it is insane how much your SO can affect your mental state. I just left an extremely toxic relationship and my peace is returning and having a positive effect on everything else in my life.
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I went to my naturopathic dr. (I love my Naturopath! And I know the subject of NMD vs MD can be a hot topic for some-of which I'm not going to entertain that discussion here as I support all clinicians).
You can ask an endocrinologist or perhaps look up a provider at www.BioTE.com and click on the "look up a provider".
Many MD's, DO's, & NMD's, (even some DC's depending on their scope of practice in their state) will be listed. I started out with BioTE pellets and loved them!! I switched now to giving myself weekly Testosterone injections because it was cheaper than getting the pellets and I can inject myself and didn't need to go in and have someone do it for me.
I would say start with your trusted Dr first but also be aware that many Drs don't have the training or education in hormones that say an endo or a hormone specialist would have. And as a woman I DO NOT let drs mansplain or gaslight my symptoms. And I feel that sometimes some clinicians can do that to their patients from their own lack of education (especially some male drs doing it to female patients) and I can understand them declining to treat hormones if they admit they don't have that knowledge to do so. But I do not accept any Dr telling a woman they don't need them! Go get a 2nd and 3rd opinion and then decide for yourself.
So I usually tell folks to look up a provider on the BioTE website because these Drs have done the additional
Hormone training and understand the importance of how all the hormones (including Vitamin D) fit into the big picture of your health. And if the pellets are too pricy for folks (they start at $350/female 3-4x/yr and $750/males 2-3x/yr) then these Drs might also be willing to prescribe you Testosterone injections or provide them for you weekly at their office.
I get super vocal on this subject because I used to manage my Naturopaths office so I do have a bit more education on describing things to patients as I would take patient calls when they had questions. I feel everyone above the age of 35 (male and female) should be on hormones because so many factors are depleting our hormones internally.
The first thing I expereinced when I got my pellets was sleeping an entire night through!!! Omg sleep! I was so sleep deprived!! Plus my joints felt better and I had energy, it was amazing! Then I also felt this overall "weight" that felt like it was lifted off my shoulders. Whether that was emotional or spiritual...idk... but I just felt lighter in heart. I was more chill and less pissy (that was totally the T helping) and I was less" extra sensitive "and crying less and it just felt like all the emo shit I was struggling with just took a vacay and it allowed my body, brain, and soul the chance to just breathe and be. It was SO fucking liberating!!
And then because of the energy I was able to start moving more and I dropped 80# and I got a libido! Never really had one so it was nice to experience that! I could go on and on about all the benefits from it. Hope that helps?
i didn’t know how all the negative self-talk really made me believe i was this and that, and it all changed when i started being more positive about myself and things – even when bad things happened to me. i started going out more and having plans for the future, actually looking forward to them. i feel that i spiral less now :)
Honestly, yes. In the beginning, I even felt quite awkward lol and didn't see why I was doing it. But with more practice I felt its beneficial impact on me :)
The ones I had most issues with were Effexor, Citalopram, Escitalopram and Seroquel, but I didn’t have any positive experiences with any of the other ones either (Prozac, Amisulpride, Abilify and Diazepam).
i took it from 23-24 and stopped when i was inpatient, so at least they were able to really deal with it while i was in there, i refused to try any meds for years, and still generally will not take them
not op but, escitalopram took about 6 weeks to kick in for me.
i changed into a completely different person. i turned incredibly outgoing and my anxiety disappeared which was a good change actually but i also went numb and my empathy disappeared.
i noticed an increase in weight and i remember this one time when i looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't recognize the person in front of me, i made the decision to quit cold turkey. it's important to mention i was on lorazepam and olanzapine as well.
Does the increase in weight come directly from escitalopram or does it increase the appetite. My weight has slightly increased i would say.
What was your dosage? 10mg or lower ?
My doctor has told me to gradually decrease it by cutting it in half.. (my med is a combination of escitalopram and clonazepam - short term treatment for insomnia) . I want to come off the meds soon after hearing the side effects. Weight gain is a big one . And I've heard from multiple sources
To add, i already lack empathy (I've been told so) before i started escitalopram. So god knows what will happen after this.
It's crazy to me how much exercise, food, and sleep influences my mental health. Trying to get back on track by forcing myself to do these things again... It's so hard though!
