Depression doesn’t work like that…
It does for me at least. Getting a good job that pays well which I don’t despise helped me immesurably even though I am still depressed at least I am not so depressed that I am 2 steps from offing myself anymore.
Depression can have many reasons, some are biochemical, some are due to external factors (sometimes a mix).
I think nothing.
I’ve always suffered on and off with the mighty duo of depression and anxiety.
I was then diagnosed, and medicated, with ADHD and things have certainly gotten better, particularly in terms of decision making and not making poor ones. Drug usage has dropped significantly.
I was able to train and land a job in my ideal job (software developer). I now drive and have a car. Yet I still don’t feel happy.
Like I can sing on the way to work and shout good morning to the cows as I drive past them, but still I feel empty at times.
Even though I have my dream job, I have a feeling that there has to be more to life than this and also I get so down about perceived injustices in the world, although that has gone down since leaving Reddit.
Well I will most likely never not be depressed and currently I think all my criteria are fulfilled but if you want a list of a few things:
Enough money that living day to day isn’t a struggle
A job you don’t hate
The gym. Not cardio. Cardio sucks! I hate cardio.
A roof over your head with no tension
Family and friends even if thats downplayed in my mind sometimes.
No more pain 24/7. No more medication. Just normal health, that would actually work for me.
Not much, honestly (though a hefty sum of cash would probably make life a bit better).
My brain just doesn’t quite experience a healthy baseline level of happiness and non-anxiety without a bit of help from meds and therapy.
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Depression is circumstantial, been trapped in overcrowded slums below poverty level. What I need is a safe, clean, stable place to live, and help finding a job. Instead I’m surrounded by drug addicts, screaming, violence, overcrowding, filth; social services meager, bureaucratic and strained. It wears one down.
I need society to be better
Drugs worked for me. Specifically anti-depressants for years. I was fortunate enough to be able to stop after about 5 years, with no major relapses. Coping with undiagnosed depression for decades prior to treatment may have given me overpowered tools to deal with minor depressive episodes once the drugs were stopped.
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Money and good health insurance. Seriously, it would help me out so dang much.
I have pretty bad PTSD, which has made it near impossible to make real, human connections. If I could get out of my own head, I feel like my life might be able to improve.
I have a house of my own, though. I feel like having your own space contributes a lot to self-improvement and peace, tbh. I am extremely fortunate.
Universal Basic Income.
Not having to worry if I can really afford that next meal goes a long way.
I really think this is what the solution can be boiled down to for a lot of people. The rat race just to survive (not even thrive) is killer on the mood, where you feel like you are headed towards existentially, and utterly depletes the energy.
Why even bother trying to pursue things we actually enjoy? Or find out what we do enjoy? Too tired from work. Don’t want to leave the house again if I can help it. It costs so much to do anything. Honestly, if I didn’t end up having some decent people to hang out with at work I wouldn’t have anyone close by. It’s ridiculous.
And how it’s become impossible to even imagine a life without that kind of pressure.
