Depression

If you're able to get exercise, it is, in general, always recommended for people who chronically feel unwell. Actually, it's recommended for everyone!

This should be the first thing you try because it has the highest likelihood of helping, and there are effectively zero downsides and nearly zero risks, especially compared to some of the other suggestions on this page.

Exercise is one of those things that is easy to underestimate. It tends to help a lot more than one expects–even for me, and even though I have actually experienced in the past how much it can help.

If exercise doesn't sound too fun to you (nothing really does when you're depressed), or sounds too difficult, then start small. Force yourself to do a few stretches, ideally as regularly as you can. Set an alarm on your phone or the like and DO NOT dismiss the alarm until you've done what you told yourself you were going to do (unless you're out doing something/in a place where it is simply not possible - but don't make excuses for yourself; if you are trying to get better, excuses are not how that is done). Snoozing it is fine, but you should be getting annoyed by it every 10 minutes until you actually get up and do it.

One thing that I find helps a lot is to take walks. It might be easier to do if you keep in mind the upsides:

• You are getting exercise (duh), which is good for you.
• You are getting a change of scenery (i.e. assisting your brain in getting out of negative thought-loops, giving it stimulation other than the same thing all the time).
• You can bring headphones and listen to music while you do (for me, music hits a lot harder when I'm walking. I often spontaneously visualize music videos in my mind when I listen to music on a walk.).

One thing you might not know is that humans actually EVOLVED to walk, especially over long distances. Long ago, when society was a new (or perhaps not even invented yet) concept, the way humans hunted was not by running quickly to catch prey (because most animals are way faster than us), but by persisting in the chase over very long distances. Most animals are designed to sprint quickly over short distances, but humans are designed to walk or jog over long distances without getting tired nearly as quickly. This way, we were able to keep pursuit over our prey until they were simply too exhausted to continue.

Bit scary to think about, isn't it? Being chased and no matter how fast or how much you run you simply can't escape. ahem But I digress.

While it is good to make a habit of one's exercise (by the way, your brain will form a habit for anything you do consistently for at least 30 days in a row–though this isn't a substitute for having discipline), getting a walk or some exercise in can help in a pinch as well. If you're feeling particularly down or unmotivated, especially to the point where you can't make yourself do something you want to do, you would be wasting less time to take a walk, listen to music, and provide your brain some new stimulation to work off of, rather than sitting around hoping it will suddenly and spontaneously change. In my experience, one's mindset spontaneously changing like that is not common.

While I love to take longer walks when possible, you don't have to force yourself to do that. I would suggest telling yourself that you are going to go out and walk for at least 20 minutes. At that point, if you're sure you're still not feeling it, you'll return home. But commit to those 20 minutes. Don't just loop around your block–make a point of exploring your area and seeing some things that you don't already see every day. If you're taking the time to walk, you might as well make the most of it, and get as much benefit as possible. A change of scenery is very much a benefit.

Why do I say 20 minutes? In my experience, if I wasn't enjoying the idea of a walk to begin with, usually after 15 minutes or so is when my feelings start to change and I start getting into it a lot more. If it's cold out, by 15 minutes of consistent walking, I'm usually feeling much warmer and much more comfortable.

I often ended up taking much longer walks, and ended up feeling much better afterwards. I felt the most "normal" and "well" in my life when I was taking longer walks regularly. A lot of them ended up lasting several hours, even, and I don't regret it at all. Of course, you don't have to take walks that are that long, but if you're going to walk (which you should), you should at least take one that is long enough and varied enough to maximize the benefit you get from it.

Keep in mind that the more often you exercise, the more benefit you will see from it. So you obviously shouldn't expect your depression to be cured after a single walk. But on the other hand, it may be of more help more quickly than you might expect.

The human body and brain typically expect to sleep at night, and operate as if that will be the case. One's eyes and skin are both sensitive to circadian cues such as light. So when you don't get enough–sunlight in particular–it makes sense that you might not have a lot of energy or motivation.

When possible, you should get outside and get some sunlight, or at least ensure that your room is not dark at all hours of the day. Take advantage of sunlight when you can, ideally as much as you can.

One problem, though, is that sometimes you simply don't have the option. You might work a night shift, or your room might just not get that much natural sunlight. It could be the dead of winter where sunlight is simply hard to come by. You might just be a night owl (like me). So here is my recommendation: light therapy.

• What is light therapy?
  • Light therapy is simply giving your body light that has similar characteristics (i.e. frequencies) that sunlight has in order to make up for the light you aren't able to get naturally.
• Does light therapy work?
  • I have found that it often works well enough for me that I feel comfortable recommending it.
• But it hasn't worked for me before?
  • Perhaps you were using a lamp that was not designed to sufficiently mimic natural sunlight. Read on.