So true! People forget how much your diet affects one’s mental health a lot! Our gut is so linked to how we feel mentally. So if you eat like crap you’re going to feel like crap 💩
Finding the right job that isn't overwhelming really helped me. Having work I can handle and actually enjoy gave me structure, less stress and space to focus on myself. Made a huge difference for my mental health.
“fix” sounds odd to me. Treat sounds better, not all mental health conditions are “fixed”. Therapy and medication is scientifically proven as the best treatment. Only therapy is therapy (CBT). Not the gym. Not food. Not another person or family or friends.
I don't know if it's fixed, but caring less helped. And therapy. And therapy confirming that it is ok and even healthy to care less. (Mainly meaning, caring less what other people think about me / realizing other people don't notice things I notice about myself.)
running actually. its worked the best out of therapy and other things i tried. i had a lot to deal with growing up and so as i became an adult, coping mechanisms just got worse. but this is the healthiest one so far. it really calms me and helps me think less impulsively and wears off my anger.
It will never be completely ‘fixed’ but stopping vaping has massively helped me. I didn’t realise how much it was effecting me at the time. Loss of appetite, heart palpitations, mood swings… I recommend stopping if a vaper is reading !!
Not one thing but multiple things. Starting with taking control of my life, time and priorities. It was slow but I started to feel more alive when I gave direction to my life, understood what I want/need and going after it.
Getting a divorce, meeting my actual soul mate a few weeks after my failed suicide attempt (I was hospitalised). My fiance was also making plans to do another attempt then he met me.
The universe really set us up at the perfect time, when someone can love you at your lowest point in life, you know they'll be there and love you more in the good.
I'm no longer on anti depressants now because of him. No longer suicidal, I now plan for the future, although I did fuck myself over financially since I wasn't planning to live this long.
A good therapist. I've seen many for my anxiety and while I learned a little bit of most, it all remained shallow and superficial. Now I have a different one and she's amazing: we finally get to the root of my anxiety, identifying my inner saboteurs, learning to recognize them, and handle them. This understanding gives me compassion and helps me accept myself and my anxiety.
My anxiety itself hasn't gotten much less, but how I look at it and cope has improved immensely.
It honestly took a long time (just over 20 years), but I finally realized and accepted that I should enjoy life and that life very much can be enjoyable if I look at the positives around on Earth and live in it instead of constantly living in all of the negatives. It was an epiphany really, it just hit me in the middle of the night as I was praying just over a year ago (night of August 1st 2024). I don’t think I’ll forget when it happened or how profound it was, it felt like being alive (or being allowed to live) again.
I realized that, just like I love everyone, I’m also loved (even if it doesn’t look like it). And I should live and enjoy life. Now, I do 😊💗
Honestly a few small but consistent things made the biggest difference for me:
Getting enough sleep (and at the same time every day) moving my body daily even just a walk and cutting way back on doom scrolling. Therapy helped, but what really stuck was learning to notice when I was running on empty and stopping before I hit burnout. Also, having one routine I could rely on during rough periods gave me a sense of control again.
Nothing “fixed” everything overnight, but stacking boring, basic habits over time changed how I felt more than any big breakthrough ever did.
I have Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) that manifests when I’m stressed or have anxiety, which is quite a lot when you’re diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. And hypnosis actually stopped me from pulling out my eyelashes. So at least the physical symptoms part is taken cared of. Just have to treat and deal with the root cause ! But at least now I don’t have balled spots from pulling out my hair. Hypnosis has honestly helped my mental health tremendously
Getting a second, very part time job dog walking. My main job is in a warehouse overnight— three 10 hour shifts a week. I wanted something to improve my mental health by way of getting me outside, keeping me active on my days off, making money to put into savings, and essentially something less committal than a 9-5. It's really done wonders for me! I'm happy with how things are going:)
Getting medication. Both for my actual physical illnesses and for the depression I eventually developed from life just sucking too hard for a while. The meds got me through the depression and I'm cured of it now. My other illnesses won't be cured until we find a cure for autoimmunity, which actually isn't too far off the roadmap, but atm it's impossible with the ones I have. Life is no longer as sucky as it used to be.
I made up a mantra with positive words about myself. I would walk the dog i had around that time for around 30 minutes. I would repeat it to myself the whole time while walking the dog.
