Does anyone have tips on how to stop depression creeping back in?

[MascaraOHara]

I'm feeling shit and to be honest probably have been for a good week or so.. Seriously don't want to spend 6 months of evey year on ADs

I know that if I go to the gym and eat well I feel better but yet I still haven't been doing those things.

How do you make yourself do the things that you know make you feel better when you just don't have the...

this is a tough one.
one i think about allot.
i have just decided to stay on ads.
tried to stop them but the depression just comes back like a kick in the guts, as sudden as that.

to my mind this confirms the "chemical imbalance" theory.
if i were diabetic, i would take medication, if i were asthmatic, i would take medication..

whats the difference. If you stop the medication then yes, it does come back.

why put your self through it?

You meantion needing ADs 6 months a year - do you have SAD?

I force myself to exercise. Believe it or not, it makes a world of difference.

I also do not keep any sort of booze in the house. Or fags.

Exercise makes a huge difference to depression, IME, especially something outdoors like a walk.

I ditto the excercie, I have just taken the dog out instead of making DH do it and I feel tons better for it, and the way I am that really is saying something. It is very very hard sometimes but just getting out the door you feel more like a walk or something.

Oh I swear by exercise to keep my mood up but I haven't been to the gym for weeks.

and now I've started craving, and stuffing my face with, white carbs as well

I've only been on ADs once before.

exercise exercise exercise got me through miscarriages, bereavements, AD post clinical depression and helps regulate PCOS

also relate to winter months feeling low. where I come from is never so dark for so long and it is hard to adjust.

exercise wise it is hard too because I prefer running early in the morning which is not always possible in darkest winter but really worth the effort

For me it i changed when i hit a real low for the third time and i was so sick of getting to that point that I decided I would never let it happen again.

I have accepted that I will be vulnerable to depression for the rest of my life and so like dissle says I kind of treat it like a chronic condition like diabetes. When I have a few bad days I make myself get out and see people, do exercise etc. I often feel like that is the last thing i want to do but I am determind never to go back there again.

I really struggle to find time to exercise - realistically the only time I get at the moment is lunchtimes and that's not always possible (and hasn't been lately)

I was on ADs for about 6 months, came off them (probably too soon), the depression came back, I went back on them, off about a year, weaned off them v e r y slowly and haven't had a problem since. There are times when I feel like it might hovering, but because I know what it is now, unlike before, I keep it at bay. I don't exactly know HOW, it's more that I don't allow myself to get pulled back down into the pit if that makes sense.

Wrt exercise, could you force yourself to do little bits in the day? eg park at the far end of carparks etc? My ds has just relised that he likes jumping, and we often put on some music and just jump around for a while - which is a lot harder than it sounds!

I try to make sure Iget out of the house as much as I can and I find walking a lot helps. And weirdly I start drinking lots of water which helps me.