An "I beat depression" story

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I encountered major depression for the first time in my life early this summer, at age 30. I think I started feeling it some time early-to-mid April with it gradually getting worse, and from mid-May, it was a serious low - my appetite was really lacking, had somewhat of a hard time falling asleep which I almost never do(have a hard time, that is), and thinking about my future felt like walking a minefield. I didn't know what to expect from it, how long it would last etc, so I figured I had to get a doctor's appointment and maybe have some medication prescribed. The night before the appointment, I felt good temporarily so I cancelled it and thought I'd try solving it on my own after all. Now some two months later after plenty of swimming in the lake nearby and some quality time with myself, I don't feel depressed any more. My appetite is the way it's supposed to be, perhaps even pulling a bit ahead of my energy expenditure, I fall asleep instantly when going to bed, and making up plans for the future doesn't get me anxious either. No drugs or therapists were involved in beating this depression. It's possible I've still got dysthymia, but I can easily live with that - I do however feel pretty safe from the kind of depression I was in.

It's good you were able to recognize the signs of a depression, and better that it ablated. It sounds like you have good insight into your mental condition, which is a powerful tool. From what I gather, talk therapy is mostly about generating that insight, so perhaps you're already equipped to handle things.

The hardest part of beating a depression is usually identifying that you're depressed. A lot of people are resistant to the very concept, and blame external circumstances ( a girlfriend, a job, family, society) for their condition. Until they get suicidal (sometimes not even then), people are more likely to think that it's just a part of life. Because depression mutes and buries the good feelings and times you've had in the past, you often forget what it was like to feel normal, that you ever did, and that you ever will. Your only yardstick for emotional experiences is the numbness and apathy of depression.

I'd keep an eye on it, though. It may have subsided, but it's a recurring disorder, and future episodes are worse if prior episodes went untreated.

Thanks for the advice.

Ooooh, yeah, Fedaykin, that sounds like me. I was very depressed growing up. Then I figured out all that I had not understood and was depressed because I couldn't understand. I had figured it out, I finally knew all I needed to know! There was no one happier than me for 2 years. I had the worst episode of my life (and am still being treated for it) starting in late May. I talked myself out of it using what I had figured out before and stimulated myself out of it by talking and joking with people more often and being out in the light more often. I was once again happy, though I had my recurring doubts. Then-- BAM! Another depressive episode, just as bad. I finally went to a shrink. This was the first time in my life I've been on crazy meds, and the first time I've really talked to a shrink.

Insightful to mention being depressed mutes the memory of better times. I always visually imagined it as being at the bottom of a bowl. You can't see ahead or behind, and if you look straight up it seems impossible to reach.

Ooooh, yes, it does. I feel even worse than that sometimes, like the escape is narrower and I might not fit through it.