I would tell myself that im wonderful, beautiful, and fantastic. It took around 4 months to believe it.
I would say "fix" is a very strong word, but I changing ambients (in my case school) really worked for me, because it's a fresh start and I don't feel like they're going to judge me for something embarrassing I did as a kid.
Top of the list: Reframing, especially questions that reflected a lack of awareness about reality since they garnered poor answers, if at all. Bad thinking affects everything,
Close Second: Better understanding and use of words. No more "special" dictionaries.
Not fixed but improved and manageable; Therapy, medication (because sometimes even with all the things, it is still a chemical imbalance), self-compassion, exercise, daily gratitude, nourishing my body and finally - treating myself like my friend.
What works for someone may not be what works for you but that doesn’t mean you can’t find relief or improvement. Self-compassion has been a huge game changer for me especially - we are so critical and hard on ourselves when ultimately we are just human.
Leaving my husband. I got off the SSRIs and started living. I no longer had a grumpy, financially irresponsible, negative guy to walk on eggshells around constantly.
Magic mushrooms and completely starting over with a non toxic friends group. Which meant I had no friends in between for a very long time, but it was well worth it. I also recommend moving countries. I'm a fan of a complete do over, clearly.
Leaving my parent's home. I'm in Latin America and it's pretty common to live with your parents until much later in life. I left at 29. I'm still chronically depressed, but now I at least eat and shower EVERY DAY. Wow, that's amazing
honestly, the gym. pushing myself to better myself in physical aspects helped with the mental stuff. like im not going 7 days a week and meal-prepping, but it’s following through with my plans and ideals for my body that helped a lot
cutting out processed sugar, i am so calm and rational when not fighting sugar highs and lows, i have gone back to the sugar 3 times now and every time the sugar returns the tears return too
Depression: saint johns wort, saffron
Anxiety: pascoflair, lavender sap
1.5 years of taking these supplements and I haven’t fallen back to those days where I couldn’t get out of bed or face anxiety provoking situations. It changed my life. And i suffered for y e a r s.
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Reevaluating what I am carrying and the narrative that I create around my decisions. I'm working on setting my own expectations and releasing what is not helping me. For example, my house. Who says it has to be "clean?" Why can't functional be enough? It's enough for me and for my partner. And if its not enough for anyone else, they don't have to spend time at our house. Before I realized that doing anything around the house felt herculean and getting something done wasn't satisfying because it was barely a drop in the bucket of things that needed doing. But now I get something done because it needs to be done for our home to function well and I feel so appreciative of the effort I put in because I love how being in our family's space feels. And sometimes the mental or physical cost of completing a task feels to big and I just allow it to wait.
Also removing morality from tasks. Being productive isn't inherently good and all other activities aren't inherently bad. For me, it's about evaluating all of my many needs and responsibilities and deciding where to put my focus. I have a newborn so my life is basically what to do with nap times. Every time my baby goes to sleep I think "i have 30-60 minutes, where do I get the most out of that time." Frequently its by laying down with her and either sleeping or just resting my body (or scrolling reddit 😆) but maybe its by getting up and stretching because now that I think about it my body aches from sitting up with her. Or maybe its some task in the house that I'll probably start and get distracted from. Whatever. The point is giving myself credit for making the effort and practicing my triage skills. Not constantly making myself feel less than because the result wasn't a finished task or the need that felt the biggest was one that was best met by doing less, not more.
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That outdoor lifestyle. Himing, backpacking, climbing.
I was diagnosed with severe depression at a young age and loved with lots of sadness and anxiety.
Now, I still habe these things, but my anxiety is rare. I still deal.with depression, but working out and getting outside + a solid doet has really helped.
Medication never helped.
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Getting divorced. I suddenly didn’t have panic attacks anymore.
Cheers! Glad you're feeling some peace now.
Same here!
This is it! I have a chronic illness as well, and my flare ups are so much less frequent.
Love this for you!
S A M E .
it is insane how much your SO can affect your mental state. I just left an extremely toxic relationship and my peace is returning and having a positive effect on everything else in my life.
Going out for a walk daily.
Hormones believe it or not. I was so estrogen dominant that when I got my hormones leveled out then my emotions and mental health leveled out too!
Share more! What moment you decided to get estrogen tested?
How did you get that done?
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How was this, what do you call the procedure?
