How did YOU fight depression?

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At a loss. Wondering how you personally fought it and if you have, or are coming out the other side, how did you do it?

Oh I've just taken up knitting. Even doing a couple of lines (of the very tatty looking blanket I'm making) means I've achieved something without even leaving the house!

Totally agree @crabby.

It’s my therapy too!

Medication
The right psychotherapist
Grounding work

Things other have said such as walking in nature / fresh air / hobbies / seeing friends etc are all brilliant of course but in my experience one has to be at a certain level of mental Health / wellness before you can even contemplate any of that. So if you’re too ill for those things I’d strongly recommend medication to get you to the point that you can do these activities

Agree with iloveruby.
All sorts of self help has aided my recovery: changing my habits, excercise, fresh air, yoga, friends, learning to say no...
But I couldn't have done any of it without sertraline. Medication didn't fix me, but it gave me just enough to be able to start looking after myself again.

Shit loads of drugs (venlafaxine, mirtazapine, olanzapine) and walked out of my job, which was what had contributed disproportionately to me needing shit loads of drugs in the first place.

Now - haven't tried to kill myself for eight and a half months, have a new job, new flat. Still cry about half the days of the week, but it still feels like winning compared to eight months ago. Still not the person I used to be, of course.

I slightly think, though, anyone who decides unilaterally to quit their ADs because they refuse to be depressed any more, or variations on that theme, probably wasn't the right candidate for ADs as treatment.

Buried it down and try and keep it there .
Does it work? Most of he time yes but it’s always there and when it comes back up to the surface it can be bad .
I don’t want to see someone or take medication, done both and didn’t like either so for me this is just how I deal with it

Admitting it. Firstly to myself. Then the HV and gp. Then my mum, exh and gradually others.

Once I swallowed the stigma I was fortunate to have lots of support - ads from the gp which took quite a while to kick in, went to stay with my mum. Was introduced to another new mum in my street and HomeStart took me under their wing. After a while I began to accept that my in-laws were rubbish and offered no support for me or the baby. Same for exh.

There have been a few times I've felt the same way since. Talking to people - tell them you're struggling - has helped me to manage their and my own expectations.

Be kind to yourself. Try to eat. Healthily if you can but MacDs if you need to. Try to rest even if you can't sleep. Sounds really lame but have a shower and wash your hair. Take a walk, even if it's only to the end of the street.

Not a plan I recommend, but:

I got pregnant, had a baby and realised there was something far more important to focus on than being miserable.

Sertraline. Quetiapine for anxiety. A very kind GP. CBT. A PTSD support group.

Being outdoors.
Signed off from work which was part of the reason I was so ill. Left said job.

Couldn't read as I couldn't concentrate so started watching trashy t.v. which isn't really my thing normally.

Took help when it was offered.

My parents said tonight they can't believe
I'm the same person who sat suicidal two years ago. Good luck op

Medication
Exercise
Counselling

I’m on quetiapine. Just had the dose upped today. Exercise helps but a symptom of my depression is a total lack of enthusiasm for leaving the house so it’s difficult.

Medication
Counselling
Gardening
Singing
Working
A great GP
Support from my dh
Painting
Walking every day
Learning to be kinder to myself.

And as someone else suggested, cutting sources of stress out of my life.

Got rid of my Ex H

Sertraline, mirtazapine, bets blocker to get me to work, Counselling and a really good GP. Clinical/severe depression is not about being miserable- it’s so much more than that. I have just had a really bad episode with 6 weeks off work - the first absence for over 25 years. Now I’m on the right track, work is helpful as it gives me routine and social contact.

Counselling
CBT
Dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT)
Knitting

Not necessarily in that order!

Sorry you feel like this, it’s shit but it will get better

When at my worst meds, my gp and a good therapist have been literal life savers. Once I am somewhat on a more even keel trying to get to a routine, same time for bed, same time getting up and a walk every evening, it feels less exposed to walk at night for me, something about it makes me feel cocooned and less self conscious if I bump into other people.

