>>34632649
I have. The first step is to realize that suffering can only come from your attitude about things, and not from things themselves. If things themselves could cause your unhappiness, then everyone would always react the same way to their situation. But that's clearly not the case, since there are happy poor people and miserable rich people. There are also people who are happy to be single, and people miserable to be in a relationship. Whatever you think is causing your misery, it isn't that thing, it's your attitude about that thing. I know that's scary to accept because it means you're responsible for yourself, but the silver lining is that it means nothing can keep you away from happiness if you put the effort in.

>>34632649
Yes. >>34632672 is right about it being an attitude thing. When I was depressed I compared myself negatively to other people. I wished for the failure of other people I knew to make myself feel better and felt bad when I saw other people get married, promoted or having kids. Now I'm happy for other people and don't feel threatened by them.

tl;dr of what worked for me
>partial hospitalization program
>self improovement (trying lots of new things, being social, exercise, losing fat, getting a better job)
>drugs (buspirone for anxiety, adderall for focus, trazodone for sleep as needed)
>EMDR for trauma

>Prayer and lots of introspective internal spiritual and mental work to understand the source of depression
>Constant vigorous exercise
>Supplementation (Testosterone, B vitamins, ashwaganda, psilocybin, Lion's Mane)
This was over many many years mind but this is the general scope of what I did to get out of it. I also had to use the momentum this gave me to move toward fulfilling goals, if I stayed in the same rut I was before then I'm sure nothing would have changed.

the mind is made of electric waves on a web of tiny gooey organisms
you can grow and block the pathways, the fluid inside is not permanent

also what they said: mindfulness

Some people struggle with depression forever, some struggle with depression more than 50% of the days in a year and it's a chronic condition. I know you don't want to hear that but it is a possibility. If that's the case you must learn coping mechanisms and realize it's like a bad flu/cold. You get sick sometimes, you need to practice self care, rest, and wait to get better. The good news is that if it's a forever thing you will get better and better at self medicating with things like exercise, meditation, and other healthy coping mechanisms.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/persistent-depressive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20350929

I was diagnosed with PDD as stated in the link. It just is what it is. You have to make ways to move forward and you have to learn not to hate yourself for having a mental health issue. You're still just as valid as anyone else and like I said you can learn great ways to make it not as impactful to your life. Exercise and proper diet are two major ways to fight all depression and find a fun exercise you like hiking, swimming, kayaking, going on long walks, get a dog to go on long walks with. Dogs are great at combating depression and they force you to do things when you otherwise wouldn't. The more you deal with depression the less hold it has over you because you become numb to it's effects and better able to push through them. Focus on small victories like: "I'm proud of myself I got out of bed, showered, and went grocery shopping today" when you could have just lay in bed all day. Then build on that and try more the next day. It's hard, but very doable. Good luck and Godspeed.

>>34632649
There are meds for this. If your a magician you can fix it yourself

>>34632649
Yup.
It goes away. I think it's a reaction to a situation.

>>34632649
I was in a really bad state in my late teens, early 20s, but I'm 35 now and haven't had a true episode of depression for over 10 years now. I've had a couple of dips but they were never so bad that I couldn't function.

>>34632789
So basically dope yourself up and conceal yourself from the rest of the world? I might as well kill myself at that point if thats all that requires

>>34633871
Don't worry, drugs are never necessary. At the end of the day, depression can only come from belief, and everyone is in control of what they believe. It really just comes down to abandoning false, unproductive beliefs and adopting true, productive beliefs.

>>34633841
I've wanted to die every day for more than 10 years, I've been depressed for so long I don't remember what it's like not being depressed, how do I know when I'm not depressed anymore?

>>34634045
What if I want to believe that I am competent to live in this world, but ive just done nothing but fuck up for every time I try to show it? What counts as a true productive belief for you?

