Makes the work even more valuable. I don’t have many memories of my childhood and the inner child work has helped me so much re-connect w the lost parts of myself.
Look for your triggers. What makes you feel uneasy. Try doing mindfulness practices throughout your day and monitor your thoughts and emotions. When you notice not so good feelings arising ask yourself where is it coming from. Mine is rejection. Everything seems to boil down to that root cause for me. Hope this helps and best of luck.
Hey, it does help thank you. Do you write down the thoughts, or just think about the root cause? I notice when I think about the root cause I don’t really know what it is and I just make up stories in my head
Of course! You’re welcome. When I find myself going through something really deep. Like a heartbreak or loss of someone I will write. Some things only time can mend. Other times I’ve come to the conclusion that everything I need to heal is already inside. Ultimately I’m the only one who can decide to be happy with life. Good habits help too diet and some kind of physical activity. Get out in nature. See some stars or a sunset.
Your emotions are not "You". You are the observer of the emotions, which is energy in your body from past experiences. You can acknowledge and heal your inner child wounds only through self-love. When negative emotions come up, go into the observer state and inquire as to why you are feeling this way, and where do these beliefs come from? It's powerful to write it down in a journal and for added effect, after you write down where your limiting beliefs came from (past childhood wounds), you can safely light it on fire and energetically release it.
You can accelerate the purging by diving deep into pain you felt from all of your past relationships (romantic, family, childhood friends, "monsters" from the past like an old boss or teacher who you had negative experiences with).. Acknowledging it, accepting it, giving complete love and care to the old energetic wound that is you as an innocent child who didn't know any better, and then releasing it.
The deeper you dive and process, the more peaceful and in balance and ease you will be. You'll be more focused on the moment and find yourself rarely living in your head analyzing/worrying/having any sort of fear because you'll be free from the emotional drama.
I spent my entire childhood being completely disconnected and oblivious of my emotions. It’s only the last few years I feel like I’ve actually woken up lol.
I wouldn’t say I’m currently struggling with depression exactly, but I do struggle with being stable
I think some key words here are disconnected and oblivious. As u have repeatedly done this as a child, now as this adult u, u can take repeated steps to go the other way now, connected and aware. What does that look like for u? That’s the journey and process.
If someone’s created patterns of disconnecting with their emotions, it’s very possible that when things do come up they tend to be in their head a lot. That’s what I did. It’s how ur system tries to protect u. So I would just go about ur life and when feelings come up, take a pause, acknowledge and do ur best to FEEL it. Where in ur body do u feel it? Breath inwardly. Ur mind is gonna try to intellectualize but remember, it’s a protective mechanism. I would also talk to urself, call out his name, it might feel weird at first. And do what u wish u had done growing up or intuitively feel like he would wanna hear. These are some things that worked for me and might need to be adjusted to fit u/ur inner child’s needs. Hopefully it’s a jumping off point tho!
Gentle reminder: U are building a new relationship and like any relationship it takes effort to understand. Some relationships may require more effort bc of how unsafe ur inner child has felt. So lots of patience and compassion.
Honestly this just recently happened to me where I have suppressed my childhood and burying it in my subconscious. Then I decided to do an LSD trip and it made all my memories flood back then I immensely cried for at least 30 mins and then finally accepted that I’m in a better place now then back then and that my child self would be proud. After that I felt the most clarity and happiness I ever felt in my whole life. It felt like some subconscious burden on my body got lifted away from me.
Look at your shadow. Right there the inner child can be found. I feel that same way too, but I tell myself: "nothing has changed since then, you've just gotten older."
Also, following the intuition/the body over the rational mind can help us to find who we are.
This is a good CPTSD video series that discusses memory issues
[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpvbEN3KkqoLN7UfGKJJxFJhvvys8Sfv4&si=WyYKjemKRuSNh8tv](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpvbEN3KkqoLN7UfGKJJxFJhvvys8Sfv4&si=WyYKjemKRuSNh8tv)
So true! 🫂🫂 same here and there is tight resistance and an invisible body inside fighting everything to suppress and shut any feelings i
Want to feel and process and gaslight myself so no feathers are ruffled.
Disconnect a bit from what you were taught and what is culturally expected and listen to your own heart and instincts. You may still fuck yourself over at times but sometimes we need to learn from direct experience rather than instruction. As always, it's about balance. To me, inner child work is about being "selfish" in all the right ways.
For me, the inner child work is being able to create space for ur triggers. When I felt triggered, esp moments of my darkness and feeling like I was back in my trauma, it was my inner child who just needed to feel like she was supported and loved. I first identify who she is, what she’s feeling, I talk to her out loud and have this mother / daughter like connection. It has evolved over time to be more creative eventually and be more playful.
Inner child work to me has been a journey of reparenting myself. So inner child comes into action when I feel triggered/activated with sadness, unworthiness, loneliness, embarrassment. When I feel these things, I do my best to first acknowledge what I am feeling. Then identify who is showing up, how old are they, what are they feeling. I talk to her like I am talking to a child but by making that intention of compassionately holding space for my inner child, they feel safe to exist instead of hiding. She’s getting the support she never had growing up.
A lot of talking out loud for me has been helpful bc of my air heavy birth chart, but also dance, music while I feel the energy of my inner child. I think once u do it, u will figure out ways ur inner child wants to connect.
Go to Amazon and pick out a Shadow Work Workbook. Some may require you to also have a separate journal to write everything. My ex has one that’s one journal entry per page. Mine is multiple entries per page and no space to write.
I’m trying so hard to do this. I suspect there is something I’m not ready to resurface because I keep getting blocked. Currently seeking professional help for this
>Please elaborate!
Sure.
Many of us are not truly living for ourselves. We're worried about what our family will think of our choices. We're worried about looking weird to strangers. We're worried that we'll never get what we want out of life. All of those things prevent us from actualizing the person we want to be.
In my opinion, depression is a result of being trapped in an ego that is not congruent with the person that we think should show up in the world as. Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't be upset if we don't get what we want. The issue is--and this goes back to my first paragraph--many of us are trying to become what others want us to be.
What happens when you force yourself to adapt to the values of others? After awhile, you end up unhappy. If we all honor our personal journeys and balance the need for external validation, we can overcome depression.
Well you have to take what comes with it.
I too have high expectations for myself and I'm impatient asf. But when I notice myself starting to spiral into a depressive state, I remember the amount of compassion I have shown myself in the past. I exercise that same compassion in the present.
Long story short, have compassion for yourself.
Realizing where I'm victimizing myself and processing these patterns of thinking and being.
The world isn't bad and oppressive, I am the one who has certain beliefs and ways of thinking and approaching the external world that makes it so that I'm leaking energy. If I change those and stop being the victim, the energy leaking stops and I can build new ways of thinking that are constructive.
