Depression Support Groups

Hey, join this cool meetup group for mental health peer support!

We are starting to build "hubs" of peer support in other cities around the world.

http://www.meetup.com/New-Mental-Health-Movement/

After you join the meetup, email me the organizer and he will invite you to our private virtual peer support "Ning" group that you can use from the privacy of your computer.

Hope you're doing well

Depression Cures: Escaping the Daily Routine

I just got back from a clinical study I did and i was away from home for 24 days. I can't even describe how good it is to be home. I'm so happy to be back, i'm so much more thoughtful towards my family, i'm so much more appreciative of what I have. This has led me to a light bulb type insight: that it is good to get away from your daily routine and your daily relationships every so often. Who can see the same people every single day and not get sick of them? If you leave for a little while and then come back, then likely they'll be more fond of you and you more fond of them. We save money for cars and houses and big screeen TVs, but we should be saving it for vacations and trips. When you're stuck in the daily routine for too long you stop even being aware of how miserable you are. So if you can get away, do it. And if you can't yet, start saving today.

Hope you're doing well:)

http://www.depressiondodging.com/

Depression Self Help: Staying Inspired

It is important to stay inspired in your daily activities because they can get monotonous. Working at the same job everyday, doing the same hobby everyday, seeing the same people every day, can lead to boredom, irritablity, and depression. Its important you're always evolving and making things more interesting.

For example, I play guitar everyday and in order to learn songs I have to play them over and over and over. Even though I really enjoy playing this can be tedious. So what i like to do is read biographies of my favorite musicians. These books remind me of how much better I can become and inspire me to keep evolving.

A lot of the time people work at jobs that they don't really enjoy and this can be depressing, but you can make it more interesting by staying inspired. If you work in sales you can read books about selling and keep improving at your craft. If you work in customer service you can learn more about how to deal with people. You can also read about people you admire and that can be very inspirational. Whatever it is you're doing, there are always ways to keep it interesting. Also, as a reward for staying inspired you will likely improve your results which could lead to a higher income, more enjoyment and higher self esteem.

http://www.depressiondodging.com/fightingdepressionwithinspirationtherapy.html

Depression Self Help: The Importance of Goals

Its important to have goals that you're working towards. When we feel like we are making progress on goals we feel better about ouselves.

For example: I feel like whenever I play my guitar or I sing that i'm getting better at it so I always feel good after I sing or play. I feel like i'm moving closer to my goal of starting a band, recording, etc.

So set a goal for yourself if you haven't already and do things that will move you closer to achieving it every day. If you do things to move closer to your goal you will always feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. You will also feel empowered when you actually achieve that goal, which will make you more confident in pursuing other goals. Start with goals that aren't too difficult because if the goal is too difficult you'll get discouraged and give up too soon. Start easy and challenge yourself as you go along.

Hope you're doing well and pursuing your goals.

http://www.depressiondodging.com/

Depression Self Help: Helping Others

Hey, hope you're feeling good.

I've been posting answers on Yahoo Answers to questions about depression and bipolar disorder. It feels good to people help who need it and i've also realized that there are people out there that have it way worse than I do. Maybe you have expertise in a certain area that you can help people with. Maybe you've learned a lot through your struggles with depression and can help people deal with theirs. Its so nice to stop thinking about yourself and think about other people and how to help them with their problems because depression often causes us to isolate and just feel sorry for ourselves. You're not alone and you're not worthless.

http://www.depressiondodging.com/

Depression Self Help: Finding People To Hang Out With

A lot of us isolate ourselves when we're depressed and that doesn't help. Maybe you don't want to be seen or maybe you just don't have any friends that like what you like. If you don't have anyone to do activities with you can post an ad on Craig's list in the "activities" category. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. You can sit there and complain about not having any like-minded friends or you can make and effort to find some. Who knows, you might find your soulmate.

Hope you're feeling good.

p.s. email me if you want to do some skipping.

http://www.depressionddodging.com/

Depression Cures- Detoxifying Your Circle of Friends

I haven't done any studies on this or anything, but my instincts tell me that most people get depressed and stay depressed because of other people. I think most of us have people in our lives that treat us badly, which makes us feel worthless. We begin to think that if people we care about treat us like crap then people that we don't even know are going to treat us even worse...the seeds of low self esteem. Most of us know these people are bad for us and that we should get away from them, but it isn't that easy. They just keep returning. They do just the bare minimum to stay in the circle. I say "who needs um?" All they do is make us miserable.

I've been pissed off all day today because one of my "friends" made me wait for hours for them. He thinks his time is more important than mine. It ain't. People will say stuff like "oh you're too sensitive" as an excuse. Of course i'm sensitive, i'm depressed! If you treated me like a human being I wouldn't feel like a piece of shit all the time! They think you're desperate and maybe you are, but it doesn't mean you have to act like it. The more you allow people to disrespect you the more they think its okay.

I say get rid of the people that make you miserable and pay more attention to the ones that don't.

Hope you're doing well.

http://www.depressiondodging.com/