Any depressed/anxious anons read depressed/anxious lit?
I started Prozac a week or so ago and have been isolated/lonely/depressed/anxious for the majority of the year. I'm interested in reading The Book of Disquiet, and thought I'd ask you all if depressing lit helped you through your depression/anxiety/etc.
I'm really not a big fan of antidepressants or therapy and I'm looking for some other ways of getting through this.
(I don't like ADs because I don't think it's 'correct' to alter your brain chemistry unless it's a temporary one (in other words, I view ADs as crutches, not as wheelchairs); not a fan of therapy because of how difficult and time consuming it is to paint an accurate picture of your psychology in a therapist's mind)
Depressing lit does not help at all. And people need to stop perpetrating this meme. If you truly want to get better, I hate to say it, but you have to do all the things that mom told you to do. Talk to someone, meet people, hang out in a nice environment, live a healthy lifestyle. Meds in my experience are hit or miss, and kind of dangerous. Depressing lit is helpful sometimes, when it allows you to realize that you're not the only one in the entire universe who thinks this way, and it helps you to validate your experiences and have a few moments of cathartic bitterness and spite against the world, adds some aesthetic to your suffering, which helps. But this is a never ending rabbit hole. You will not get better, but will instead continue to wallow deeper and deeper in your suffering, making your problems more and more complex and more and more inescapable, until you realize it may be too late. Depressing lit is some of the best literature, definitely, but if you really want to escape depression, it's probably not the best idea to immerse yourself in it.
John Clark
Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning Dr. David Burns, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (more or less CBT [Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy] in book form; not that I'm an advocate of eliminating therapy or medication if they're necessary, but this is solid and not typical empty self-help)
For fiction, I'll mention Siddhartha and hasten the backlash against that title.
Camden Reyes
I have depression/anxiety and I quit my Prozac in late December; worst decision I've made in years, my anxiety has skyrocketed and I have an appointment with my GP this Thursday to go see a psychiatrist so I can get put back on antidepressants again.
Don't read anything that will bolster your feelings of sadness, OP. Read something with an obviously positive message like On the Road or the Gospel of John, or even something like The Old Man and the Sea. Something enheartening. Or at least read something that will distract you from your bad feelings, like a book on mythology or a book on a topic you enjoy. The therapist I went to as a teenager told me that human consciousness is only able to concentrate on a single thing at once, so if you're reading, you can't think about anything else.
Hope I was of some help :)
Dylan Cook
>I started Prozac a week or so ago Congratulations - you're about to fuck up your brain for life.
Xavier Lewis
I disagree with the rest of the thread, granted you should try to find an author whose work reflects similar anxieties to your own. I got a lot of comfort in the solidarity of it
Ian Morris
Kierkegaard Fear and Trembling
Brayden Sullivan
>I'm really not a big fan of antidepressants or therapy and I'm looking for some other ways of getting through this. You might as well just become an alcoholic now, desu >(I don't like ADs because I don't think it's 'correct' to alter your brain chemistry unless it's a temporary one (in other words, I view ADs as crutches, not as wheelchairs); not a fan of therapy because of how difficult and time consuming it is to paint an accurate picture of your psychology in a therapist's mind) That is exactly what ADs are, genius. They help with the first couple of weeks/months of therapy, since being depressed isn't exactly a good starting point to make serious alterations to your behavior. Also a therapist doesn't have to "have a picture of your entire fucking psychology". A therapist has most likely studied psychology and therefore already knows most of what they will need to know. All you are giving them is whatever individual variety you are. This can be done in two or three sessions. Everything past that are just details.
Go to therapy you dumb cunt. You are just looking for excuses not to do something, like you always do.
Ian Flores
Most of my family think of ADs like wheelchairs. That's why I phrased it the way that I did.
My mom, aunt, and other family members think that ADs are analogous to insulin or cholesterol medication, which is fucking moronic.
I've done years of therapy and I don't think it helped too much. I'll likely end up in it again because it does help. I just don't care for it and think it's a painfully slow process with marginal improvements.
Daniel Mitchell
...You do realize therapy is essentially a professional helping you making adjustments YOURSELF, right? That and calling you out on your bullshit.
Unless you ended up with a psychoanalyst. Which would explain why you feel the way you feel.
Bentley Brown
I hear you OP. I'm on Paxil, Seroquel XR, Neurontin, Clonidine (since I can't do benzos). And it took me a long time to get this combination, I've been on so many different meds. My psych tried to wean me off the Paxil and put me on a different anti-depressant and I ended up in the hospital 4x, 3 by ambulance and spent X-mas in a mental hospital. It was fucking awful, so now I'm back on the paxil. I thought I was dying, even the people in the mental hospital were worried. I actually took a cab from there to the hospital and back to get fluids. It was fucked.
Anyway, yeah I read depressing shit all the time, but for me it makes me feel better. I'm like shit this guy wrote this decades ago and was going through the same thing. Something in me perks up inside. I feel better after reading it.
Brayden Russell
"After staying in my room and reading literature all day my depression resolved itself" - no one ever
Parker Reyes
>Read Tolstoy. Does War and Peace narrow down the essence of life in one large novel?
Elijah Nguyen
This made me laugh. I'm going to have to steal it now.
Benjamin Jenkins
Just read something more biological about depression and anxiety. Only thing I've read so far was Why Zebras Don't Have Ulcers. Watch this:
Obviously psychiatry isn't helping, have you tried any combination of advanced talk therapy, alternative diet, and exercise?
Evan Powell
Yeah I actually started a talk therapy about 4 months ago. I go once a week (the most my insurance will cover, even then I have a co-pay) and I used to run cross country. It was fun, but as I got more depressed I kind of phased it out.
Andrew Howard
I'm not memeing here but, granted, there is no way of knowing for sure, I sincerely found a significant quality of life improvement from my decision to start consuming cannabis. If you haven't, I suggest you research it heavily before trying. If you are in a place where it is illegal then consider the ramifications. Be aware though, it is only a band-aid. It will only sooth symptoms when you have it and it will not truly address the root of your problems. Mainly consider the interactions that could occur with any prescriptions you are currently taking, 2bh faaam weed is one of the best choices I have made in my life.
Elijah Bailey
DUDE
Joseph Turner
that was probably a bad pic to post, dubs prove my honesty
Cooper Cooper
This is some golden advice right here
Ocasional isolation and selfpityness that lasts for a week or so is okay, but going full on caveman antisocial viny bitch is the worst thing you could do. Get a job or go back to university, go out, join a creative writing group, get a dog, get a hoby, play some sports.
When it comes to literature I recommend Knausgaard's My struggle which can be depressing at some points but is also very inspirational
Kayden Gray
Yes, becoming addicted to drugs is definitely the solution to depression.
Ayden Cooper
OP listen to this guy honestly, I agree with everything he said. If you indulge in your depression and romanticize your sadness you won't pull yourself out of it.
Like the other user said, I think the way to beat depression is to get outside. Exercise, go to the park, go to the library, engage with life. Also I find that getting enough sleep and waking up early made feels so much better than staying up til 4 and sleeping in to noon.