BHRT. Bio-identical hormone replacement.
Did you go on BC?
Not birth control. I started BHRT.
Who helped with this? Ob or primary care or other? Thanks!!
I went to my naturopathic dr. (I love my Naturopath! And I know the subject of NMD vs MD can be a hot topic for some-of which I'm not going to entertain that discussion here as I support all clinicians).
You can ask an endocrinologist or perhaps look up a provider at www.BioTE.com and click on the "look up a provider".
Many MD's, DO's, & NMD's, (even some DC's depending on their scope of practice in their state) will be listed. I started out with BioTE pellets and loved them!! I switched now to giving myself weekly Testosterone injections because it was cheaper than getting the pellets and I can inject myself and didn't need to go in and have someone do it for me.
I would say start with your trusted Dr first but also be aware that many Drs don't have the training or education in hormones that say an endo or a hormone specialist would have. And as a woman I DO NOT let drs mansplain or gaslight my symptoms. And I feel that sometimes some clinicians can do that to their patients from their own lack of education (especially some male drs doing it to female patients) and I can understand them declining to treat hormones if they admit they don't have that knowledge to do so. But I do not accept any Dr telling a woman they don't need them! Go get a 2nd and 3rd opinion and then decide for yourself.
So I usually tell folks to look up a provider on the BioTE website because these Drs have done the additional Hormone training and understand the importance of how all the hormones (including Vitamin D) fit into the big picture of your health. And if the pellets are too pricy for folks (they start at $350/female 3-4x/yr and $750/males 2-3x/yr) then these Drs might also be willing to prescribe you Testosterone injections or provide them for you weekly at their office.
I get super vocal on this subject because I used to manage my Naturopaths office so I do have a bit more education on describing things to patients as I would take patient calls when they had questions. I feel everyone above the age of 35 (male and female) should be on hormones because so many factors are depleting our hormones internally.
The first thing I expereinced when I got my pellets was sleeping an entire night through!!! Omg sleep! I was so sleep deprived!! Plus my joints felt better and I had energy, it was amazing! Then I also felt this overall "weight" that felt like it was lifted off my shoulders. Whether that was emotional or spiritual...idk... but I just felt lighter in heart. I was more chill and less pissy (that was totally the T helping) and I was less" extra sensitive "and crying less and it just felt like all the emo shit I was struggling with just took a vacay and it allowed my body, brain, and soul the chance to just breathe and be. It was SO fucking liberating!!
And then because of the energy I was able to start moving more and I dropped 80# and I got a libido! Never really had one so it was nice to experience that! I could go on and on about all the benefits from it. Hope that helps?
u/alphayankey & u/Zestyclose_South2594 here is what I did. :)
Thank you so much!! Also yes to vitamin D acting as a hormone. So grateful for the intel. It could be life changing. 🙌🏼
Therapy
Edit: fixed is a relative term. I wasn't nor am I currently broken. Nor is anyone with mental health struggles.
I just needed help to feel better.
i felt better with therapy too!
i didn’t know how all the negative self-talk really made me believe i was this and that, and it all changed when i started being more positive about myself and things – even when bad things happened to me. i started going out more and having plans for the future, actually looking forward to them. i feel that i spiral less now :)
Daily exercises, meditation, evening walks before bed
Was it difficult for you to get into the habit of meditation?
Honestly, yes. In the beginning, I even felt quite awkward lol and didn't see why I was doing it. But with more practice I felt its beneficial impact on me :)
Going to the gym.. unfortunately
The gym is the best! It’s the only thing that brings me some happiness
The happy hormones make me feel amazing. Allrhought every day it is a struggle to go 😂 but afterwards I feel amaaaazing
This is me, but I haven't been for 3 weeks due to travel then sickness. Finally feeling better but its a struggle to actually get up and go...
Choosing to prove to myself I matter more than my own comfort
Stopping psychiatric medication
Which one? Or what type? If you don’t mind me asking. Thank you 🙏
The ones I had most issues with were Effexor, Citalopram, Escitalopram and Seroquel, but I didn’t have any positive experiences with any of the other ones either (Prozac, Amisulpride, Abilify and Diazepam).