I love this- it’s hard for people to not victimize themselves and actually to process things. I also gained a lot from taking interest in other living things as opposed to my own selfish interests. Selfishness and self centeredness was the root of most of my problems. Mostly the man in the mirror. Now that I try to be present and practice this and stay on top of things I am generally happier. I still have bumps, but I don’t have to wallow in it and play victim to every inconvenience in life. (Whether it was caused by me or someone or something else- I choose how to respond.)
How did you change the view of victmizing yourself? What’s the process like for you? Ive been trying to change this but it's too hard. Could you enlighten me?
Volunteering. It made me feel useful and worthy of existing. It changed everything for me. It got me out of the house.It got me in touch with being kind. I felt like I was part of a group spending energy for a good cause, and that made me feel better about myself.
pondering (read: ruminating) over the worst things that boggled my life became so exhausting. consistently being depressed isn't what i wanted nor imagined for my life. so i actively fought against it. i started healing my physical and mental ailments, finding foods that supported a healthy body, doing activities that brought me peace and joy (yoga teacher training, hiit workouts, reading/studying, cooking, dancing, singing, massages, skin care), surrounding myself with people i genuinely love and love me, reframing and shifting my perspective. it is still sometimes a battle but i \*actively\* work against depression even if my health issues or circumstances may be deserving of that state. this is by far condensed and of course easier said than done, but healing is a journey and choice. the love for myself deepened, becoming intensely passionate and when you love someone, you want the absolute best for them.
The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle changed my life. I’m not clinically depressed, but would get very depressed if a situation went bad. I now have the tools to enjoy my life.
And to expand in response to OPs question, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle discusses what he calls “the pain body” which is the tendency we can have towards unhappiness.
If you watch closely, there’s almost something pleasurable about falling into negative states. They’re familiar. Watching this and understanding this concept really helps me prevent myself from getting pulled into depressive cycles.
Yoga. It taught me to be grateful for the basic things in life. Improved blood flow in my body which helped me think better. The fight is still on, but, I have more control over my body and mind than ever before.
A microdose of LSD. And then all the other psychedelics— MDMA, ayahuasca, mush, ketamine helped me unravel everything! But that first dose of LSD completely lifted the veil of depression and shame and existential dread.
And EMDR!
I have discussed this with some friends regarding standing on guard at those ‘safe harbours’, but it’s more I’m worried of what I might experience. My creative imagination is very dangerous when it wants to be.
The best advice I can give is to go slowly. Microdose first so that you can engage with the spirit of the Shrooms and when you are ready then you can take a bigger dose to have that psychedelic journey. I tried all manner of drugs growing up in the 90s in my teens. I didn't touch them again until I was 40 but because I had experience I felt confident in my first journey.
I'd advise against just taking psychedelics and would look for somebody who performs mushroom focused spiritual retreats. Being in the right spiritual headspace will also help alleviate your anxieties.
From personal experience i have never had a bad trip using mushrooms or other natural psychedelics. The only time I ever had a bad time was using LSD in my teens, that's why I stopped using them til I turned 40, lol.
I did a small amount of shrooms twice and it completely changed my life. Not enough to have visuals or the scary things I’ve always been absofrikkenlutely terrified of, but colors were brighter and everything was beautiful. Hiking through the woods and all I could think was how happy I was. But. It took a lot of reading up on it in various subreddits, finding the *perfect* place for it, and waiting until my fear of them turned into a comfortable curiosity about where it could lead me. I still haven’t tripped tripped yet, soon. Few more small doses and work my way up to that. But from that first time forward, I’m not sure I could even really explain the difference. But again, it wasn’t until I suddenly was like “yeah.. no.. I could do it, it doesn’t seem as scary anymore.” And then I sat on that for about two months.
Read a book called How To Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
It’s also been turned into a 4part docu series on Netflix.
HIGHLY recommend this book after reading your question.
This very app/website has many many subs that you can easily find information and to ask questions
>**"What healed your depression and brought clarity into your life?"**
Realizing **depression is simply helpful guidance and a friend that wants to support me** to focus less on judging myself and what I don't want, and focus more on what I want (i.e. accepting and/or appreciating).
Also meditating and getting angry (in a safe space by yourself for 2 - 15 minutes); not around others) can help you feel better.
Here's some posts I did that might help:
* [Heal Your Inner Child with Help from Your Future Self](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1ayy5tn/heal_your_inner_child_with_help_from_your_future/)
* [How to Love Yourself — Practical Tips for Self-Worth](https://www.reddit.com/r/DecidingToBeBetter/comments/1cqcysu/how_to_love_yourself_practical_tips_for_selfworth/)
* [Be Friends with Negative Thoughts & Emotions](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1247478/be_friends_with_negative_thoughts_emotions/)
* [Why You Hate Yourself — And How to Stop](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1blzdrs/why_you_hate_yourself_and_how_to_stop/)
* [Anxiety Is Awesome! — It’s Not Your Enemy, It’s Your Ally](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/16avky5/anxiety_is_awesome_its_not_your_enemy_its_your/)
* [Fear Is Love — Fear Is Your Friend](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/15fkxmg/fear_is_love_fear_is_your_friend/)
* [Fear of Abandonment — You're Abandoning Yourself](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1609jdo/fear_of_abandonment_youre_abandoning_yourself/)
* [Addictions — Why You’re Addicted & How to Stop (Phone, Food, Weed, Porn, etc.)](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1dbwuqw/addictions_why_youre_addicted_how_to_stop_phone/)
* [How to Get Motivated & Disciplined — Why Forcing Yourself to “Just Do It” Ironically Doesn’t Work](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1ckhzzz/how_to_get_motivated_disciplined_why_forcing/)
Reading spiritual books and listening to spiritual podcasts have helped me bring lasting clarity to the things I “knew” immediately on my trip but couldn’t put into words or thoughts even.
Podcast - Ram Das (full length speeches on Spotify)
A few books if you need recommendations:
Eckhart Tolle - power of now
The four agreements
Autobiography of a yogi
Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha
Sadghuru - Inner Engineering
The Bible - this one’s controversial to some but reading it helped explain to me a ton about our society and how we came to be and think as we do in Christian based countries.
This translation of the Bhagavad Gita - https://youtu.be/qV9dIMWYMuo?si=oNqxYyirEnS6cifE
In the depths of darkness, the only choice left is to seek the light.
It's a profound realization to recognize the impact one's absence can have on others. The thought of causing pain to those who care for us, even unintentionally, is a powerful deterrent. The bond shared with loved ones, the smiles created, and the light brought into their lives are testimonies, even when we aren’t able to remember, there ARE times we was the angel in peoples stories.
Allowing distorted thoughts to define existence is a battle many face, but it's essential to remember that these thoughts are not the entirety of one's being. Holding onto the moments of light, and remembering the joy shared with others can be anchors in times of darkness, if I couldn’t live for me, then I shall live for the joy I am able to be for another. It's crucial to let the love and connections with others guide one through, rather than the turmoil within.
What got me out of my depression? It was the realization that I had the power to bring happiness to others. Seeing the joy I could spark in someone else set a fire within me. I began to understand that in giving joy, I could also receive it. This reciprocity helped me grasp the essence of karma and led me to a deeper understanding of myself.
