Some tips for the depressed

Hi everyone,

As a depression survivor in my benzo withdrawal, I thought I would share some things that worked for me. I have suffered from depression for most of my life. It has a really big impact on my life and is the reason I started with my benzo use (mainly for sleep). During my benzo withdrawal I became so depressed I made plans for suicide. I had the pills ready and knew when and where I would do it. When that moment arrived I really panicked, I really really wanted to kill myself. Thank god I called the suicide hotline and they talked my out of it. Over the next months I fought myself back into a liveable situation, still struggeling with suicidal thoughts. But overall I saw that I was getting better and better.

It is important to mention that healing from depression is an incrimental compounded process. This means that you have to tell yourself every day that today should be a little way better then the day before. Compartementalise your problems in small parts en see what is achievable at that specific day. Don't do too much, just do a little more than yesterday. Overall this will result in compounded benefits over the course of weeks/months. Well here are my tips, some may sound trivial, but hope it helps.

1) Have a fixed sleep pattern. This is extremely important. No matter how bad your night was, always wake up at the same time (for me 7am). This will allow your body to adjust to the rithm, resulting in better sleep (even 30 min more per night can make a difference) and a better mood. The importance of this measure has been presented in many academic publications. DO NOT STAY IN BED, when you have nothing to do. I have spent many days in bed, this is literally the worst idea. You will feel waaaaaay worse when you stay in bed with the curtains closed (trust me on this).

2) Eat healthy and in in a pattern. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables and don't eat the high sugar and fat foods. Research has shown that food has a signficant impact on your mental and fysical health. When you are really depressed, you will very likely not have the energy to cook much. But when you find the energy, please include this in your life pattern. Also try to eat at the same time every day. This will also result in your body adjusting to your pattern, resulting in a better mood. Also, have a big nutricious breakfast. The breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day. Dinner is the least important. Research has found that a good breakfast reduces feelings of depression and anxiety.

3) Exercise. This has many benefits. First of all it gives you something to do. Secondly it will release chemicals in your brain that make you feel better. Thirdly you are outside and possibly interacting wit other people. Research has found exercise to be just as effective as antidepressants for moderate depression. Also when you exercise regularly the likelyhood of a replase drops dramatically. For me this was very difficult to implement because I had no fucking energy at all. I started by walking 10 minutes around my house and added 5 min every day. After a while I went to the gym and started cycling. It really helped me to get better (even more than the medication did). Exercise will make you feel better, will decrease your anxiety and will result in better sleep.

4) Socialise. Research has found that solitude and loneliness have a really big impact on depression. It is therefore crucial that you have people to interact with. Please read the book: lost connections by Johann Hari. This will show you why social connections are so important. We are social creatures and not interacting with anyone will make us depressed. When you are depressed this is really hard. But I started with the people I trusted most in the world, and build on the confidence that gave me. If you don't have any friends, you are in real trouble and you will have to find ways to socialise (sport club, volunteer work etc etc)

5) Talk to a professional. We benzo surivors are very skeptical when we ask a professional for help. Doctors prescribed us this poison and are very often not aware of the long term effects. But there are still professionals that can help. Depression is a side effect from benzo withdrawal but it is also a disease that is very very common. There are many therapies and treatmens possible. Find a good mental health facility or a psychiatrist that can help you out. I found a psychiatrist that really helped me with my problems. He gave me non benzo medications that made my days livable. This made it possible for me to start to function a little bit, kickstarting my recovery.

6) think about a adequate treatment. Do not give up before you have tried every possible options. Try support groups, psychiatrist, antidepressants and ECT. You can not kill yourself before you have tried all the possibilities. You have the responsibility to do everything you possibly can to stay alive. Don't underestimate the power of antidepressants and ECT. In severe depression these interventions do really work (not so much for moderate depression). I had to try a few, but finally Clomipramine really helped me. Especially with my panic attacks, but also with my depression. Without this medication I might still be in the hellhole I was in.

7) Find something to do. Don't stay at home all day. You have to feel like you can contribute something to something. This will make you feel better. If you are still early in recovery, do volunteer work. Even if it is the most simple assignment, just do it. It will give you something to get out of bed for. For me the biggest step in my recovery is when I applied for a job and started working again. This DRAMATTICALLY helped my recovery. Yes it was tough and sometimes I had to drag myself out of bed, but it made me feel like a productive being, that contributes to society. This feeling really really helps.

Hope these tips help you guys in your recovery. It really is low hanging fruit; you can start making a change today. You can get out of your depression; I did so you can get out as well!

The best to you all!!

Thank you, this is really helpful.

I'm also struggling with a depressive state but a mild one I think since I'm still active, even if it takes me a lot of effort to do what I need to do.

I want to add a few advices.

- Try yoga if you can't be very active. It will help you to focus on your body and feel more grounded.

- Breathe ! After a few minutes inhaling and exhaling (I do 3 sec inhale, hold 2 sec then 5 sec exhale) you will feel your body relaxing and you can more easely get rid of négative thoughts.

- Meditate. I practice mindfulness and after each session of 20min I feel relaxed for a few hours. It also let me acknowledge my sadness and despair without overreacting.

- Write down positive achievements you reached each evening.

- Don't berate yourself to feel bad. We all have the right to feel sad or depressed. Cry if you need to, because it helps purging your emotions. But find ways to make your brain understand when enough is enough (really hard to do).

I hope my depression will lift in a few weeks/months and that it is caused by benzo withdrawal. Doing all of this + what OP said really helps me to stay positive and hopeful until it vanishes.

Stay strong and active, no matter what !

Thanks for that, ive felt extremely suicidal this year and like you did i got prepared. But I actually took them & an ambulance was called. i survived.

part of me really wishes i hadn’t.

I think the depression i have is different, its a total loss of self and disconnect from the world. no energy, no motivation and apathy. it just keeps getting worse even though my tapers have been slower.

That last part describes how I have been feeling lately as well.  I don't care about anything, and don't want to be here anymore.  I have always felt despair, anger, anxiety, etc while on k.  Now I just feel finished.  Hopefully it's just a phase of withdrawal that passes soon.  It seems like I should be concerned about feeling this way, but like I said, I can't care anymore.

Brug1990, thank you for caring enough to type up those tips.  I am not giving up and will try to look into them when I snap out of this.

Thanks for that, ive felt extremely suicidal this year and like you did i got prepared. But I actually took them & an ambulance was called. i survived.

part of me really wishes i hadn’t.

I think the depression i have is different, its a total loss of self and disconnect from the world. no energy, no motivation and apathy. it just keeps getting worse even though my tapers have been slower.

 

That last part describes how I have been feeling lately as well.  I don't care about anything, and don't want to be here anymore.  I have always felt despair, anger, anxiety, etc while on k.  Now I just feel finished.  Hopefully it's just a phase of withdrawal that passes soon.  It seems like I should be concerned about feeling this way, but like I said, I can't care anymore.

 

Brug1990, thank you for caring enough to type up those tips.  I am not giving up and will try to look into them when I snap out of this.

 

how long have u been feeling this way? ive endured 6 months of this horrific time in my life. i cant see  myself getting any better. I feel like a dead shell of a person who is disabled

About 2 months, to varying degrees.  Right now is the worst it has been.  I go through the motions of daily life, eating etc, but am feeling nothing.

I feel like the character in a movie who sees a nuclear missle coming down from the sky and calmly says "Thank god.".

I'm sorry you have been suffering with this for so long.  I hope we can both start feeling like ourselves again soon.