>>34634067
There's no such thing as a true belief that's unproductive, nor a false belief that's productive, so that really narrows down your options. For example, if you tell yourself "i'll never make it in this world so i should just give up", that's a belief that's unproductive and stagnant, so you can safely rule that one out as false. A truthful and productive belief would be "even if i don't meet my goals the way i envisioned, it's still worthwhile for me to do as much good as i can for as long as i can, because the practice will prepare me for when i finally do succeed". That belief, which is both productive because it leads to action and true because it follows reason, puts you on a path to eventually drag yourself out of the mud with continued effort.

>34634045
No wonder you're not depressed, you have fucking vice grip control over your brain. Well done. Do you want a pat on the back?

>>34634122
Everyone has control over their beliefs. You're the only one who gets to decide what you do and do not assent to. There isn't a separate entity inside of you that's pulling the levers, so if you want to change your beliefs on any given topic it's only a matter of deliberation and introspection. Studying helps too, if you ever feel like you're in over your head and need some guidance. I'm telling you this not to lord anything over you, just to let you know that it is possible and you can achieve great things if you try.

>>34634149
Blah blah blah shut the fuck up.

>>34634149
Hope you appreciate the (You)s I just gave you.

>>34634149
for example, let's say one is really down
because, of this simple realization
the world has not gotten better in the last 50 years
economically, romantically, things are only gettnig worse
which means, that in the next 20 years, my life will become harder and harder, and the payoff will become worse and worse.
basically, every cope that just work harder and things will be ok is a lie
and a statistical lie

the depression comes from pure intellectual logical reasoning
to cope, is to delude oneself from the facts of the world

>>34634171
That kind of irrational and pessimistic materialism is the opposite of intellectual and logical reasoning. Reason will tell you that material circumstances always end in dissolution, which means that happiness can't come from material circumstances, nor can unhappiness come from them. A man that bases his happiness on his wealth will become miserable when he has to part with his wealth. A man that bases his happiness on his fame will become miserable when he becomes infamous. A man that bases his happiness on his family will become miserable when he considers death. The only man who's happy is the one who values what he can't be parted with, and the only man who fits that description is the wise man who values the goodness of his own conduct above all else. Nothing in this world can prevent you from loving the virtues and perfecting them, meaning nothing in this world can prevent you from being happy. It's only a matter of changing what you love and cherish from something gross, material, worthless, transient and shallow to something that's beautiful, valuable, eternal and meaningful. None of that requires that you lie to yourself in any way, and in fact it actually requires that you stop lying to yourself. The idea that your happiness can come from external circumstances is a delusional cope that drags you farther and deeper into misery the longer you hold onto it.

>>34634067
I recognize myself as a sickly person. I feel like if depression were my only problem then I could overcome it. I had every antidepressant they could throw at me in my teens, it was fruitless (and frankly was quack medicine as far as I experienced it). Now as my health further declines with age any drug I still might try for my other mental conditions I simply can't bodily tolerate and gives me different mental anguish. Everything makes me sick and I look back on everything in life and wonder how much I could have spared myself somehow if I had a clean diet or some shit. Even being put through so many motions I'm still where you are, lost on hope and that if people knew better they'd understand it was, largely objectively, a legitimate assessment of your standing.
I want to say that any sort of positive self-talk, nutrition or exercise is the way to go but if only there was a diagnosis why I can't even care for myself or feel weak and irritated or spiral at being presented with anything that's supposed to mean anything or be normal to cheer anyone else up. It certainly is a question, how much longer can this go on? Will something happen, will I uncharacteristically get so tired and despaired I finally want to do the big self-harm? As maddening and eternally patient as I am to see if my life mercifully burns out one day I don't know what I'd do without lifelines to think about not being sick instead. If tragedy knocked me over I think that's the end, there's nothing to overcome. I wouldn't wish being disabled and depressed on anyone.