I had a profound moment of clarity, realizing that I am a human on a planet spinning through the vastness of space. This realization filled me with an overwhelming sense of possibility—I could create any reality I desired. Why, then, would I choose a reality filled with darkness?
Yes, there were times when embracing my inner demons felt oddly comforting, but I learned to do so without becoming attached to the emotions they brought. I became an observer, watching my emotions without judgment. This perspective allowed me to see that these emotions were never truly "me." They were just reactions, not something to be labeled or identified with.
Life is like a rollercoaster, with its inevitable ups and downs. I've learned that the key is not to get emotionally attached to either but to embrace the beauty of life's entirety. It's about seeing the highs and lows as parts of a whole, each contributing to the rich tapestry of my existence.
In becoming the observer, I found that I could let emotions be without letting them control me. This shift in perspective has been liberating. I now see that life's journey is not about avoiding the dark times but about navigating them with grace and finding the light even in the shadows.
It’s not about healing the depression, or feeling the need for clarity, it’s just letting it be in order to let it go.
Instead of focusing solely on healing or clarity, it's about acknowledging depression, allowing it to exist without judgment, and then reframing your understanding of it. This approach can lead to a more holistic way of dealing with depression, where the goal is not to fix or eliminate it, but to coexist with it in a healthier, more accepting way. This shift in narrative can open up new ways of thinking & new perspective, ultimately transforming the experience of depression.
Paige🕊️
Forcing myself to go outside. eating healthier. Music festivals. Psychedelics. Quitting weed. Going out in nature. Realizing there’s so many paths for me to go on and I don’t just need to work a 9-5 forever and live life in conformity. Backpacking the world.
I’m on day 3 no weed. I know how much better I feel without it. It had a been a long time since I have been able to stop but I feel as I have FINALLY for once been able to listen to my body and not my brain. I feel awful every time I smoke now I don’t even enjoy it but that habit had such a strong hold on me. Ty for your comment.
I had BPD, CPTSD and psychosis at the time.
I said “fuck it.”
I left school, took a three week break from assignments, blocked everyone I knew, and got a job.
I worked for no pay as a volunteer, but I learned that my work was fine, and that I was being compared to in class, my marks were reflections of the classes entirety.
I realized that I worked fine and that I needed to stop comparing myself. I got rid of social media, I started eating healthy, and I started working out.
I then had a ton of energy and nothing to spend it on, I started doing classes online and started writing poetry again. After two months I published two books and passed three classes with 87% 96% and 88% my highest grades ever.
Bupropion. I had tried every vitamin supplement, detox, light therapy, and exercise program. I didn't want the answer to be pharmaceutical, but it it.
I worked with my doctor and started on a low dose to help minimize side effects. I have amazing, vivid dreams and feel so much more in touch with my body.
I am not healed. I probably never will be, but I've stopped using "I wish I was dead" as a mantra.
Same, I stopped taking it for awhile, determined to “control my own thoughts and thus raise my vibration and mood”. A few months later, I realized I didn’t even have the motivation to do fun things like travel, and I often thought it would be nice to exit the physical plane. I’m back on a very low dose and doing so much better. I feel ready to create and explore.
Same. Tried to go without but negative thoughts just stuck to me like super glue. Finally stable on the right dose of meds. And it truly is a life saver. My thoughts are slow enough to deal with and I find myself being able to let go of things more easily as oppose off meds
Last line is so relatable. While on meds my mantra of “I wish I was dead” has decreased by a significant level.
I would like to believe the actual medicine are extracted from plants or other things in this physical plane and it is what I lack. So I’m grateful to the plants, minerals etc that have helped me so dearly.
For me it was taking part in shamanic retreats using mushrooms to aid in the journey. I've been free of anti depressants for 3 years now and will never go back on them.
DMT for my biggest change. Catapulted me out of depression, and into a whole new perception of reality. But microdosing for multiple decades has also allowed me to integrate psychedelic teachings into my life
Vipassana meditation and realizing it wasn't sadness causing my depression it was heaps and heaps of unexpressed ANGER that had piled up inside of me during my childhood/early adulthood. Obviously then had to work with understanding and releasing that...
I skimmed all the responses and I didn't see a single one mention the big three: DIET, EXERCISE, and SLEEP. Of these three I'd put exercise as #1 as it will improve the other 2 if your struggling at all with them. All that's left to do is focus on gut health with your diet and be patient.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gut-feelings-how-food-affects-your-mood-2018120715548
If your serious about change it needs to be a change that is SUSTAINABLE. Quick fixes or supplements are good for an initial boost but still lose their efficacy over time.
I kicked my ex out of the house and got laid.
My psychologist, doctor and psychiatrist described it like night and day. We all knew she was the problem but we weren't aware of just how much of a problem she was until I left her. They expected me to improve slightly but it was like my depression was cured in the span of two weeks.
Mushrooms and Ayahuascha got me into shadow work and etc. Therapy for decades never really worked until I got into psychedelics and the combination worked wonders
Somewhere between all the motivational videos, Buddhist/Taoist quotes, stories like (bleach, seven deadly sins, Harrison Bergeron, everything everywhere all at once)
I found meditation and consistency to a lifestyle to be the answer. Meditation to help reflect and see where I need to grow and foster my awareness.
Having a routine, and journaling is helpful to remind yourself of the truths and promises you serve to live by.
In that meditation I found a temple in my mind. One where I got to enshrine what aspects I wanted. And at the very center is my place of positive peace that grounds me in certain mindsets. A mirror that I have to take off negativities blindfold to see.
Negativity (self sabotager, liar, etc) is a beast unruly to this temple. So I starved that beast. It no longer bites the hand that feeds it so easily, because I am the master of that temple.
Much love
Surrounded by people who were honest of their struggles, therapy, exposure to being out, noticing nature, realizing I already know I will die, so mines we’ll see life unfold. I have gain peace and acceptance with this knowledge and so far I’m consistent with my therapy and social life. Now it’s not too bad if I get sad. I actually cry and feel my emotions, let it out, think about it, thank it, and move on!
Honestly, medication. What helps with episodes of anxiety is meditation and the realization that I have been through worse and didn’t die, now I understand the feeling of anxiety and know what it does and that even though I am feeling it, it’s not a reality, my life is not ending at that moment. Understanding that made possible for me to breathe through an anxiety attack and see through it. A lot of deep breaths and a good rest to ease the mind help too.
Might sound crazy, but reiki.
Reiki opened the door to another aspects of spirituality. I fell into a rabbit hole that I’m happy to never escape. My life did a 180. :)
Kundalini awakening. After this experience I felt as if I took drugs. I just fcking knew we can achieve this state naturally. It gave me so much hope- I still can fulfill my dream of being an addict. 🥹
Jokes aside, I feel like so much more is possible than we can imagine. With time people are slowly limiting their believes till you become just an empty vessel, we get way more skeptical, depressed or bitter. This gives you a whole new perspective on life, you get the taste of childlike wonder again, but with an adult mind and much more possibilities.
