From: sykopath@leland.Stanford.EDU (Mickey)
Subject: Re: Any suggestions for when you feel depressed for no reason?
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 92 19:32:52 GMT


First, thanks to all of you who responded, on the net and via email,
for your support and suggestions.  I'm feeling much better today than 
I was last night...
(there's still a sensation of the depression "lurking in the background", as
if as soon as I stop being happy, it'll swoop back in and devour me...
...I don't know if this is true or not, just what it feels like...)

In article <1992Oct8.073215.22171@leland.Stanford.EDU> garygm@leland.Stanford.EDU (Gary Brainin) writes:
>what you're describing sounds familiar.  I've had bouts of free-

D'yknow, that right there helps...:)
Just to be reminded (I already "knew", but reminders help) that it's not just
me...I'm not "alone" in this...

>suggestions as to how to get over it except to say that doing almost
>anything with the belief that it will help often does.  At least as

Like...posting on the net, maybe?  *grin*
I actually did start feeling better after posting my previous message...
...so thank you all for involuntarily participating in my self-therapy...:)

>   Let's see . . . background problems, but they didn't depress you
>yesterday.  

Bingo.  That's exacly why I was worried about it...because even though
they are scary things, they weren't depressing me before, so they probably
weren't the cause now...

>helpful.  Yeah, that's about right.

Well, you're accurate...but this state of being is by no means "right"...
*halfgrin*

>could your malaise have anything to do with the weather?  It's been

Hmmm...could be.  More likely I would suspect dehydration...I don't tend
to drink enough.
Problem: I was inside in an air-conditioned building and drank three or
four large glasses of water, and it didn't help.

>   It's just a suggestion; I'm the last person to suggest that
>depression needs an identifiable cause.

Heh.  And I'd be the last person to agree with you...:)

>   Well, I'll take the liberty of presuming that you've been down
>before.  And the further liberty of presuming that you didn't stay
>that way up until today.  So, the obvious question is, what did you do

True...

>that got you out of your funk last time?  Chances are, the best thing

Heh.  Don't remember...last time I can remember being down, I got a lot
of hugs from a friend and waited for it to go away.  The first is currently
impossible, the second is currently being practiced, with some fair success.

>for _you_ to do to make yourself feel better is something that's
>worked for you in the past.

Bingo.  Pertaining to which:
>>In article FOO.BAR@leland.stanford.edu, I wrote:
>>
>>So what do I do?  Should I pick up my Bible and read some? 

Well, this always works, but for some reason (like I'm stupid when I'm
depressed) I resist doing it until everything else fails.  
I think I'll read some when I log off, though...

>>Should I go work out, and hope that the endorphins will kick in

Went for a fast walk, which has the same effect, and it helped some.
I don't have a problem with medicating myself out of a depression,
if two conditions are met:
1) the depression is chemically induced, i.e. I'm not trying to cover
for emotional problems I'm having, or avoid dealing with something wrong.
2) the medication is natural, i.e. internal...the prime example being
endorphins, a secondary example being sleep.

>>Should I go and look for a friend (or is that just being dependent)?

Went and talked to a friend, and asked her if she had really not enjoyed
our earlier conversation (I had perceived her as not enjoying it), or if
it was just my dysphoria talking...
...she thought it funny that I even needed to ask, because of *course*
she had enjoyed our earlier conversation.

This helped a lot, actually, as my impression of that conversation had
been one of the things supporting my depression.

>>Should I post to a newsgroup in the hope of getting some positive
>>affirmation from a motley assortment of complete strangers?

SCORE!!!  *grin*

Thanks, guys.  

Thanks very much.

>   Good luck, and I hope you feel better.

Well, yeah...:)


*hugs* to all who want them,

Mickey.
Newsgroups: alt.support