Happy thoughts.

I've been receiving treatment for depression since I was about 12. I just figured I'd check out this forum, because I'm usually on the borderline personality one. I tend to forget I also have depression until days like today and yesterday.
I'm usually okay, but randomly, for no reason at all, I'll just feel down as hell. Yesterday, I couldn't even get out of bed, or off the couch, because I was so depressed, my whole body felt exhausted. I had the aches and pains and everything. I stood up and my legs went weak.
But why I'm posting this is because I read everyone else's posts, and they're all like this; they're all sad.

I just wanted to share some advice. Things I do that perk me up when I'm feeling horrible. (:
(I'm also taking 8 meds a day, but meds don't always work. You have to be able to make yourself happy even when you're on medication!)

First off, I love animals. Whenever I'm feeling miserable, I'll mess with my cat or put my hamster in his ball. It's the funniest thing ever, watching him roll around the living room. No matter how sad I feel, I can't wipe the smile off my face when I see that goofball cruising around on the floor. Also, my cat is my best friend. She knows when I need a pick-me-up, and she'll follow me around meowing and she even snuggles with me... If you don't have pets, or your pets aren't cuddlers, go to a petstore and play with the animals there. I hate to say it, but my advice would be not to go to an animal shelter... The moment when you walk in, all the dogs start barking and you can't see all of them at once. It's very depressing... At least to me.

A second fun thing to do is to pick up a hobby. I know that sounds nearly impossible, but once you find something you enjoy doing, it makes you feel great. I make necklaces out of copper chain, vials of preserved plants, bones, and crystals. I even use old watch parts. If you aren't into that, or don't want to spend the money, get a cheap kid's paint set and just paint. Even if it's just messing finger painting, the splotches of color are all so beautiful and unique. It feels good to do stuff that's constructive, even if it's just silly stuff like that. (:
Gardening is fun too. It's hard to really get into it because it needs a LOT of patience, but once you get going and your plants start growing, it really feels worth it. Plus you can grow your own vegetables for friends and family. It's fun!

Something else I like to do when I'm sad is help others. I work at a grocery store, so I know how hectic it can be... If you ever go shopping and see that displays look messy, straighten them up. If they are beginning to look empty, find the department that display belongs to (bakery, meat, deli, etc) and just let them know it's looking empty. They will appreciate both of those more than you know. I do those when I go shopping, even though I'm not on the clock. It's just a really swell thing to do.

Finally, spoil yourself. It's so easy to just sit around feeling miserable. It becomes comfortable. But you're just digging the hole you're already in... Take a nice bubble bath. Dye your hair. Go shopping. I always make the mistake of cancelling plans with friends and sleeping all day when I'm feeling depressed. But it's better just to get out and have fun, even though you'd rather feel like sleeping for a couple weeks, or even dying.

That's just my advice. Please, feel free to post anything you do that makes you feel better!
I hope everyone has a good day! (:

Chubbles, thanks for this thread All this is good advice, we should take it. You know what helps me too? A workout or a long walk. But my favorite is cuddling with a cat of course.

I absolutely adore this thread! Thank you for making it. It's so uplifting.

I'm not suffering from a depressive episode at the moment but I definitely would revisit this thread if & when I do have another one. (I'm on a lot of medication as well, blunting the episodes.)

I totally agree about the pets. They are my saviour. I have a cat & 5 rats. My rats are my BABIES. I love them so much. My cat is the queen of the universe. I don't know where I would be without my pets.

EarlGreyDregs wrote:I absolutely adore this thread! Thank you for making it. It's so uplifting.

I'm not suffering from a depressive episode at the moment but I definitely would revisit this thread if & when I do have another one. (I'm on a lot of medication as well, blunting the episodes.)

I totally agree about the pets. They are my saviour. I have a cat & 5 rats. My rats are my BABIES. I love them so much. My cat is the queen of the universe. I don't know where I would be without my pets.

I totally agree. My cat's my bestfriend. I used to have rats. They're so intelligent and silly. I have a hamster now... Not as smart, but he's pretty funny nonetheless lol

I'm glad you guys like the thread! I hope whenever anyone feels down they can read everyone's posts and hopefully feel a little better. <3

Hahaha I've never had pet rats!

You totally should. They are little puppy dogs!

It's tough deciding which sex to get though... They're both sweet, but I've noticed males are extra cuddly and they chill with you, BUT THEY MARK CONSTANTLY. Females are sweet too, but the few I've had always seem to be busy, busy, busy. They only sit still when they're sleeping... I think either make great companions. They're very smart and you can teach them tricks and they even recognize their names when you call them... Just remember to keep a towel handy. lol


Oh and people will say they're "dirty", which is completely false. As long as you keep their cage clean so they're not living in filth, they're very clean pets. They wash themselves like every five minutes. It's very cute. The whole scent marking thing isn't really even territorial either, and if they're fed healthy diets, it doesn't even smell. They mark for communication, since they're very social animals. Kind of icky, but it's not as bad as it sounds. (:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Cats can have pretty different personalities, do you get that with rats too?

I've noticed, yeah. I had a boy named Bandit. He was such a lazy rat. I had another named Sarah. She was really old and sweet and chilled on my shoulder/in my hair. They're cool. They can be really skittish at first though, so it can be hard to tell what personality traits they have for a while. lol

I've never had a mean one, though they can be rather territorial, so don't raise one alone and then introduce a new one later... I made that mistake only once. ):

Uh oh, I won't lol That sounds really cute hehehe

How about your EarlGreyDregs?