If you woke up in the morning..

.. feeling CRUSHED by
Anxiety & Depression

Do yourself a favor and read this:

“The Psychology Behind Depression - Why this is Happening to YOU”

By:

- The Community

1.

Before we get into this

Understand that the content in this thread..

.. is sourced from a tweet I put out asking:

“What leads to depression?”

(cont..)

2.

The tweet received 155+ replies from people that:

- Experience these hard times today
- Have figured out ways to combat it

Including:

* What to expect
* Things to avoid
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the conversation

RT to spread awareness

(Let’s begin)

3.

To start,

Understand this:

- Depression is extremely common
- It never “goes away forever”
- There is ALWAYS something you can do about it

(Let me explain)

4.

As someone who used to battle depression from the time I woke up, to the time I went to bed for 4 years..

.. I know what goes through your head

The:

~ Thoughts
~ Loneliness
~ Heartache
~ Feeling that “no one understands”

(cont..)

5.

During those 4 years..

I had NO idea why I was so depressed

I thought:

* It was how my mind worked
* I wasn’t good enough (at anything)
* Something was truly wrong with me

I thought I was going to live my entire life like that..

and that made me even MORE depressed..

6.

Think about how long 4 years is..

1461 days of:

- Waking up & wishing you could go back to sleep
- Going in public & hoping that no one sees or talks to you
- Laying in bed at night & unintentionally torturing yourself with your own thoughts

Every day..

For 4 years..

7.

I want to say a few things:

a.) You can be fit, smart, decent-looking, make a lot of money, with a caring family and STILL be depressed

c.) Your brain believes what you tell it

d.) Getting better is not “instant”

(cont..)

8.

So what actually causes depression?

What did YOU do to get over it?

How can I finally get better?

9.

First off,

+ There isn’t just one “general cause” of depression..

For most people..

It starts off as a minor issue that becomes worse over time..

That “minor issue” could be ANY of the causes listed below, that had a negative effect on you personally..

(cont..)

10.

Example:

“Stagnation/Inaction”

.. is a top cause of depression.

(cont..)

11.

Think about it..

You spend some time relaxing, not doing much besides scrolling social media, eating, and sleeping..

At first, you may feel fine..

Everyone needs some quiet time and a day or 2 to simply do “nothing”..

(cont..)

12.

But what happens when you do “nothing” for too long?

In the beginning:

- You start craving interaction, communication, and activity

Which makes sense because:

* We’re social beings
* You’re starting to get bored
* We’re not meant to stay inside

Here are your options

13.

Option 1: You do something

Option 2: You continue doing NOTHING

* Now ‘obviously’ doing “something” is the right answer here.. but that doesn’t always happen

Sometimes we feel:

- Unmotivated
- Lethargic

.. and it leads us to doing nothing (stagnation)

(cont..)

14.

Now..

That little “hole” you’ve started to dig yourself..

Starts getting a litttttle bit deeper..

Now add in:

- Seeing everyone on social media (makes you think, “everyone else is having fun..”)
- The lack of exercise you’ve been getting

(And you’ve now done THIS )

15.

That stagnation has now created MORE problems that add to your depression..

* The social-media scrolling leads you to “over-thinking”..

You start comparing yourself to others..

Which leads you to worrying about OTHERS, not yourself..

Which makes YOU feel unimportant

16.

Feeling “unimportant”.. leads to being MORE unmotivated..

MORE unwilling to get moving..

.. Because if I’m “not important”.. why should I even go out and do anything?

- Lack of exercise is detrimental to your health..

Which (guess what), makes you feel like shit!

17.

Think about what just happened..

The “stagnation” you experienced..

Has caused you to:

- Start overthinking
- Miss out on exercise
- Compare yourself to others

.. and start thinking about ALL the reasons why you “shouldn’t” be happy right now

(cont..)

18.

It’s simple..

Everyone wants to be happy.

Read that again

- It’s not a matter of whether or not happiness is what someone wants..