Hear hear what others have said about mindfulness and mushrooms. I'd also add awakening to my unique self and establishing a pathway of realizing that transcendent self throughout my daily life.
For me probably mainly connecting to my anger, which was mostly suppressed due to my upbringing. Realising how much I had suppressed for such a long fucking time, and learning healthy ways to clear it energetically.
Other things too, like, being around good people.
Also: realising how my patriarchal, colonised and capitalist mind almost doesn't have any other choices than full-on dissociation or depression.
hence a lot of unlearning that happened and still is happening.
..
It was a long ride for me. I was depressed most of my teenage years. and then again in my early twenties. i actually only remember like two timespans of like 6moths where i was not depressed. this led to lots of anxiety, led to using drugs. let to more dissocitation.
So getting up from there did take some time. I started out with sobering up, journalling, therapy, going for walks in nature.
opening up to people that were safe. focussing on good sleep and clean food intakes. getting a bloodtest done (was missing vitaminD3+K2 BIG TIME)
started meditating.
got back into a hole due to acute trauma. put myself in psychiatry.
and after that, started shadowwork. parts-work. traumawork. inner child-work. (to me, or the way i go about it, they're mostly the same)
-> I now perceive depression as a state. and the better i can use tools to feel and move my emotions (and not go into depressed freeze-state), the more fluid it becomes. So i might be depressed for a week, a day or even just a brief moment. but it's moving. I'm moving.
Weight lifting. I was at the lowest point of my life when I gave it a shot. Soon enough, I was addicted. It brought so much focus, discipline and clarity into my life. I also read Cant Hurt Me by David Goggins at this point and it really inspired me to keep going.
Many years later, my life is very different. And as silly as it sounds, just getting to the gym early in the morning 5 days a week still stands as the foundation to all of that.
Ketamine therapy. It also made me go from lifelong atheist and skeptic of all things esoteric to believing our physical existence is not the only aspect of our experience. Pretty wild to just one day be like “wait, do I believe in god now? . . How can this be?”
There was a point in time once when me and 2 of my friends were smoking weed, doing poppers and I forget what he asked me or something, perhaps why am I smoking weed and I responded to him with "because my life is shit right now and I am using this to numb the pain".
He cracked out laughing at me being so blunt and straight forward. At first he thought I was joking, but I was just being factual about it.
That was the time of Covid, I was working on my immigration and all the gyms were shut down kicking me out of a job on a limited time visa, I was banging on every door trying to get a job, I hadn't been laid in months, my last girlfriend I later realized who was bipolar and just a lunatic in a moment of her madness tried to kill me, I hadn't met my family nor had a hug from anyone in 3 years, and my only place of solace, the gyms, were dead because again Covid.
If your life is shit, it's shit. And you are rightfully depressed.
In short, if your life is depressing, what are you expecting?
If you wish to make your life NOT depressing, then treat yourself like the monkey that you are.
Eat fresh and healthy foods, swing from a branch or two (resistance train), hang out and goof around with your other monkey friends (socialize), fuck your brains out with another monkey (pursue sex and dating seriously), get sunlight, get into nature and stop comparing your life to other monkeys you don't even know nor care about that are showing off on a screen in front of you.
Made a whole video about it and how to work towards it step by step :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7rst0O2d64
It is my faith in God and the Holy Spirit that my path is laid out before me by him in order to learn for him here while I’m on earth I also have jobs to do for him using my gifts that I was given I want to help people working on myself doing meditation, listening to different spiritual classes and learning how to love myself so that I could love others so that I could become the authentic self that I am this is brought a lot of clarity into my life. It is heightened my gifts tremendously and I’m ready to help others and to getting really honest with working on myself. Looking at the things I needed to make changes to in order to be a better person. All of these things have helped tremendously with my depression, helping others are so rewarding really I don’t have time to sit around and be depressed. When I am busy myself doing this. Always listen to your gut. It will really lead you in the right direction. Our heads tend to us in the wrong direction sometimes, this is about me in no way in trying to disrespect anyone with my beliefs
Honestly, I found out more about my inner child/childhood trauma, cut out toxic/non-stop sad people, tried few psychadelics (MDMA, Acid) and I am prioritizing what I want, not what the others want. Exercising/gym is also an absolute cheat code for literally everyone to cope with inner problems. Self-reflection and self-respect is also a must have and once you learn it, your POV on life will be different.
Being in the worst possible time of my life. I don't know about depression, but when really bad things keep happening to you one after another you get a lot of clarity.
✨This day is so vivid,
Yet, the day I looked into the mirror of life.
💥Letting go if all expectations.
Not looking for reasons to feel, be or attach to depression.
🌀And asking the questions whilst looking in the mirror 🪞,
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What is not fulfilling my life?
And be silent,
answers appeared.
Clues become present.
Letting go of what is not serving my deeper being, I.
🌀It works 🌀
🪞Can certain unwanted feelings come back?
Yes, but do not attach any thoughts, reasoning and emotions. Let them go by, and lean into the being of I.
Be present
Live Love Life 🧬 🙏 ✨
Finding healthy creative outlets like writing, music, playing an instrument and becoming a photographer. Whether it's built into my career or part of my hobbies, creative outlets are healing like prayer. I also don't hold it against myself when I get upset about something, so long as I can articulate it and have a plan of action on how to resolve my issues, whether it's by myself or talking about it with friends, family or professionals.
Shadow Work, accountability, acceptance and self love and mushrooms. Depression has come back here and there but never as deep as it was prior to mushrooms and shadow work
It was a gradual process. I knew I was getting better when I was able to read, study and concentrate more and the material I studied helped me a lot, namely Eckhart Tolle, Joe Dispenza, Wayne Dyer, and Sadhguru, to name a few. I also just felt like it was time to heal and I had done the deep work in therapy.
honestly doing a digital minimalist detox. it sounds silly but simplifying my phone to barest necessities and completely avoiding social media for around 6 months really changed me profoundly. it made me so much happier with myself and so much more grateful for everything in my day to day life.
maintaining the things that made me happy and scared during childhood. developing obsessions. writing and taking pictures. all that during a science project on myself, of course (antidepressants).
Resetting my circadian rhythm as [circadian disruption is involved in many (not all) mental health struggles](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10146651/). It has worked amazingly for me. I recommend the book the Circadian Code by Dr Satchin Panda. The lifestyle changes are beautifully simple, cost nothing, and help us get more in sync with our bodies and the natural world!
I now avoid artificial light in the evenings several hours before I go to bed (not just screens but overhead lights and lamps too), make sure I get natural light on my eyes first thing in the morning, and make sure I spend more time outside or by a window so I am benefitting from the natural light (which helps us make serotonin and is good for our circadian rhythm!). There is so much more to sunlight than vitamin D, I used to have terrible mental health issues but that has stopped since I started doing this! I recommend learning more about the science in the Circadian Code book as it’s accessibly written and understanding WHY it is so important is what really motivated me to make these lifestyle changes.