There are, of course, a lot of options for light therapy. You could just get a lamp that you put on your desk and it will shine light at you. I used that for a while and didn't get a lot of benefit from it.

Instead of that, I now use light therapy glasses, which have been much more effective. You wear them on your face like normal glasses (except without lenses) and they will shine light down into your eyes from above. In theory this method is a lot more effective, because the sun is overhead most of the time, so the receptors in our eyes that are affected by sunlight sit at the bottom of the inside of the eye, in order to most effectively catch those lightrays. Thus it's not just the type of light, but the angle that the light is entering your eye, that will determine how effective light therapy can be.

The particular model of light therapy glasses that I use now are these, but similar ones with good reviews should work just fine (just do your research and purchase a pair that won't have issues for you). It's possible to wear them above your normal glasses so you can still see and do other things while they're on. They have a timer that automatically turns them off after the recommended amount of time (1 hour). Their built-in battery can be charged over USB with an included USB cable. The only downside of them is that they make it harder to see things in dark areas while you're wearing them (because they're shining bright light in your eyes).

One thing to keep in mind with light therapy is that you should use it only at times that you want to be awake. In other words, you shouldn't use them before bed, since they will wake you up.

It should go without saying that sleep is important. Even if you aren't depressive, it's important. But if you are depressed, consider whether the amount of sleep, the quality of your sleep, or the times you're sleeping, could be part of the cause.

It's well-known that at least 8 hours of sleep a night is recommended. This is not a hard and fast rule, though, and some people may need more or less than that. Additionally, there may be times when a person needs more or less sleep than usual. For example, I find I tend to need more sleep in the winter–likely due to how little sunlight there is during that time of year.

If you think you're getting the right amount of sleep, it could be possible that you're not getting good enough sleep. This is another thing that exercise can help with; when you exert energy during the day, you will fall asleep and stay asleep more easily.

You should also be aware that things you consume could be having an effect on the quality of your sleep. Caffeine is an obvious example; not only can it make it harder to fall asleep, having too much of it in your system while you sleep could also decrease sleep quality. The half-life of caffeine is typically around 5 hours, which means that 5 hours after you have caffeine, half of the amount you had will still be in your system. But if you just want a simple rule to follow, have caffeine in the morning, and avoid it in the afternoon.

Alcohol is another common compound that can greatly reduce sleep quality. Though it might make you sleepy, it's best to use as little as possible, saving its consumption for special occasions, if you opt to consume it at all. Even aside from its negative effects on sleep, it is pretty unhealthy in general. When you do have it, remember to stay hydrated, drinking water regularly.

Unfortunately, cannabis (marijuana) can also negatively impact sleep quality. It probably isn't as bad for that as caffeine and especially alcohol are, but it can disrupt the sleep cycle and reduce the amount of time spend in the REM phase. This is why dreams are usually so much harder to remember for people who have it regularly. Oh, and by the way, technically everyone dreams every night, it's just a matter of whether you can recall them or not.

Aside from the amount and quality, it's also good to have a consistent sleep schedule so your body is trained into going to sleep at the right time. It's generally recommended to sleep at night and be awake during the day if possible. Not only is most of the rest of the world operating on that schedule (which means you will be able to be more productive and do more things if you follow it), it's also good to get enough sunlight. See the previous section on sunlight for details about that.

Finally, another consideration is the environment you're sleeping in. Reduce or preferably eliminate light where you sleep, especially blue lights (or any lights that contain blue frequencies). Since it's a circadian cue, having it near you while you're sleeping can make it harder to fall asleep. If you do need light, the best and least disruptive color of light to have is red light.

You should have a designated spot you use for sleeping and only for sleeping. If you spend a lot of time in bed doing things that aren't sleeping, bed will be less associated with sleep in your mind. The ideal is to not even see or be near your bed while you're active.

Considering how both light and activity can dissociate your sleeping space from the feeling of going to sleep, you should also avoid using your phone (or any backlit device) in bed. If you're sure you can't do without your phone in bed, you should at least enable a blue light filter, which is built in to most modern smartphones (often with the ability to schedule it to be enabled only at night). But the ideal is to not use it in bed at all, and minimize usage as much as possible before heading to sleep.

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's basically cliché at this point, but there's nothing that says popular wisdom can't actually be true. There are a few things you can do to take care of yourself, which may help a bit. And every little bit helps.

Ideas:

• Take a shower
• Shave
• Get a haircut

"Garbage in, garbage out", they say. If you are only providing yourself crappy food, it only makes sense that you will feel crappy.

In general, I try to eat foods that are high in fat (your body actually requires fat in order to store a lot of nutrients) and low in sugar/carbohydrates (carbohydrates provide quick, short-term energy, which is useful if you are physically active, but too much can be an issue if you're not). In particular, I try to follow a "keto"-style diet as much as possible. I'm not actually in ketosis currently but I try to get as close to it as is feasible here in the US where a lot of cheap and easily-available food is seemingly designed to be as bad for you as possible.