>>34634191
i agree with that line of thinking actually.
but there is one, thing
the reason we all act
is to keep living and to procreate
a full on natural bodily urge
The reason to do anything is mostly out of your control once you look down deep enough
You may mentally cope, but your body signals are uncontrollable
If your body system requires certain things:
security, social belonging, stability to produce chemicals and physical signals to your brain, when the society as a whole is destroying access to those signals you may in fact be in for a struggle of a life.

your main argument is that happiness is created as a pure mental association with values. and that happiness cures the following:
feelings of safety, feelings of social acceptance, feelings of satisfaction with daily life.
i think depression is caused by those not being fulfilled. and there are components that pure reasoning and moral alignment will not solve
particularly safety, and social belonging.
If today, you are forced to work 50 hour weeks to get your safety needs met, but in a year you need to work 60, and in the future you may not even be able to, your feelings of safety are compromised.
along with your access to social networks through pure loss of time.

There is a biological component that is not being completely fulfilled through mental exercises.

I think this is where I am at currently.
That, I may be able to associate the fact that I'm living and struggling as some sort of moral high ground that deserves happiness.
But it doesn't change the fact that my body longs for some sort of acceptance, social approval, romantic desire to procreate, etc etc

>>34634229
That's not why I act, and no one who's truly happy would ever act for those reasons alone. I act when I've deemed something morally and rationally correct. My own safety, security and comfort have nothing to do with it. If you need historical examples that make it undeniably possible, consider Socrates who drank the hemlock without fear. Or consider Thomas More who kissed his executioner on the forehead and told him not to feel guilty about following orders. There are countless examples of men who were fearless in the face of death, not to mention torture, and if they could do it then so can anyone. The body doesn't have the final say, but the mind does.

>>34634261
Correct
One can live with depression and face death
That doesn’t make it go away
You are suggesting that the signals your brain receive never go away
But your actions can be independent of them
That’s fine
But it doesn’t stop depression or the feelings

>>34634445
Socrate and Thomas More weren't depressed, despite the fact that they were about to die. If death can't cause depression, nothing external can. It's coming from within you, on the basis of your beliefs and attitude.

I was diagnosed with treatment resistant depression. I'm about to be 35 and my life is still a complete mess. The urge to kill myself is very strong. I have 0 hope for the future

I wont lie I feel pretty good rn. Im not good at anything, still have no close friends who care about me and no lover. Whats keeping me not fully depressed? Being self aware that the world is shit and maybe my ego of being autistic in this world of neurotypicals so I might have been fucked from the start since I have no help. But if you dont care about how others see you then you can be happy, if you try attempts to make your life better financially and fail atleast you tried. Always view yourself in a good way and whatever happens happens. I will also say I have been playing alot of interesting games that really keep me entertained so if theres a game you love even if its judged but makes you happy just play it.

For me what helped was changing my mindset. Once I got a fatalistic thought into my mind I would sit down and think until I could think of a positive side of it. You have to really try at first but it gets easier and easier and eventually you have cultivated a permanently more positive mindset. This only helps with the mental side though, if you have a situation that is keeping you depressed you have to work to get yourself out of it.

>>34632649
>Has anyone here ever really gotten over depression?
Yes. Most people with depression get over it.

>>34633871
That isn't what I said at all.

>>34632649
Just smile

Statistically if you have one major depressive episode then you're likely to have another, and so on. For a lot of people it's a chronic thing they have to deal with every so often

And it's biological. In that, you're not at fault. Nobody would choose this

>>34639002
No aspect of it is biological. It's entirely self chosen, but it's chosen out of ignorance. They're blameless insofar as nobody would choose to be ignorant, but they can change their ways and become knowledgeable if they decide to take responsibility for the states of their own minds. There isn't anyone who can't change his attitude and become happy and cheerful, given consistent effort and wise decision making.

>>34639015
What utter drivel. I've literally seen bipolar breathes go from suicidal depression to tap dancing in the rain happiness over the span of 1 week. It's biological. People don't choose this.

>>34639152
That indicates that it's not biological. If it were biological, the brain would be in a fixed state and so would everyone's attitudes and moods. The fact that a person can sit down, meditate for 15 minutes, and feel worlds better means that it's not biological in any way, and no one has the excuse of blaming their brains for their own lack of self control. It's entirely a matter of perspective, attitude, belief and will. Anyone can become healthy, provided that they put in the effort and don't hide behind conveniently fabricated diagnoses. If you haven't personally experienced what I'm talking about, it's only because you haven't tried it.