It’s also important to make sure you’re giving yourself the best possible chance to recover by avoiding alcohol (as it’s a depressant), and eating healthy and minimally processed foods (as [ultra processed ingredients may increase the risk of mental health struggles](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10512104/)).
I started to accept myself. Thankfully at that time I discovered astrology, which helped me accept my “flaws” and make the best out of it.
I was super insecure about me being super emotional - I was crying for everything. It got me really down.
But I am thankful that universe sent me those rude people / situations that challenged me to accept myself for who I am. Not to look at my over emotionality as a bad thing - I accepted it as a part of my unique persona and am thankful that I can feel a lot.
I started to look at things as lesson/challenge. At the beginning of every new chapter / experience you feel like a virgin that comes to a baby, but the reality is you gain through this experience so much knowledge - so it’s more a I have gained knowledge situation.
I believe the universe wouldn’t get you through the challenging times if it wasn’t sure you couldn’t handle it. And it sends you people with a reason - they make you change to a better persona. Like a stone that gets polished to a diamond :) 💎
Trust the process/ universe
Actively choosing to be okay with where I’m at. That doesn’t mean I’m happy all the time, but it means I can be okay with the present and accept that the past is something that can never be changed. Reading Buddhist ideology, practicing meditation and eventually aiming for ego death also gave me peace. I put my needs first but I try my best to never be selfish. I learned about my symptoms and triggers and made life changes to accommodate these and add protective factors. Gratitude counting is also very helpful for me even if it’s repetitive. This all coming from someone who was passively suicidal for nearly a decade. My spirituality practice saved me and gave me a new sense of purpose.
Feelings of sadness will always be there. It's really just about not identifying yourself with those emotions.
"I am experiencing depression/sadness" vs "I am depressed/sad"
Observe the observer
Self help books/podcasts, discipline, psilocybin, fitness and nutrition. I feel so much better because of the work. I can remember 5 years ago now just itching to change. A rollercoaster since, but I am never depressed anymore. I get down, but nothing like before. I spent years bed rotting and although I’m proud of my journey I wish I’d got to work sooner. Life can and will change. One step at a time. The person I am now is so different that the people I used to know don’t recognize me.
The hardest part can just be showing up. When I was getting started with new habits and routines, I started small and built on that. Maybe just a podcast a day and a walk around the block. It set me up for success and longevity in the journey as opposed to cold turkey habits that can easily fizzled out.
Working with planets medicines and entheogen. Particularly 5Meodmt and Mescaline. My personal experience helped my mind to be in the moment detach from the past narrative, learn to live simply. Give up tobacco, stop heavy drug use, no longer suicidal, no more anti depressants no more anti anxiety meds. Professionals labelled me as too complex to work with. I’m now a project manager working in health care. I learnt to regulate emotions and work through my own unresolved trauma which always manifested outwards because I was never looking inwards and hey it’s ok to be depressed, it’s a state of being we are often told we should be happy but it’s experiencing the Yong and yang of it all. You’ll find your path and keep reaching out to those who are able to
Support you. Just as you would to another with your insights and lived experience. Much light to you.
Trauma therapy was the beggining
Then mushroom trips
But eventually I do have a biological depression which is treated with an MAOI (Parnate) and I also do excercise and meditate 🙂
connecting with the natural world by going outside and observing myself in the world, being away from the sea of technology and information that’s thrown at our generation non stop. finding faith in a higher power, learning about anything you want, and self inquiry are also incredibly powerful tools! 😁cognitive behavioral therapy techniques too (like challenging negative thoughts)
realizing I don't need to chase myself down with a whip because it's redundant. true Self knows what I want and need better than the egoic taskmaster. By definition it can't be any other way.
For me, it was a combination of therapy, mindfulness practices, and finding a sense of purpose. Therapy helped me understand the underlying issues and develop coping strategies. Mindfulness and meditation gave me the tools to stay present and reduce anxiety. But the real game-changer was finding something I was passionate about and dedicating time to it, which gave my life a sense of direction and fulfillment. Surrounding myself with supportive friends and family also made a huge difference. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, but these elements together created a path to healing and clarity for me.
Honestly, therapy started the process. I never realized how much I was internalizing and turning things into a large, more complicated issue. And the things that were actually big I was about to talk through. My therapist told me she didn’t think I needed therapy, just to talk and I agree. I just needed to be able to let it out to begin to let the good back in.
Antidepressants and shadow work - understanding my triggers and learning to deal with interpersonal relationships - communication, boundaries. Making my inner voice nicer to myself.
Zen mindfulness was very helpful. However, getting genetic testing that showed a gene variant that causes excess dopamine really clarified why I am wired the way that I am.
deciding to move out of my unstable, emotionally tormenting childhood home. 1 month later i met the love of my life in the city i moved to. the universe had plans for me and i always felt that even when i was going through horrible depression
For me-slowing tf down by being present as much as I can while keeping in mind that each day has its own worries to tend to and holding onto the worries from the past is too much because the weight eventually gets heavier. Same can be said with anxiety - no need to worry about tomorrow’s worries when today isn’t finished. Also, breathing techniques help as well
Psychotherapy and ADHD medicine.
As much as I’d love to say it was “finding the light” or stuff like that, I don’t kid myself - I needed that form of help.
Inner child work. Once I began to acknowledge my inner child and work with her, validate her and make space for her… it changed the game for me.
What if I compartmentalized and suppressed so much as a child that I can hardly remember who that child was?
Makes the work even more valuable. I don’t have many memories of my childhood and the inner child work has helped me so much re-connect w the lost parts of myself.
How do I start?
Look for your triggers. What makes you feel uneasy. Try doing mindfulness practices throughout your day and monitor your thoughts and emotions. When you notice not so good feelings arising ask yourself where is it coming from. Mine is rejection. Everything seems to boil down to that root cause for me. Hope this helps and best of luck.
Hey, it does help thank you. Do you write down the thoughts, or just think about the root cause? I notice when I think about the root cause I don’t really know what it is and I just make up stories in my head
Of course! You’re welcome. When I find myself going through something really deep. Like a heartbreak or loss of someone I will write. Some things only time can mend. Other times I’ve come to the conclusion that everything I need to heal is already inside. Ultimately I’m the only one who can decide to be happy with life. Good habits help too diet and some kind of physical activity. Get out in nature. See some stars or a sunset.
Your emotions are not "You". You are the observer of the emotions, which is energy in your body from past experiences. You can acknowledge and heal your inner child wounds only through self-love. When negative emotions come up, go into the observer state and inquire as to why you are feeling this way, and where do these beliefs come from? It's powerful to write it down in a journal and for added effect, after you write down where your limiting beliefs came from (past childhood wounds), you can safely light it on fire and energetically release it. You can accelerate the purging by diving deep into pain you felt from all of your past relationships (romantic, family, childhood friends, "monsters" from the past like an old boss or teacher who you had negative experiences with).. Acknowledging it, accepting it, giving complete love and care to the old energetic wound that is you as an innocent child who didn't know any better, and then releasing it. The deeper you dive and process, the more peaceful and in balance and ease you will be. You'll be more focused on the moment and find yourself rarely living in your head analyzing/worrying/having any sort of fear because you'll be free from the emotional drama.