One big change came from a book I was reading that said that you should not expect to be "fixed" by therapy. When you go in with this expectation, that this person will "fix" you, you set yourself up for failure as depression is an ongoing or recurring disorder for most people, so you may need to get help again further down the line. Accepting that you are a person that has depression, that this is just another one of your many characteristics, can be helpful. the point then becomes how to live your best life possible as a person that has depression.

On my very bad days where everything feels overwhelming and I cannot leave bed I have stuffed a gorilla that gives great hugs and is always willing to listen.

Years of therapy
Learning how to lean in to difficult feelings
Learning to put myself first and say no when necessary
Exercise
Sleep
Eating well (mostly healthy, with some indulgence)
Hugely reducing contact with toxic people
Balancing socialising with hibernating

I did meds for a couple of short periods. For me, they gave me breathing space when the pain was just too much. Absolutely not any more than a short term respite for me though

I got an extremely structured job - obv that does take a level of recovery to achieve and getting there was much the same as pps - time off, support, exercise, trying to do small things I could enjoy. Having my time planned for me was very helpful though as I was required to make very few decisions. I also had vitamin d and was on ssris although I’m not entirely sure what effect they had. I also had counselling which was of debatable use but what was an absolute relief was being able to say - yes i do feel suicidal- to someone who wasnt going to burst into tears over it and just understood that was a symptom of depression. In that respect counselling helped as i was able to admit how much depression was affecting my life which I had been hiding from friends and family

Keep busy. Have a plan for the day, and even when you cant be arsed, get out and do something, don't stay in bed all day. A.nice walk, cinema trip, swimming, coffee out, all good ideas.

Learn to understand it's part of you and however bad you feel it will pass. Fight it the way you learn is best for you. Take antidepressants if necessary.

Strong medication for a very long time (still on it now; always will be) and an acceptance that this is basically as good as my MH gets.

I allow myself monthly duvet days where I do absolutely fuck all.

I force myself outside a lot.

I try to eat well.

On my bad days; I focus on small things like, having a shower. On my very bad days I have great friends who I can call for help. Often I don’t even have to tell them; they already know and are on their way over.

'what was an absolute relief was being able to say - yes i do feel suicidal- to someone who wasnt going to burst into tears '

Yes yes yes to this! I was so scared to share my self harming urges with my therapist, but she responded calmly and professionally and made me feel that it was nothing to be ashamed of. She made me feel so much less alone

Meds didn’t seem to work for me. I didn’t like the fuzzy unfocused feeling they gave me. CBT Counselling helped give me coping strategies.

Saying no to things that gave me anxiety like family social events helped a lot as I felt less pressure to put on an act.

But to be honest, I think in my case all that’s worked has been time. I’ve just plodded on and finally it just started to lift and each day became slightly better. It feels like when the storm clouds start to roll away.

I think everyone is different and medications work for some and not for others. The best thing is to be kind to yourself and be a bit selfish and put your own needs first once in a while.

Accepting that In was depressed and a six month course of Prozac. Swear by the stuff.

Still trying to work it out.
Exercise def helps but I’m struggling to have the energy to do it.

One day at a time

I realised a lot of my depression was because my life really was shit so I changed things. I moved away, cut contact with almost everybody (toxic family, various traumas and I'd fallen in with a crowd that weren't good for me) and I started over, I signed up for an OU course, retrained and changed careers, made new friends, started doing voluntary work which made me feel valued.

A big thing I had to realise was the difference between being upset over something sad and being depressed. After I was diagnosed with depression my mum used to convince me that me being sad was due to my mental health and 'normal people' didn't get that upset and that being sad should be hidden (I was a teenager, she was scared of being judged). So for a long time I'd get upset over something sad, then get upset with myself for being upset and it would just go on and on, so I was essentially depressed because I didn't want to be depressed. A few years back I realised that actually sometimes its ok to have a little cry over something sad, or to have a bad day, which has made it easier to move on.