Effexor sent me to the mental hospital... fuck that med
It ruined my life for a good few years, it was horrible. How old were you when you got it?
i took it from 23-24 and stopped when i was inpatient, so at least they were able to really deal with it while i was in there, i refused to try any meds for years, and still generally will not take them
I'm currently on escitalopram.. it's been a month but i haven't noticed any postive or negatives so far.. What kind of issues did you face?
not op but, escitalopram took about 6 weeks to kick in for me.
i changed into a completely different person. i turned incredibly outgoing and my anxiety disappeared which was a good change actually but i also went numb and my empathy disappeared.
i noticed an increase in weight and i remember this one time when i looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't recognize the person in front of me, i made the decision to quit cold turkey. it's important to mention i was on lorazepam and olanzapine as well.
Does the increase in weight come directly from escitalopram or does it increase the appetite. My weight has slightly increased i would say. What was your dosage? 10mg or lower ?
My doctor has told me to gradually decrease it by cutting it in half.. (my med is a combination of escitalopram and clonazepam - short term treatment for insomnia) . I want to come off the meds soon after hearing the side effects. Weight gain is a big one . And I've heard from multiple sources
To add, i already lack empathy (I've been told so) before i started escitalopram. So god knows what will happen after this.
Thanks for the response. Really appreciate.
Thanks for sharing ❤️
Unfortunately my depression and anxiety are just something I have to learn to live with for the rest of my life. There is no “fix” in my case.
But I find what helps A LOT is working out, eating clean and getting quality sleep.
I’m also on antidepressants and have regular therapy sessions.
It's crazy to me how much exercise, food, and sleep influences my mental health. Trying to get back on track by forcing myself to do these things again... It's so hard though!
So true! People forget how much your diet affects one’s mental health a lot! Our gut is so linked to how we feel mentally. So if you eat like crap you’re going to feel like crap 💩
Stopped using social media. Exercising more.
Inner child work. Paid for an online course over months and took it at my own pace after divorce. Game changer.
Which course?
i want to know too!
I’d like to know as well.
It’s in German, if you speak it , I’ll gladly recommend. He is no nonsense and much more accessible with his work that American courses, I found.
Finding the right job that isn't overwhelming really helped me. Having work I can handle and actually enjoy gave me structure, less stress and space to focus on myself. Made a huge difference for my mental health.
Putting myself first. And saying no.
sold my car. paid off debt and continued hitting the gym
“fix” sounds odd to me. Treat sounds better, not all mental health conditions are “fixed”. Therapy and medication is scientifically proven as the best treatment. Only therapy is therapy (CBT). Not the gym. Not food. Not another person or family or friends.
THE GYM!!! I didn’t even expect myself to stick with it but I’m in my 3rd year and I look amazing but I don’t focus on results I focus on how I feel!
Deleting Instagram
I don't know if it's fixed, but caring less helped. And therapy. And therapy confirming that it is ok and even healthy to care less. (Mainly meaning, caring less what other people think about me / realizing other people don't notice things I notice about myself.)
quitting coffee
Curious about this one. How so?
heard that coffee increases cortisol so it might affect anxiety in some people
Getting a Kindle and reading instead of doom scrolling!
running actually. its worked the best out of therapy and other things i tried. i had a lot to deal with growing up and so as i became an adult, coping mechanisms just got worse. but this is the healthiest one so far. it really calms me and helps me think less impulsively and wears off my anger.
It will never be completely ‘fixed’ but stopping vaping has massively helped me. I didn’t realise how much it was effecting me at the time. Loss of appetite, heart palpitations, mood swings… I recommend stopping if a vaper is reading !!
And anti anxiety meds
Therapy, going on walks, reading, deleting ig/fb. I wouldn’t say anything fixes it but it definitely helps
Music. Food. Lots of sleep.
Not one thing but multiple things. Starting with taking control of my life, time and priorities. It was slow but I started to feel more alive when I gave direction to my life, understood what I want/need and going after it.
Getting a divorce, meeting my actual soul mate a few weeks after my failed suicide attempt (I was hospitalised). My fiance was also making plans to do another attempt then he met me.
The universe really set us up at the perfect time, when someone can love you at your lowest point in life, you know they'll be there and love you more in the good.
