Depression: The Trick Is To Shake It Off

Short entry tonight.

It's 10 minutes to 2 and the moon is out and everybody is asleep. Insomnia has been very bad lately and consequently so has my depression. I find that my insomnia usually triggers depression. I was reading an article about that the other day I may comment on next time.

So I'm keeping busy and trying to make something of my day. Offset the sadness with feelings of accomplishment. When I am down for no reason I try to force myself to do almost ANYTHING other than what I've been doing to shake off the sadness. Here's a small sample from my bag of tricks:

  • I read a book
  • I check things off my To Do List
  • I watch some educational TV (NO channel surfing!)
  • I go out for a walk
  • I try VERY HARD not to eat because I'm bored or down
  • I write in my novel
  • I work on one of my blogs
  • I work out
  • I dance (Yeah, all by myself. Heck, I could use the exercise anyway)
  • I clean something (with four kids there's ALWAYS something that could use cleaning. Not fun but productive and cleaning a room restores order which helps me feel more balanced)


OK, so I sound like a nut. But what else am I supposed to do? Mope about and feel miserable? Not on your life. Depression is a pain in the neck and if it had a physical manifestation I'd jump up and down on it until I felt better. Since I can't do that I get creative. Tonight I am finishing some Harry Potter illustrations and cataloging my iTunes music collection.

What do you do when you're down? C'mon and pipe up, people. I may only have 4 subscribers, but I know 25 or more people visit here a day. I could use some new ideas. Heaven knows I don't know everything, contrary to what my family thinks I think! (^_-)

Comments

Danila Medvedev said…
Most people don't comment, unless you blatantly ask them for it. :) Anyway, you should feel proud for what you do and you absolutely don't sound like a nut. You found in yourself the strength to be productive (in a personal sense). All things that you listed (with the exception of cataloging the iTunes collection) are useful. I don't have depression, fortunately, which means I can be happily doing nothing for the whole day - reading blogs, mindlessly clicking on links on the web - the usual stuff.

This isn't good. Depression isn't good either, but you seem to have found a good way to cope with it. Congratulations.

As for the suggestions, you have most easy things covered, except may be

* learn to play some musical instrument
* do research and write articles
* use Skype and chat with random people from other time zones
* program
* read/watch something decidedly optimistic

P.S. Are your Harry Potter illustrations any good? Would you share them?
June 28, 2005 6:13 AM
D.R. Cootey said…
Great post, Danila. Thanks!

LOL You don't think cataloging my iTunes collection is useful!!?! Well, I can see how you might see that, but by labelling my tunes with tags like Favorite, Moody, Exhilerating, Downtempo, Upbeat, Angst, etc. I can create smart playlists that auto update so if I'm in the mood for Vocal Trance tunes I don't have to hunt around for them. Since I use music to super charge me through my depressions, this little chore becomes vital for "survival". Yeah, maybe not "life saving" survival but it makes tailoring the soundtrack to my life easier and that's good for something. ;)

RE: your great suggestions

1) I love musical instruments. I play woodwinds and am currently having fun with the tin whistle. I'm also teaching myself the guitar.

2) I have been doing that to a degree with these blog entries. It's been wonderfully therapeutic.

3) LOL I just downloaded Skype yesterday to check it out. I've been meaning to but I've just been so busy. Is randomly chatting with strangers fun? I've always been so lousy at chit chat.

4) ugh

5) Very good point. I don't think I consciously decide to do that. I usually make sure I'm thinking optimistically. And I listen to upbeat music sometimes when I'm down (thanks to my smartlists! ^_-) But I haven't thought to read/watch optimistic media. Interesting. I may have to try that.

RE: Harry Potter art: Just started a new blog. There's only one picture up. I'm working on more today: http://www.cootey.com/ArtfulAparecium. I think they're good, but you can be the judge. Go visit the site and subscribe to my feed. That way you'll know when I update the site.

Thanks again for the great post. Made my day.
June 28, 2005 7:38 AM
Anonymous said…
I too am impressed with your attitude towards your depression. I feel totally unable to
just "shake it off". It feels as futile as trying to "shake off" diabetes, say.

I find that exercise works fairly well for me, but perhaps the best thing I ever did
was see my GP. For a long long time I didn't even know I was depressed, I thought that
was just the way I was and that I just needed a kick up the arse. I've been on medication
for a while now, and I'm amazed at how much difference it's made. I feel normal!

Other things that pick me up (when I'm down) are just getting out of the house, even though it
feels "pointless".

I'm sure that not everyone needs medication, and your positive attitude and approach is serving
you very well, so keep it up!
June 28, 2005 10:43 AM
Anonymous said…
Sometimes my depression swallows me up. My life is hard! I'm not a John Lennon fan, however, he did make a profound statement. There is a line in his song "Beautiful Boy" that sums up my feelings. " Life is what happens , while your busy making other plans." .........
To keep depression away from me I try to plan relaxing experiences in advance. I love going up into the mountains, looking for wild life , being on the watch for wild flowers & streams. The sound of water brings peace to my soul. It can be the ocean, a stream, a gentle lake, a water fountain , or a rain shower. When I'm home and sad, I start plan an outdoor activity.
June 28, 2005 4:13 PM
broke said…
I read blogs like yours :) And thanks for this post, I'm going to refer back to it. Guess I'm depressed right now. Sometimes surfing the web becomes very passive for me and isn't the best strategy. And sometimes, it can be very hard to do anything at all.
Take care, and thanks again,
B
July 19, 2005 4:21 AM
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