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Real Talk, if you have a true chemical imbalance causing clinical depression nothing will help. Problem is getting a good faith diagnosis without throwing pills at you (which could have dangerous effects on your mental condition) is difficult. I’d recommend most everything in this thread before seeking medication. And if you do seek medication, do your best to go to the most reputable practitioner you can find.
I’ll share my experience but it probably isn’t like yours. I’m probably just a freak.
My life got better when I started my business. I’m a grinder, and when it became obvious my work situation wasn’t leading where I wanted to go (at least in the timeframe I felt appropriate - thanks 2008, ya ****). It was like a switch flipped and I was done. I’m not wired to **** off and not do anything, but I was doing the minimum to essentially avoid trouble.
Things got better when I went into business for myself. I work almost twice as many hours and my stress level is through the roof, but I’d rather grind for me than have a fairly cushy job for someone else. Now, I’m not entirely certain that’s totally healthy because I’ve become criminally pragmatic. If something can’t help me move towards my goal right now, get the **** out of here. I don’t deal in any abstracts, I don’t even do any intermediate-term planning because I can’t offset a myriad of unknowns so it’s pointless so get the **** out of here and let me go do something important.
That being said, starting a life-consuming business probably isn’t in the cards for most folks. There are a lot of things that work for me when the wheels come off, it’s just a matter of what caused the wheels to come off.
When I’m floundering, I find something doable and just hammer it out. Even if it’s tedious or a pain in the ass. Power through it and get something positive and tangible done. So you can see good things happen and it can get the ball moving. Jordan Pedersen’s book (I haven’t read it but Seen videos on the 12 steps - they’re sound. I recommend the book) suggests that the first thing you should do is make the bed. Similar concepts.
When I’m ground down to a nub, I gotta take some time for me. Most of the time it’s at night, hence the 1:30 post, but I have to find time to do something to unwind my brain (or whatever you need). It’s worth losing the sleep.
When I’m paddling in an river of shit, which is 2020, you have to mentally focus on what you can control and get to work. I have a tendency to focus on what’s happening to me rather than what I’m going to do.
I totally agree on exercise. I’m shit at it right now because the time isn’t there but endorphine release is real.
One thing I see in myself and other people is focus. It’s like the whole world got ADD since the widespread adoption of smartphones. It’s just too damned easy to just quickly chase down whatever pops in your head. Thing about it is those activities in most cases are neither productive or healthy. Too many people I know have lost the ability to sit down and focus on something. My view is that focus is like muscles. Some dudes have more than others, it can be dramatically improved through constant use, and can atrophy in periods of disuse. And here’s the thing. If I get spacey and can’t focus, that’s when I become miserable. Maybe it’s just some random ramblings by an asshole on the internet, but IMO if you spend all day attached to a device you’re going to be miserable.
Best of luck man. All the best.
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