I'm no longer on anti depressants now because of him. No longer suicidal, I now plan for the future, although I did fuck myself over financially since I wasn't planning to live this long.
wow I'm so happy for you and your partner. this gives me hope
Getting off social media, checking it like maybe 2x a week for about 30 minutes, and I’m a Christian so I also started reading my Bible
A good therapist. I've seen many for my anxiety and while I learned a little bit of most, it all remained shallow and superficial. Now I have a different one and she's amazing: we finally get to the root of my anxiety, identifying my inner saboteurs, learning to recognize them, and handle them. This understanding gives me compassion and helps me accept myself and my anxiety.
My anxiety itself hasn't gotten much less, but how I look at it and cope has improved immensely.
Therapy, reframing my thoughts,
Ketamine cured my depression.
Want to learn more ive been interested in this type of therapy!
It honestly took a long time (just over 20 years), but I finally realized and accepted that I should enjoy life and that life very much can be enjoyable if I look at the positives around on Earth and live in it instead of constantly living in all of the negatives. It was an epiphany really, it just hit me in the middle of the night as I was praying just over a year ago (night of August 1st 2024). I don’t think I’ll forget when it happened or how profound it was, it felt like being alive (or being allowed to live) again.
I realized that, just like I love everyone, I’m also loved (even if it doesn’t look like it). And I should live and enjoy life. Now, I do 😊💗
I read once physical pain is the only antidote to mental suffering so i run,hit the gym and solo trips
Honestly a few small but consistent things made the biggest difference for me:
Getting enough sleep (and at the same time every day) moving my body daily even just a walk and cutting way back on doom scrolling. Therapy helped, but what really stuck was learning to notice when I was running on empty and stopping before I hit burnout. Also, having one routine I could rely on during rough periods gave me a sense of control again.
Nothing “fixed” everything overnight, but stacking boring, basic habits over time changed how I felt more than any big breakthrough ever did.
Better sleep
Quitting my job. I thought it was my dream job but it ended up being the thing that made me miserable.
Moving out and leaving my ex.
Moved out of state, away from my emotionally draining family.
I cut men out of my life
Not living in a toxic household anymore
I have Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) that manifests when I’m stressed or have anxiety, which is quite a lot when you’re diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. And hypnosis actually stopped me from pulling out my eyelashes. So at least the physical symptoms part is taken cared of. Just have to treat and deal with the root cause ! But at least now I don’t have balled spots from pulling out my hair. Hypnosis has honestly helped my mental health tremendously
Getting a second, very part time job dog walking. My main job is in a warehouse overnight— three 10 hour shifts a week. I wanted something to improve my mental health by way of getting me outside, keeping me active on my days off, making money to put into savings, and essentially something less committal than a 9-5. It's really done wonders for me! I'm happy with how things are going:)
Divorce.
Getting medication. Both for my actual physical illnesses and for the depression I eventually developed from life just sucking too hard for a while. The meds got me through the depression and I'm cured of it now. My other illnesses won't be cured until we find a cure for autoimmunity, which actually isn't too far off the roadmap, but atm it's impossible with the ones I have. Life is no longer as sucky as it used to be.
a consistent sleep schedule
Left my long term relationship & I stopped drinking alcohol.
I made up a mantra with positive words about myself. I would walk the dog i had around that time for around 30 minutes. I would repeat it to myself the whole time while walking the dog.
I would tell myself that im wonderful, beautiful, and fantastic. It took around 4 months to believe it.
years of therapy and getting genuinely good friends that push you to be a better person
I would say "fix" is a very strong word, but I changing ambients (in my case school) really worked for me, because it's a fresh start and I don't feel like they're going to judge me for something embarrassing I did as a kid.
Dumping my ex. And then getting out of toxic job. Still a bit messy but maybe that's how I am.
This did not fix it but a PHP program
Dialectical behavior therapy
Getting diagnosed with ADHD (after already having an autism diagnosis), and realising that it’s not always me that’s the problem.
Physical activity. Seriously walking, hiking and jogging were the BEST remedy.
Top of the list: Reframing, especially questions that reflected a lack of awareness about reality since they garnered poor answers, if at all. Bad thinking affects everything,
Close Second: Better understanding and use of words. No more "special" dictionaries.
It isn't fixed, but improved. I got off of antidepressants.
Finding the right medication after SIX years
Which one?
Abilify
Therapy, SSRIs and running.
