This is not a whining post. I've got something to offer that some here might find beneficial.

I was reading the post earlier about increasing your SMV and there is massive consensus on lifting which I wholeheartedly agree with.

But how do I even increase my SMV with weightlifting if depression has me stuck to the bed?

A lot of depressed people hover around on Reddit. TRP might also house people suffering from depression as well. No one wants to bitch here which is fucking great. Cause everyone else is constantly bitching anywhere else you go. So in case anyone has been too much of a pussy or just too considerate to whine about dealing with depression, let me offer you my insights.

I'm not a scientist. This is not going to be full of links "proving" anything. This is shit I've learned after wading knee deep through a culture that thrives on drama hood and supporting victims.

Depression is real. I'm not a denialist. I'm not here to tell you I found some miracle cure that proved science and the medical field wrong. No. It is real. And it sucks.

People are either prone to depression or they are not. Certain events can trigger depression in people but that is not the same as being prone to or it just being a constant companion. This is not intended for those people who got depressed because their cat Captain Bad Ass died but after reading their bibles and mother goose fairy tales felt better about themselves.

This is for those people who just chronically suffer from it. And right there is the first lesson which I will come back to.

If you are on medication and it works for you - fantastic. I'm not here to interfere with your medical treatment. But I tried medication. I tried therapy. I tried the whole system. All I got was "tell me more about the way you feel" and "let's give you another pill" and "this is just the way your brain is." Welp, I feel like shit, I'd rather be drunk fucking ass right now than taking more of your shitty drugs, and fuck my brain if this is what my experience is doomed to be.

But that is the beginning not the end.

Back to lesson one: Why are people always suffering with depression? Because it sucks? Well tons of shit sucks. Seriously. Not everything that sucks gets the label "suffering." Most shit you just have to deal with. Period. So instead of suffering from depression, why not fucking deal with it?

Once I changed that sentence from suffer to deal it was no longer this mystical something I could do nothing but surrender to. Deal with it. Alright got'damnit I will.

Take stock of your depression. There are times when it is normal, worse, excruciating, not so bad, and barely there. So depression is not consistent. So take stock of what you are doing. What did you eat 8 to 24 hrs ago? What were you thinking about all day? What did you listen to? What did you watch? What did you do? Take stock of that. And start noticing patterns. "Oh fuck, today I feel like hell. Check my list. Yep. Papa John's again 12 hrs ago. That makes 5 times. No more that."

Once you start noticing patterns you can connect the foods also - too much carbohydrates (sugar), oil, fat, etc. Alcohol hurts. Marijuana hurts. Tons of chemicals/drugs make it worse. And then you just cut all that shit out.

Exercise helps. Awesome I will do it. Cardio and weights sucks though. That shit is rough. I'll just switch out days and cut back and basically suck on chodes instead. No. Cardio AND weight lifting 5 times a week. You need both exertions. You need it 5 days a week.

And then you aren't depressed anymore.

But sometimes, sometimes Sundays are a little tricky and hard. It feels like depression again. You force yourself to go on Monday the first time out of fear. You don't force yourself the next Monday and by Tuesday you can't believe you actually skipped Monday. Then the 3rd Monday you wake up and remember that you felt this bad 2 other times. 1 time I decided to go. And 1 time I decided not to go. What is different about then compared to now? That back then I didn't know I had a choice. But today, I do. Do I go? Or do I not?

And so depression's hold goes away. But it is still there. It lingers. It appears accidentally when you took a chance on that new restaurant. Or when you really do want that beer. Or when smokin' a fatty with your old liberal hippie friends would be a rad blast from the past.

But then you wake up miserable on that Sunday. And you realize - that no matter what the prescriptions say, the experts say, and what the tv stations say - You have a choice.

And that is how I deal with depression.

TL;DR: Captain Bad Ass really is in Heaven, Quit eating so much shitty food, Exercise 5 times a week doing both cardio and weights, Hippie joints hurt - be prepared to deal with it.