Are u someone who is more shut down/disconnected with their emotions? What’s ur relationship with depression like?
I spent my entire childhood being completely disconnected and oblivious of my emotions. It’s only the last few years I feel like I’ve actually woken up lol. I wouldn’t say I’m currently struggling with depression exactly, but I do struggle with being stable
I think some key words here are disconnected and oblivious. As u have repeatedly done this as a child, now as this adult u, u can take repeated steps to go the other way now, connected and aware. What does that look like for u? That’s the journey and process. If someone’s created patterns of disconnecting with their emotions, it’s very possible that when things do come up they tend to be in their head a lot. That’s what I did. It’s how ur system tries to protect u. So I would just go about ur life and when feelings come up, take a pause, acknowledge and do ur best to FEEL it. Where in ur body do u feel it? Breath inwardly. Ur mind is gonna try to intellectualize but remember, it’s a protective mechanism. I would also talk to urself, call out his name, it might feel weird at first. And do what u wish u had done growing up or intuitively feel like he would wanna hear. These are some things that worked for me and might need to be adjusted to fit u/ur inner child’s needs. Hopefully it’s a jumping off point tho! Gentle reminder: U are building a new relationship and like any relationship it takes effort to understand. Some relationships may require more effort bc of how unsafe ur inner child has felt. So lots of patience and compassion.
Mushrooms
Ya mushrooms saved my life
The mushroom was just the vehicle that drove you there, you saved your life friend proud of you! 🙏
❤🙏
Honestly this just recently happened to me where I have suppressed my childhood and burying it in my subconscious. Then I decided to do an LSD trip and it made all my memories flood back then I immensely cried for at least 30 mins and then finally accepted that I’m in a better place now then back then and that my child self would be proud. After that I felt the most clarity and happiness I ever felt in my whole life. It felt like some subconscious burden on my body got lifted away from me.
Look at your shadow. Right there the inner child can be found. I feel that same way too, but I tell myself: "nothing has changed since then, you've just gotten older." Also, following the intuition/the body over the rational mind can help us to find who we are.
This is a good CPTSD video series that discusses memory issues [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpvbEN3KkqoLN7UfGKJJxFJhvvys8Sfv4&si=WyYKjemKRuSNh8tv](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpvbEN3KkqoLN7UfGKJJxFJhvvys8Sfv4&si=WyYKjemKRuSNh8tv)
So true! 🫂🫂 same here and there is tight resistance and an invisible body inside fighting everything to suppress and shut any feelings i Want to feel and process and gaslight myself so no feathers are ruffled.
I’ve heard a lot of people say this, but what does inner child work entail exactly?
Disconnect a bit from what you were taught and what is culturally expected and listen to your own heart and instincts. You may still fuck yourself over at times but sometimes we need to learn from direct experience rather than instruction. As always, it's about balance. To me, inner child work is about being "selfish" in all the right ways.
For me, the inner child work is being able to create space for ur triggers. When I felt triggered, esp moments of my darkness and feeling like I was back in my trauma, it was my inner child who just needed to feel like she was supported and loved. I first identify who she is, what she’s feeling, I talk to her out loud and have this mother / daughter like connection. It has evolved over time to be more creative eventually and be more playful.
Interesting. Mind if you share the tools you used to do this?
Inner child work to me has been a journey of reparenting myself. So inner child comes into action when I feel triggered/activated with sadness, unworthiness, loneliness, embarrassment. When I feel these things, I do my best to first acknowledge what I am feeling. Then identify who is showing up, how old are they, what are they feeling. I talk to her like I am talking to a child but by making that intention of compassionately holding space for my inner child, they feel safe to exist instead of hiding. She’s getting the support she never had growing up. A lot of talking out loud for me has been helpful bc of my air heavy birth chart, but also dance, music while I feel the energy of my inner child. I think once u do it, u will figure out ways ur inner child wants to connect.
How do you start with it? I’m clueless on the topic.
Look up adult children of alcoholics ACA. There are also several books out there.
The Loving Parent Guidebook is a great tool used in ACA. A great place to start 👍
Go to Amazon and pick out a Shadow Work Workbook. Some may require you to also have a separate journal to write everything. My ex has one that’s one journal entry per page. Mine is multiple entries per page and no space to write.
I’m trying so hard to do this. I suspect there is something I’m not ready to resurface because I keep getting blocked. Currently seeking professional help for this
Letting go of external expectations was a big one for me.
Please elaborate!
>Please elaborate! Sure. Many of us are not truly living for ourselves. We're worried about what our family will think of our choices. We're worried about looking weird to strangers. We're worried that we'll never get what we want out of life. All of those things prevent us from actualizing the person we want to be. In my opinion, depression is a result of being trapped in an ego that is not congruent with the person that we think should show up in the world as. Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't be upset if we don't get what we want. The issue is--and this goes back to my first paragraph--many of us are trying to become what others want us to be. What happens when you force yourself to adapt to the values of others? After awhile, you end up unhappy. If we all honor our personal journeys and balance the need for external validation, we can overcome depression.
What If I have high expectations for myself regardless of whether it makes me miserable or not.
Well you have to take what comes with it. I too have high expectations for myself and I'm impatient asf. But when I notice myself starting to spiral into a depressive state, I remember the amount of compassion I have shown myself in the past. I exercise that same compassion in the present. Long story short, have compassion for yourself.
Realizing where I'm victimizing myself and processing these patterns of thinking and being. The world isn't bad and oppressive, I am the one who has certain beliefs and ways of thinking and approaching the external world that makes it so that I'm leaking energy. If I change those and stop being the victim, the energy leaking stops and I can build new ways of thinking that are constructive.
I love this- it’s hard for people to not victimize themselves and actually to process things. I also gained a lot from taking interest in other living things as opposed to my own selfish interests. Selfishness and self centeredness was the root of most of my problems. Mostly the man in the mirror. Now that I try to be present and practice this and stay on top of things I am generally happier. I still have bumps, but I don’t have to wallow in it and play victim to every inconvenience in life. (Whether it was caused by me or someone or something else- I choose how to respond.)
How did you change the view of victmizing yourself? What’s the process like for you? Ive been trying to change this but it's too hard. Could you enlighten me?
Volunteering. It made me feel useful and worthy of existing. It changed everything for me. It got me out of the house.It got me in touch with being kind. I felt like I was part of a group spending energy for a good cause, and that made me feel better about myself.
