Awexxome! It rocks that you’re going back to the dude. “Find out what you want from life” is a little bit of a lame, unspecific thing to tell someone in therapy, but “stop drinking” is good advice, so your shrink has something on the ball. Make good use of your therapy – get your psychologist to crunk you up on the idea of doing well and being sober.

When I got through my depression, I found that others could not help me. I was the only one who could pull myself out of it.

Just some ideas to consider that helped me change my outlook:

-You have the power of choice. You can choose to be happy.

-You are much stronger than your mind tells you. Just think of all your accomplishments and the potential you have!

-Surround yourself with things that inspire you. I found this video quite inspirational: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE

-Let go of negative thoughts. They do not serve you.

-There are always more unfortunate people in the world than you. You are blessed to have what you do. Be thankful for it and do not waste what you are given. Life is wonderful, so embrace it.

I agree with Namasternerd’s comments however, sure you can choose to be depressed and choose to be happy; but how do you make that choice?

I am getting better but I am not cured, you can’t just snap your fingers and say, “depression go away” it won’t.

1) Exercise you mind and body

2) Journal your thoughts, you will have negative thoughts, you can’t make them go away, society lives and breathes on negativity in the world? Can you? No, murderers, bank robbers, cruel and inhumane people that;’s what newspapers and AOL reports not someone found a flower grow in the sidewalk!

3) Decide on therapy and don’;t be afraid of your therapist, if you can’t trust them, they are not for you, find someone who will work for you.

4) Decide on meds or o meds, therapy works best being on anti-depressants just so you know.

5) become a social animal, meet friends, meet people everyday, pet a dog or cat, it reduces BP.

6) try to get as much sun as you can be outdoors as much as you can.

7) trust your friends and share with them that you need their help as much as your family’s help.

8) Good luck!

9) Link to helpful depression quiz

Everyone is different going through a stage like this, but it’s important to remember… There are people right now that feel exactly the same as you are feeling, and have gone through what you have gone through. Reading your posts makes my heart ache for you because I feel like I’m reading something I wrote when I was a junior in high school.

Things that helped me:
Writing about it. Somehow, when you can get all of your feelings out on a piece of paper, you take control and ownership of it… they’re your feelings and the reason depression sucks is because you are trapped and you can’t do anything about it.

I was on anti-depressants for a couple of months. They really did help at first- depression is a serious chemical imbalance. Some people can never correct this by themselves and need the medication for longer periods of time, or forever. But for me it only took a couple of months to get back on the right track. I knew when my body was ready to come off of the medication, and I did so under medical supervision. I don’t recommend doing it without help.

I also went to therapy. That was awkward, and you definitely need to find the right one for you. Pick someone you can relate to, because these people will know more about you in the end (if they’re doing their job right) than your best friend.

Speaking of friends: everything got a lot better when I started surrounding myself with people that understood me and took the time to be a real, genuine friend instead of a sham.

I don’t know if any if this helps at all, or if you have the resources to get this kind of help. I was very lucky to have supportive people around me when I felt like crap. But I really hope you start to feel better.

I’ve struggled with my depression for over a decade. I started Prozac in February and it has changed my life. That and cutting the abusive people out of my life. I’ve started to believe that I AM worth loving, I am NOT a failure, and I DO want to live. I’ve gone from wanting to kill myself every day to loving my life. It’s possible, so don’t give up!

Exercise every day for at least 5 minutes. Slowly work your way to one hour a day. Swim, bike, walk, lift weights, play volleyball, skateboard, go to a playground… just do something every day. This is how I beat it.

I’ve struggled with depression for the majority of my adult life. Throw in insomnia and borderline alcoholism and the party never stops. Talking to “professionals” and taking prescribed medication never really helped me, but I can recommend finding a fellow sufferer to talk to. I found one through social media and they’ve helped me immensely. Does anyone know of any decent herbal remedies? I’m willing to try anything if I think it can help me more.