Often times, “happiness” just seems so unachievable for some people..

*Now why is this?

19.

Think about it..
All the reasons you are now “depressed”..

.. are now “problems” that you must solve/overcome.

You:
- “Need” to start being productive
- “Need” to hit the gym
- “Need” to be social

Why do you “need” to?

because “that’s what everyone else is doing”

20.

Remember..

You’re already feeling:
* Unmotivated
* Worthless
* Upset..

So taking the time to:
- Breakdown your problems
- Consider actionable solutions
- Pursue those solutions endlessly

Just sounds impossible..

(cont..)

21.

The reasons stated above are EXACTLY why people with depression often claim “nobody understands”..

Why?

Because most of the people telling them “just go to the gym and you’ll feel better bro”..

.. never break things down like I have here.

They really DON’T understand

22.

That’s the importance of having someone who has ACTUALLY been there..

Someone who HAS experienced that pain..

This isn’t even CONSIDERING what happens when you:

- Surround yourself with negative people
- Don’t make enough money
- Work a job that you hate

- Have an abusive family

It is SO easy to start falling into that hole..

(Next)

23.

The first suggestion I have is this:

The moment you catch yourself getting into a rut..

Pull yourself out THAT VERY SAME MOMENT!

This is an extremely crucial moment in the battle with depression..

(cont..)

24.

This is the time where you NEED to be aware of what’s happening to you..

—> You NEED to be conscious..

You must actively try to “save your happiness” when you’re in this situation..

.. or you’ll fall deeper into the hole, making it harder to get out..

(cont..)

25.

So what does this look like?

Simple:

You’re going about your day as normal..

.. but out of nowhere you start feeling down

Maybe you:

~ Had a bad day at work
~ Got in an argument
~ Woke up late

or a combination of unfortunate events happened..

(cont..)

26.

We’re human, we have emotions, and things like this WILL generate a reaction out of us..

(That’s why knowing how to control your emotions is so powerful)

Most people will KNOW when they’re feeling “off”..

(This is what I do when I’m starting to feel down)

27.

Catching yourself BEFORE you start falling into that hole is key here..

.. the moment I catch myself, I IMMEDIATELY choose to:

- Go to the gym
- Grab some paper and write
- Make plans with good friends

or ANYTHING else that has a positive effect on me..

28.

I say “immediately” because it gives me ZERO time to overthink..

99% of our worries are unnecessary.

Knowing that, I shouldn’t be giving myself ANY time to think about it..

(cont..)

29.

You want to minimize your chance of falling down that “depression hole”..

The more negative events that occur, the more times you have to stop yourself from letting this happen..

We’re not perfect

* So eventually you it WILL happen

(This is why EVERYONE has bad days)

30.

How do you minimize these chances?

For me..

Removing EVERY negative person from my life was the best thing I’ve ever done.

My friend group made me feel like shit ALWAYS..

Stopping myself from falling down that hole wasn’t even an OPTION because of how often it happened..

31.

I had those friends for years..

.. and felt like THAT almost the entire period of time.

The decision I had to make was:

a.) Cutting them off for good and being “friend-less”

OR

b.) Continuing to act like I enjoyed going out with them

(cont..)

32.

In hindsight..

It’s stupid that it was even a tough decision to make..

~ Listen to me! :

Removing negative/toxic people from your life is the FASTEST way to start feeling better..

(cont..)

33.

You’ll no longer feel the need to satisfy somebody else..

You’ll start thinking for YOURSELF..

.. and it’ll become easier to identify what truly makes YOU happy..

(cont..)

34.

Remember:

The transition here is NOT instant.

In major cases of depression, you NEED to understand it’ll take time.

Make sure you set the right expectations for yourself..

.. or you’ll start wondering “what’s wrong with me” all over again

35.

In the beginning..

Your goal should be to go from 7 bad days/week, to 6..

Down to 5..

Down to 3..

