Could this be depression?

rurpe · 2015-08-10T22:01:56+00:00

Go talk to a professional and stop using "like" so much. It makes you sound like a 12 year old.

EscapedTheMatrix · 2015-08-11T00:31:53+00:00

I hate how people these days talk about depression like it's an incurable terminal illness (not that you are, OP; it's just something I hear a lot). If anyone says anything to the effect of "make lifestyle changes and maybe you'll feel better" they are pounced on for being insensitive about mental illness.

Depression is most often caused by overstimulation of dopamine receptors. Doing nothing but hedonistic pleasure seeking all day (eating unhealthy, watching porn, jerking off, lying in bed, watching tv, playing video games) is probably the most common cause of depression these days but nobody wants to admit it.

It's also the reason depression is often a nasty cyclic spiral: you feel bad so you do things that make you feel good, but the pleasure fades and you feel bad again and then you're confused so you eat more cookies and watch more porn and it doesn't work.

In reality, if you kick yourself in the ass and make a habit of saying

"I'm NOT going to be depressed. I'm going to go outside and chop some wood and then mow the lawn and paint the fence and work out until I sweat and then work out more until I throw up and it's going to feel shitty but then I'm going to come inside and take a cold shower and spend some time making a delicious healthy BLT and a protein shake and then I'm going to read some more Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and then I'm going to clean my room and take another cold shower and then go to bed."

...then suddenly you will find yourself moving toward the surface instead of continuing to be sucked down by depression, and you'll realize that seeking pain produces happiness and seeking pleasure produces depression.

I KNOW THIS FROM EXPERIENCE. I had severe depression and I cured myself BY MAKING LIFESTYLE CHANGES. I never took the recommended anti-depressants, but I worked my way out of depression by myself. People love to say that this is "the exception" or "a rare case" but in reality it isn't.

It should be the first attempted remedy because it will be effective most of the time. The best cure for depression is a big dose of asceticism and stoic spartanism. Try it.

Check out this post I wrote with my NoFap account if you want more info on this relationship between hedonism and depression, and asceticism and happiness. Also, read this article that someone posted in the comments. It's a vital read for anyone with depression, in my opinion.

Title	Could this be depression?
Author	financehelp95
Upvotes	1
Comments	6
Date	August 10, 2015 9:52 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/3gil6e/could_this_be_depression/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/could-this-be-depression.152250 https://theredarchive.com/post/152250

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