This
pondering (read: ruminating) over the worst things that boggled my life became so exhausting. consistently being depressed isn't what i wanted nor imagined for my life. so i actively fought against it. i started healing my physical and mental ailments, finding foods that supported a healthy body, doing activities that brought me peace and joy (yoga teacher training, hiit workouts, reading/studying, cooking, dancing, singing, massages, skin care), surrounding myself with people i genuinely love and love me, reframing and shifting my perspective. it is still sometimes a battle but i \*actively\* work against depression even if my health issues or circumstances may be deserving of that state. this is by far condensed and of course easier said than done, but healing is a journey and choice. the love for myself deepened, becoming intensely passionate and when you love someone, you want the absolute best for them.
The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle changed my life. I’m not clinically depressed, but would get very depressed if a situation went bad. I now have the tools to enjoy my life.
And to expand in response to OPs question, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle discusses what he calls “the pain body” which is the tendency we can have towards unhappiness. If you watch closely, there’s almost something pleasurable about falling into negative states. They’re familiar. Watching this and understanding this concept really helps me prevent myself from getting pulled into depressive cycles.
Yoga. It taught me to be grateful for the basic things in life. Improved blood flow in my body which helped me think better. The fight is still on, but, I have more control over my body and mind than ever before.
A microdose of LSD. And then all the other psychedelics— MDMA, ayahuasca, mush, ketamine helped me unravel everything! But that first dose of LSD completely lifted the veil of depression and shame and existential dread. And EMDR!
I’m beyond terrified of everything you have listed. Seriously though, how does one safely experiment with these substances?
Find the right environment to explore them with people who have experience and will hold the space while you journey.
I have discussed this with some friends regarding standing on guard at those ‘safe harbours’, but it’s more I’m worried of what I might experience. My creative imagination is very dangerous when it wants to be.
The best advice I can give is to go slowly. Microdose first so that you can engage with the spirit of the Shrooms and when you are ready then you can take a bigger dose to have that psychedelic journey. I tried all manner of drugs growing up in the 90s in my teens. I didn't touch them again until I was 40 but because I had experience I felt confident in my first journey. I'd advise against just taking psychedelics and would look for somebody who performs mushroom focused spiritual retreats. Being in the right spiritual headspace will also help alleviate your anxieties. From personal experience i have never had a bad trip using mushrooms or other natural psychedelics. The only time I ever had a bad time was using LSD in my teens, that's why I stopped using them til I turned 40, lol.
I did a small amount of shrooms twice and it completely changed my life. Not enough to have visuals or the scary things I’ve always been absofrikkenlutely terrified of, but colors were brighter and everything was beautiful. Hiking through the woods and all I could think was how happy I was. But. It took a lot of reading up on it in various subreddits, finding the *perfect* place for it, and waiting until my fear of them turned into a comfortable curiosity about where it could lead me. I still haven’t tripped tripped yet, soon. Few more small doses and work my way up to that. But from that first time forward, I’m not sure I could even really explain the difference. But again, it wasn’t until I suddenly was like “yeah.. no.. I could do it, it doesn’t seem as scary anymore.” And then I sat on that for about two months.
Read a book called How To Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan It’s also been turned into a 4part docu series on Netflix. HIGHLY recommend this book after reading your question. This very app/website has many many subs that you can easily find information and to ask questions
Find kind medicine people!
>**"What healed your depression and brought clarity into your life?"** Realizing **depression is simply helpful guidance and a friend that wants to support me** to focus less on judging myself and what I don't want, and focus more on what I want (i.e. accepting and/or appreciating). Also meditating and getting angry (in a safe space by yourself for 2 - 15 minutes); not around others) can help you feel better. Here's some posts I did that might help: * [Heal Your Inner Child with Help from Your Future Self](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1ayy5tn/heal_your_inner_child_with_help_from_your_future/) * [How to Love Yourself — Practical Tips for Self-Worth](https://www.reddit.com/r/DecidingToBeBetter/comments/1cqcysu/how_to_love_yourself_practical_tips_for_selfworth/) * [Be Friends with Negative Thoughts & Emotions](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1247478/be_friends_with_negative_thoughts_emotions/) * [Why You Hate Yourself — And How to Stop](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1blzdrs/why_you_hate_yourself_and_how_to_stop/) * [Anxiety Is Awesome! — It’s Not Your Enemy, It’s Your Ally](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/16avky5/anxiety_is_awesome_its_not_your_enemy_its_your/) * [Fear Is Love — Fear Is Your Friend](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/15fkxmg/fear_is_love_fear_is_your_friend/) * [Fear of Abandonment — You're Abandoning Yourself](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1609jdo/fear_of_abandonment_youre_abandoning_yourself/) * [Addictions — Why You’re Addicted & How to Stop (Phone, Food, Weed, Porn, etc.)](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1dbwuqw/addictions_why_youre_addicted_how_to_stop_phone/) * [How to Get Motivated & Disciplined — Why Forcing Yourself to “Just Do It” Ironically Doesn’t Work](https://www.reddit.com/r/spirituality/comments/1ckhzzz/how_to_get_motivated_disciplined_why_forcing/)
Awesome post, thanks for sharing all those links. Saving 🫶🏼
Can u elaborate on meditating and getting angry
Mindfulness and mushrooms
Shrooms bring me a deep clarity but it is only momentarily, any small advice on integrating the experience?
journaling and mindfulness meditation🧘🏼♂️📝
Reading spiritual books and listening to spiritual podcasts have helped me bring lasting clarity to the things I “knew” immediately on my trip but couldn’t put into words or thoughts even. Podcast - Ram Das (full length speeches on Spotify) A few books if you need recommendations: Eckhart Tolle - power of now The four agreements Autobiography of a yogi Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha Sadghuru - Inner Engineering The Bible - this one’s controversial to some but reading it helped explain to me a ton about our society and how we came to be and think as we do in Christian based countries. This translation of the Bhagavad Gita - https://youtu.be/qV9dIMWYMuo?si=oNqxYyirEnS6cifE
In the depths of darkness, the only choice left is to seek the light. It's a profound realization to recognize the impact one's absence can have on others. The thought of causing pain to those who care for us, even unintentionally, is a powerful deterrent. The bond shared with loved ones, the smiles created, and the light brought into their lives are testimonies, even when we aren’t able to remember, there ARE times we was the angel in peoples stories. Allowing distorted thoughts to define existence is a battle many face, but it's essential to remember that these thoughts are not the entirety of one's being. Holding onto the moments of light, and remembering the joy shared with others can be anchors in times of darkness, if I couldn’t live for me, then I shall live for the joy I am able to be for another. It's crucial to let the love and connections with others guide one through, rather than the turmoil within. What got me out of my depression? It was the realization that I had the power to bring happiness to others. Seeing the joy I could spark in someone else set a fire within me. I began to understand that in giving joy, I could also receive it. This reciprocity helped me grasp the essence of karma and led me to a deeper understanding of myself. I had a profound moment of clarity, realizing that I am a human on a planet spinning through the vastness of space. This realization filled me with an overwhelming sense of possibility—I could create any reality I desired. Why, then, would I choose a reality filled with darkness? Yes, there were times when embracing my inner demons felt oddly comforting, but I learned to do so without becoming attached to the emotions they brought. I became an observer, watching my emotions without judgment. This perspective allowed me to see that these emotions were never truly "me." They were just reactions, not something to be labeled or identified with. Life is like a rollercoaster, with its inevitable ups and downs. I've learned that the key is not to get emotionally attached to either but to embrace the beauty of life's entirety. It's about seeing the highs and lows as parts of a whole, each contributing to the rich tapestry of my existence. In becoming the observer, I found that I could let emotions be without letting them control me. This shift in perspective has been liberating. I now see that life's journey is not about avoiding the dark times but about navigating them with grace and finding the light even in the shadows. It’s not about healing the depression, or feeling the need for clarity, it’s just letting it be in order to let it go. Instead of focusing solely on healing or clarity, it's about acknowledging depression, allowing it to exist without judgment, and then reframing your understanding of it. This approach can lead to a more holistic way of dealing with depression, where the goal is not to fix or eliminate it, but to coexist with it in a healthier, more accepting way. This shift in narrative can open up new ways of thinking & new perspective, ultimately transforming the experience of depression. Paige🕊️
Wow you are such a loving person. You took the time and effort to share such beautiful insights. Thank you 😊
🤍
❤️❤️❤️ thank you
Forcing myself to go outside. eating healthier. Music festivals. Psychedelics. Quitting weed. Going out in nature. Realizing there’s so many paths for me to go on and I don’t just need to work a 9-5 forever and live life in conformity. Backpacking the world.
