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I get depressed when I should be happy?

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Q&A: I get depressed when I should be happy?

Alright….today I went to a movie with my mom and shopping afterwards, which should have been a happy event, but I just felt extremely depressed the whole time. I almost started to cry when we were shopping. I have NEVER cried in public, let alone let anyone think I’m sad.

I’ve been feeling really down all summer….I don’t want to leave my house because I feel like crap, I’m having a hard time finding a job, and I just hate where my life is right now. The entire time we were out all I could think about is getting home asap and crying my eyes out into my pillow and whether or not there is a gun in the house. After venting a little bit I feel better, but this is a reoccuring cycle. I’ve been in the situation many times before and its getting old. What can I do to combat this depression?

The following is the answer:

Answer by ana
Pay attention to what you are eating! Write down what foods you ate and how you felt afterwards. There isn’t much to do to depression (I know from experience), but know that it is most likely hormones.

Answer by Dr. Fil
See a therapist. Seriously, there may be a chemical imbalance in you and a therapist may be able to prescribe you with an anti-depressant. I hope you feel better.

Answer by tvg.
ana is right. your eating habits play a huge role with your emotions. if your not eating the right foods, then you’re not getting healthy energy to your brain which causes you to feel sluggish, and once you feel sluggish it’s all down hill. also, try doing things to make you happy. finding hobbies, seeing friends, doing things to motivate you. the last thing you want to do when feeling depressed is just accept it and lock yourself up. that will only make you feel worse. and if it comes down to it, talk to a therepist about it. i, personally wouldn’t suggest anti-depressants because you shouldn’t have to depend on a pill for the rest of your life. you should learn how to cope naturally. plus, a lot of anti-depressions cause suicidal thoughts to increase. (which happened to me.) and after i got off my meds and started to do things for me i felt a whole lot better. but life isn’t going to be a walk in the park after you start feeling better. you’re still going to have rough days but that’s life for you!

Answer by lui
I would like to suggest that you address your feeling and talk to your friends or if you have a boyfriend just make an appointment if you can go on dating and tell him/her everything you are feeling and experiencing at this time. Your friends and your boyfriend/girlfriend can help you what you are feeling or experiencing right now. Courage, you are prayed for.

Answer by robgchev
I would encourage you to talk with your doctor. Many times antidepressants can be used as a tool to help pull you out of a depression so that therapy can take place. Once therapy is taking place you can wean off of the antidepressants. There is a misconception that once you start antidepressants you are on them the rest of your life. Many of our eating patterns are directly related to our depression, but the #1 thing must be to get control of the emotions. The 2nd step is to determine what we want to have change in our lives. Thirdly, how do we change these things and then journaling our progress/failures during this process. Evaluating or journey through the changes helps us to make modifications to improve our life, even our failures are good.

If you have been struggling with depression for more than a few days within a month, you need to see a doctor. This can lead to suicidal ideation, attempts at suicide, loss in will to work, quitting school, jobs, interferance with relationships, finances and so on. Get professional help. Psychiatrists and therapists can and do help. It is not a shame or a bad thing to ask for help. Check out the following web page for more information. This web page is more designed for bipolar but is has good information about depression also.

Answer by raven m
u and me both i cant really answer ur question but if u need someone 2 talk 2 im here 4 u.u can e-mail me anytime ur felling down and i will try my best 2 help u

Answer by Allie_D
Most doctors have told me to avoid medication if at all possible. My last one flat out told me no saying that while sometimes medication can help, other times it has really bad side effects. Especially in younger people.

I battle depression a lot and one of the things that I try to do is accept what I cannot change. Time fixes everything and I just try to trust in that if I have no power over a situation.

Another thing I do is journal a lot and there I ask myself the really tough questions. I get real with myself. Am I depressed because I want to be? Do I embrace it? Could I not just have faith that everything will work out? Am I wallowing in self-pity? In addition, if I am how do I get out of this cycle?

In addition, after all of that I close my book and try to make positive decisions in my life. I try to replace the hurt and self doubt with positive things. I surround myself with people that love me and people that encourage me or lift me up. It is hard to feel down around certain people.

Find someone to talk to, someone reassuring. It sounds like you have a good relationship with your mom. Perhaps you could confide in her. There is nothing stronger than a mother’s love. I am sure she only wants to see you happy so perhaps she could help.

If you want to break the cycle then you will have to try a new direction…. a different approach.

Life is going to look up for you. Just try to stay positive. I know, easier said than done.

Answer by Wireman
How to overcome depression:

Make yourself busy. We all need to feel like we’re involved in something significant. We need to participate in something outside ourselves. You might consider volunteering at a local women’s shelter or food pantry. That will elevate your mood as well as your self esteem.

Exercise is good for us, but physical contact is equally important. Exercise affects brain chemicals, and the healing touch of physical closeness does too. If you’re depressed, hug somebody – anybody, everybody! A hug is good medicine. It reduces stress and tension and it boosts your immunity to illness. Hugs raise self esteem and lower blood pressure. They feel good and make people happy. And they’re free! Hugs are the universal language that communicates love and acceptance. They’re healthy for the “hugger” as well as the “hugee.”

Take up a sporting activity like walking, cycling, tennis, golf, water sports, riding, gliding, sailing, football, badminton. Something with a personal achievement goal. Spectator sports do not count and have little value for the purpose of defeating depression. Like alcohol (with which they are often associated) and television, they are simply ephemeral distractions. Depression cannot exist when the adrenaline is surging. Try bungee jumping.

Avoid substances that are unknown to cause mood swings or depressionlike alcohol, caffeine, chocolate and high sugar foods.

Learn to laugh. It really will make you feel better. Visit a local joke shop or toy shop. Buy books and magazines that you find entertaining and amusing rather than just educational. hire a funny video and invite one or two friends round to enjoy it with you.

Build up your self-confidence. People who suffer from depression often lack self-assurance. Write an advertisement for yourself listing all your good qualities. Carry your advert with you and look at it whenever you’re feeling down.

Have a pet. The pet, however, be it a parrot, a cat, a mouse or a dog do not have this problem. They love their ‘master’ unconditionally and this is fully reflected through their behavior. It is much easier overcoming depression and making your way back to normalcy when you are faced with the exceptional love of a pet (or more). It was observed that people whom pets were given want to become better, want to become useful, want to love back and hence slowly escape the clutches of depression and return to their old selfs.

Talk to someone about it. A problem shared is a problem halved. Have you ever felt better by getting something off your chest? Of course you have. Did talking about a problem in the past help to put it into perspective and perhaps make it easier to deal with. I would guess you have probably been there too. Depression is no different. Find someone you can trust and get talking about it. Friends, family, your doctor, support groups both online and off….You might even find that someone comes up with an idea you have never thought of which just might work for you.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!