Gut health is very important and has been linked to one's mood. Some scientists have termed the gut the "second brain". Probiotic foods are generally things you should prioritize as much as possible to encourage good gut bacteria and discourage bad gut bacteria. Probiotic supplements are generally not recommended as they can have downsides that probiotic foods don't. Unfortunately nutrition is a pretty complex topic and I am not inclined to go into it too deep here. I encourage you to do your own research.

Here are some foods that are unambiguously good, and don't take a lot of effort:

• Water (Obviously incredibly important and easy to forget about. Also note that a lot of things such as caffeine and salt will dehydrate you)
• Probiotic yogurt (For better taste, it can be mixed with granola and/or fruits such as berries)
• Eggs (WITH the yolk, as that's where most of the actual nutrients are)
• Kefir (Goat kefir is apparently the best kind, but it's not as easy to find here in the US)
• Sardines (High in DHA, which is good for the brain)
• Asparagus (High in nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants)
• Avocados (High in fat, low in carbohydrates)
• Kombucha (Probiotic!)
• Kimchi (Also probiotic!)

"Keep a full plate".

Make lists of good things.

Modafinil is a non-standard stimulant. It does not operate in the same way that medications like adderall do, and it is not related to them or stimulants like caffeine, etc. It also feels quite different. It has a minor antidepressive effect, but it is probably not wise to take it regularly; instead, your best bet would be to only take it on an "as-needed" basis, if you do choose to use it. I am not a doctor so I cannot recommend it. If you do choose to look into this option, ensure you do plenty of research on it so you know the risks and can make an informed decision.

I got a prescription for it for depression. It's an off-label use but not entirely unheard of. It's fantastic, energy & mood lightening effects without all the shitty brain-numbing side effects other antidepressants gave me. It doesn't make me feel like a zombie or like my brain is swimming in syrup. And I don't have to addict myself to it then slowly taper off it over two months if I want to stop it. And if I lose my insurance or can't afford the co-pay on time, I don't get crippling, brain melting withdrawal for missing a dose.

Modafinil is the only drug that has done me any good at all.

from u/tgjer on reddit

Moclobemide is an antidepressant; specifically, it's a reversible MAOI. Unlike standard MAOIs, it has very few side effects and very few interactions with other medications or foods. The only interactions one needs to worry about with it are drugs that affect serotonin, such as some stimulants and some psychedelics.

Moclobemide also has a very short half-life, being only 2 hours. Thus if you are going to take one of those drugs, you should stop taking moclobemide at least 24 hours in advance so that it is out of your system.

Another plus of moclobemide is that it does not have withdrawls when you stop taking it, nor does it have any permanent side effects.

A downside of moclobemide is that it may be less effective than other antidepressants, particularly for major depression.

If you do want to give moclobemide a try, you should research it on your own. Any antidepressant will have risks (just like any drug will), so you should ensure you know what you're getting into before you take it.

Additionally, it may not be easy to get prescribed it in certain places, such as the US, as it is not commonly-prescribed here. However, it may be possible to acquire it without a prescription via certain sites online. Again, you should do your research on it if you choose to try this option. Always use an abundance of caution. I am not a doctor, thus I can not recommend it.

I don't think that there is always a reason behind one's depression. From my (admittedly limited) knowledge and experience, it seems that sometimes it just happens. On the other hand, sometimes there is a reason for it. This reason might not be obvious; in fact, it might be quite difficult to figure it out.

So how does one figure it out? Perhaps it can be done similarly to how one figures out other types of problems: by way of observation. Listening is a skill. It's not just a rare skill, but also one of those skills that are more difficult than they feel like they might be.

Reflection is simply listening to oneself. Each of us has innumerable facets that can be observed, and sometimes it's hard to even be aware of some of them. This makes reflection very difficult, and perhaps even scary to some.

However, pain exists for a reason. Physical pain is the body's way of making sure you know you have a wound, and that you take care of it. Depression feels like a sort of pain, so what is its wound?

If you're like me, depression is probably something that you will have to deal with regularly. It may not ever fully just "go away". But over time, I have found that my depression has become more manageable and less severe.

It's important to keep a good mindset. A defeatist attitude will not help you, nor will it make others enjoy talking to you. If you don't want to suffer and waste your whole life, change begins in the mind.

Again, these are all things that I've found to be helpful for me, but everyone, and everyone's situation, is different. Take steps every day to improve things for yourself, even if they're small. Helping yourself helps others, just as helping others helps yourself.

I hope you have found this guide useful. You are welcome to contact me with corrections, comments, and questions via the usual methods.