All the way until it’s a “once in awhile” type thing..

You want your “bad days” to feel a lot “less bad”..

36.

I must add however:

You will STILL have days that make you feel like ALL of your progress has just reset..

You’ll feel like you finnnnally started escaping the hole

.. only to start falling back down

It sucks, but this is normal!

(Here’s what I mean)

37.

If you’ve battling this shit for awhile..

You’ve got to understand that your brain is USED to feeling like this..

It’s USED to feeding you negativity..

Your brain listens to what you tell it.

(cont..)

38.

This is the whole reason why removing all sources of negativity is so important..

If your friends call you stupid, your parents call you dumb, and your siblings make fun of you..

There is NO surprise you’re going to start believing it..

39.

This might sound weird..

But you need to “re-program” your mind..

- All of that negativity has already programmed your brain through negative information

In order to reverse that effect..

You must:

* Remove the sources of negativity
* Create sources of positivity

40.

Negative sources include anything that make you feel:

~ Fearful
~ Worried
~ Unproductive
~ Uncomfortable

Make sense?

Instead, go for things that are positive like:

~ Podcasts
~ Motivational content
~ Books on self-improvement

41.

I know this thread is getting long..

But depression is a BITCH to get through..

I’ve got so much more I could add..

(Let me summarize a few things)

42.

In minor cases of depression..

Your focus needs to be on staying out of the hole..

The deeper you let yourself fall, the harder it’ll be to get out.. and that’s dangerous.

So:
- Catch yourself early
- Don’t allow time to think about it

43.

In more serious cases of depression..

It’s a process that takes time.

It took me:

- 1 month for others to start noticing a difference in my personality
- 6 months for me to start seeing major differences
- 1 year for me to truly believe I beat it

(cont..)

44.

I’d still have days that we’re tough for me..

But it was often because of stuff I COULD control:

- Not going to the gym
- Eating like garbage
- Getting nothing done
- Getting very little sleep

45.

My advice to you would be:

a.) Start with removing all negativity and start being “healthier”..

It’s MUCH harder to be upset when you:

~ Wake up early (while still getting 7-8hrs)
~ Sweat at the gym
~ Ate something healthy afterwards..

46.

Going to the gym may be uncomfortable for you..

But that’s part of what will make you happier..

Knowing you OVERCAME something that you were nervous about..

- Confidence increases
- Body feels better

and you have something to be proud about.

47.

Personally..

I’m a huge believer that “progress” equals happiness..

If you go through life.. each and every day.. improving on absolutely nothing..

Are you surprised you’re depressed?

Find something, ANYTHING.. and get better at it..

The gym is a great place to start

48.

The other solution I offer is:

Writing out your thoughts..

Here’s how I go about it:

- I write what is worrying me
- I decide if I can do anything about it
(If yes)
- I come up with options and pursue it endlessly
(If no)
- I stop worrying about it right then and there.

49.

I’m going to end the thread here..

I’d be happy to answer EVERY question in the comments

If you’re struggling, tell me.

Tell me with what..

Tell me what goes through your head..

- I want to tell you how to get through it because I KNOW that shit is difficult

50.

There’s so much more I want to say on this topic, but I’ll save it for the comments.

Remember:

* You can ALWAYS get better
* It doesn’t go away forever
* The process isn’t instant

(Feel free to leave your advice below for others to read)

Thanks for reading

51.

Thanks to everyone who provided me with information for this thread:

@MiIIenniaIMoney @HM_PsychHealth @Iamtracylynn @Hustle_Smarterr @RodG97 @TheAlphaThought @GeekyRed_ @ImprovementGeek @Boldinfluence @razyfired @PadenPierry @DoctorFlip @RemedyMonk @HustleWithRoss @NitiSarran @sociallyupward @BrotherTristan

.. and more

First Tweet: https://twitter.com/askthegiver/status/1284457751918387201?s=21 https://twitter.com/askthegiver/status/1284457751918387201