which can affect your mood, which is why I bought a light box.

Will probably get a pet fish soon, just for fun. Not really relevant, but just sounds like fun to have, and is low maintenance. I don't pay for utilities at my apartment so I can get accessories that use up a lot of power or water and not care.

I've also maximized my productivity (at least more so) by having certain things that are more "ergonomic", I don't know if that's the right word or the right context for things.

Just started volunteering at a place with very ill patients, and I find that that is very meaningful too. I'll probably do this for a few months and then start volunteering at a hospital.

Eating healthier too.

Side note: I recently lost my 6-pack, which I've had for almost a decade. It is really strange to look in the mirror and not exactly admire myself. I am working on getting it back. lol

Awesome Mithril. Good to hear people taking serious strides to kick depression's ass .

Fish oil definitely helps. Omega-3 fats help the ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio. Getting that handled lets the brain function much, much better.

Keep us posted.

By the way, what antidepressant are you taking?

TJGoodLooking wrote: Awesome Mithril. Good to hear people taking serious strides to kick depression's ass .

Fish oil definitely helps. Omega-3 fats help the ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio. Getting that handled lets the brain function much, much better.

Keep us posted.

By the way, what antidepressant are you taking?

Fluoxetine. Sorry, I haven't been on here in a while!

10 month update:

I haven't been depressed in a while, although there are probably other challenges that I've dealt with which are similar or by-products of this ordeal. I've been taking medications, which have side effects, one side effect is apathy and such, which I seem to have. I'll probably ween off this med in the near future.

I've been meditating daily, exercising, and eating quite healthy, along with taking supplements (like the omegas) and my prescribed medications. Free psychiatric care is great, I can't imagine having to pay every single month...

Some realizations:

1. This is probably not the end of it. I haven't had any dramatic experiences lately, so that could also be a contributing factor to my lack of depression. I'm sure it will come back in the future, and I just need to be ready for that challenge.

2. More self-honesty and less blind spots in my life seems to help.

3. I don't know if this is relevant, but I've taken cold showers every day for over 100 days. My mood and productivity seems to have improved since around the time I started doing this.

4. I need to move towards my desired life rather than seeking validation. A lot of what I've done in my life is simply validation seeking, looking for props and trying to look cool (getting lays, etc.).

I realize that the life I have feels relatively empty, I have sex with random new girls every so often, usually once, and I spend almost all my time alone. I am naturally an introvert, so the alone time isn't too bad, but it is excessive. Ideally, I want to have sexual relationships with girls that I find genuinely attractive, both physically and in personality. It doesn't matter where I meet them, I used to care about whether I met them online or not, but why does that matter? It only matters because meeting a hot chick in person is more brag-worthy than online, but I gotta let go of that ego.

Also, I need to raise my standards, at least to a satisfactory level. I know one piece of GLL's advice is to not decline sex and whatnot, but that is actually something I need to start doing, and have started doing more. The reason I need to do this more is because the quality of women I get with is below my standards, and because the occasions that I SHOULD reject the girls are ones where I am wasting my time and I actually feel worse off after wards than before, like the alternative is better than being with them.

I also have to stop bragging, even discreetly. I've gotten a little better at this. Getting new lays and not telling people is sometimes helpful. Overall, I just need to build the ideal life for myself, regardless of what others think or what society thinks of it. I'm sure my desires will change gradually over time, as they always have. I used to want a lot of lays, now I'm less concerned with numbers and more concerned with quality. At the very least, to have girls where they enhance my life or at least I go into the encounter with the possibility of that happening.

Bottom line is: What kind of life would I want to live if I couldn't brag about it or tell anybody about it? If the only components were the ones that I PERSONALLY experienced.

Two year update. Had a ton of stuff happen. Got really depressed again, was suicidal a few times.

Action plan:
1. Reading two books on depression again.
The mindful way through depression.
The depression cure.
2. Fish oil and whatnot supplements.
3. Antidepressant.
4. Starting kratom and phenibut.
5. More positive reading and shows. Should watch comedy movies and stand-up comedy too.
6. Need cardiovascular exercise. I'm bedridden currently.
7. Be easier on myself. Shit happens in life. There's ups and downs, just gotta enjoy the ups and handle the downs.
8. Continuing seeing a therapist and psychiatrist.
9. Light therapy.
10. Getting sufficient sunlight.
11. Maybe start tanning?
12. Getting regular sex will probably help my mood.
13. Socializing regularly or semi-regularly, to show my biological self that I'm not isolated.

Be careful starting up an antidepressant. They don't really solve the root problem and can be a bitch to get off.

Also be careful with Phenibut. I personally have not experimented for too long, so take my comment with a grain of salt, but I found that while it does make you happy and even euphoric at times on the day you take it, for the next couple of days your mood gets "below baseline", i.e. you feel like you're going towards depression.

Again, I only tried a few times.

By the way are you from Finland by any chance?