Taking better care of my health, both mental and physical. Taking care of myself as if taking care of a friend :)
not 'fix' but definitely helps me manage it: regular exercise (heavy weight lifting, Muay Thai).
Exercise
Breaking up with my ex, life is so much better when you have an understanding and loving partner
Setting boundaries with my parents and living at least an hour away from them.
Not fixed but improved and manageable; Therapy, medication (because sometimes even with all the things, it is still a chemical imbalance), self-compassion, exercise, daily gratitude, nourishing my body and finally - treating myself like my friend.
What works for someone may not be what works for you but that doesn’t mean you can’t find relief or improvement. Self-compassion has been a huge game changer for me especially - we are so critical and hard on ourselves when ultimately we are just human.
Leaving my husband. I got off the SSRIs and started living. I no longer had a grumpy, financially irresponsible, negative guy to walk on eggshells around constantly.
Divorce and antidepressants.
Therapy, exercise, forgiveness and being grateful.
Daily exercise
Magic mushrooms and completely starting over with a non toxic friends group. Which meant I had no friends in between for a very long time, but it was well worth it. I also recommend moving countries. I'm a fan of a complete do over, clearly.
Leaving my parent's home. I'm in Latin America and it's pretty common to live with your parents until much later in life. I left at 29. I'm still chronically depressed, but now I at least eat and shower EVERY DAY. Wow, that's amazing
Delusion
Leaving my toxic relationship… a lot of my depression came from that cycle
Therapy, quitting alcohol, less caffeine, more sleep. Gentle exercise.
Dietary changes.
Getting away from the main problem.....My parents.
It literally FIXED MOST OF ME overnight. But I still carry a lot of the damage that they caused me and have problems trusting people.
WFH. And daily walks outside.
antidepressants. and therapy.
honestly, the gym. pushing myself to better myself in physical aspects helped with the mental stuff. like im not going 7 days a week and meal-prepping, but it’s following through with my plans and ideals for my body that helped a lot
cutting out processed sugar, i am so calm and rational when not fighting sugar highs and lows, i have gone back to the sugar 3 times now and every time the sugar returns the tears return too
Friends
Friends
and more friends
Depression: saint johns wort, saffron Anxiety: pascoflair, lavender sap
1.5 years of taking these supplements and I haven’t fallen back to those days where I couldn’t get out of bed or face anxiety provoking situations. It changed my life. And i suffered for y e a r s.
Being more vulnerable with people - made me feel less alone and more connected
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Reevaluating what I am carrying and the narrative that I create around my decisions. I'm working on setting my own expectations and releasing what is not helping me. For example, my house. Who says it has to be "clean?" Why can't functional be enough? It's enough for me and for my partner. And if its not enough for anyone else, they don't have to spend time at our house. Before I realized that doing anything around the house felt herculean and getting something done wasn't satisfying because it was barely a drop in the bucket of things that needed doing. But now I get something done because it needs to be done for our home to function well and I feel so appreciative of the effort I put in because I love how being in our family's space feels. And sometimes the mental or physical cost of completing a task feels to big and I just allow it to wait.
Also removing morality from tasks. Being productive isn't inherently good and all other activities aren't inherently bad. For me, it's about evaluating all of my many needs and responsibilities and deciding where to put my focus. I have a newborn so my life is basically what to do with nap times. Every time my baby goes to sleep I think "i have 30-60 minutes, where do I get the most out of that time." Frequently its by laying down with her and either sleeping or just resting my body (or scrolling reddit 😆) but maybe its by getting up and stretching because now that I think about it my body aches from sitting up with her. Or maybe its some task in the house that I'll probably start and get distracted from. Whatever. The point is giving myself credit for making the effort and practicing my triage skills. Not constantly making myself feel less than because the result wasn't a finished task or the need that felt the biggest was one that was best met by doing less, not more.
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meds and exercise
"fixed" also isn't the phrasing I'd use, but rather "significantly improved"
Medication. I get manic episodes and hear things when I’m off meds.
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Transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Medication & animals!!!
That outdoor lifestyle. Himing, backpacking, climbing. I was diagnosed with severe depression at a young age and loved with lots of sadness and anxiety. Now, I still habe these things, but my anxiety is rare. I still deal.with depression, but working out and getting outside + a solid doet has really helped. Medication never helped.
Magnesium bisglycinate + having a dog
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Healthy diet
Getting on meds