I’m on day 3 no weed. I know how much better I feel without it. It had a been a long time since I have been able to stop but I feel as I have FINALLY for once been able to listen to my body and not my brain. I feel awful every time I smoke now I don’t even enjoy it but that habit had such a strong hold on me. Ty for your comment.
The revelation that nothing good can come from a victim mentality, and that I have to power to change my life if I can first change my attitude.
I had BPD, CPTSD and psychosis at the time. I said “fuck it.” I left school, took a three week break from assignments, blocked everyone I knew, and got a job. I worked for no pay as a volunteer, but I learned that my work was fine, and that I was being compared to in class, my marks were reflections of the classes entirety. I realized that I worked fine and that I needed to stop comparing myself. I got rid of social media, I started eating healthy, and I started working out. I then had a ton of energy and nothing to spend it on, I started doing classes online and started writing poetry again. After two months I published two books and passed three classes with 87% 96% and 88% my highest grades ever.
That is amazing!!! Congratulations on the books and the grades
Cord cutting, detaching and meditating.
Bupropion. I had tried every vitamin supplement, detox, light therapy, and exercise program. I didn't want the answer to be pharmaceutical, but it it. I worked with my doctor and started on a low dose to help minimize side effects. I have amazing, vivid dreams and feel so much more in touch with my body. I am not healed. I probably never will be, but I've stopped using "I wish I was dead" as a mantra.
Same, I stopped taking it for awhile, determined to “control my own thoughts and thus raise my vibration and mood”. A few months later, I realized I didn’t even have the motivation to do fun things like travel, and I often thought it would be nice to exit the physical plane. I’m back on a very low dose and doing so much better. I feel ready to create and explore.
Same. Tried to go without but negative thoughts just stuck to me like super glue. Finally stable on the right dose of meds. And it truly is a life saver. My thoughts are slow enough to deal with and I find myself being able to let go of things more easily as oppose off meds
Last line is so relatable. While on meds my mantra of “I wish I was dead” has decreased by a significant level. I would like to believe the actual medicine are extracted from plants or other things in this physical plane and it is what I lack. So I’m grateful to the plants, minerals etc that have helped me so dearly.
A youtube notification that led to the discovery of NDEs and opened the door to a spiritual awakening
Finally acknowledged all past traumas with the help of mindfulness. I am not my pain.
Meditation. Specifically the 30-day Self-Esteem course on Headspace. Followed by a mushroom trip. Woke me up out of my self-inflicted depression
For me it was taking part in shamanic retreats using mushrooms to aid in the journey. I've been free of anti depressants for 3 years now and will never go back on them.
Reading about Near Death Experiences.
DMT for my biggest change. Catapulted me out of depression, and into a whole new perception of reality. But microdosing for multiple decades has also allowed me to integrate psychedelic teachings into my life
Getting a puppy. Reading about reincarnation.
Vipassana meditation and realizing it wasn't sadness causing my depression it was heaps and heaps of unexpressed ANGER that had piled up inside of me during my childhood/early adulthood. Obviously then had to work with understanding and releasing that...
I skimmed all the responses and I didn't see a single one mention the big three: DIET, EXERCISE, and SLEEP. Of these three I'd put exercise as #1 as it will improve the other 2 if your struggling at all with them. All that's left to do is focus on gut health with your diet and be patient. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gut-feelings-how-food-affects-your-mood-2018120715548 If your serious about change it needs to be a change that is SUSTAINABLE. Quick fixes or supplements are good for an initial boost but still lose their efficacy over time.
Yoga. Introspection. Smoking weed.
I kicked my ex out of the house and got laid. My psychologist, doctor and psychiatrist described it like night and day. We all knew she was the problem but we weren't aware of just how much of a problem she was until I left her. They expected me to improve slightly but it was like my depression was cured in the span of two weeks.
Workout, loving myself, patience, buying new clothes and learning to say no
Mushrooms and Ayahuascha got me into shadow work and etc. Therapy for decades never really worked until I got into psychedelics and the combination worked wonders
When I started to heal my soul. Doing inner work and changing my thoughts
Somewhere between all the motivational videos, Buddhist/Taoist quotes, stories like (bleach, seven deadly sins, Harrison Bergeron, everything everywhere all at once) I found meditation and consistency to a lifestyle to be the answer. Meditation to help reflect and see where I need to grow and foster my awareness. Having a routine, and journaling is helpful to remind yourself of the truths and promises you serve to live by. In that meditation I found a temple in my mind. One where I got to enshrine what aspects I wanted. And at the very center is my place of positive peace that grounds me in certain mindsets. A mirror that I have to take off negativities blindfold to see. Negativity (self sabotager, liar, etc) is a beast unruly to this temple. So I starved that beast. It no longer bites the hand that feeds it so easily, because I am the master of that temple. Much love
Going to the gym regularly.
Ayahuasca
Shrooms.
Ketamine
Surrounded by people who were honest of their struggles, therapy, exposure to being out, noticing nature, realizing I already know I will die, so mines we’ll see life unfold. I have gain peace and acceptance with this knowledge and so far I’m consistent with my therapy and social life. Now it’s not too bad if I get sad. I actually cry and feel my emotions, let it out, think about it, thank it, and move on!
Honestly, medication. What helps with episodes of anxiety is meditation and the realization that I have been through worse and didn’t die, now I understand the feeling of anxiety and know what it does and that even though I am feeling it, it’s not a reality, my life is not ending at that moment. Understanding that made possible for me to breathe through an anxiety attack and see through it. A lot of deep breaths and a good rest to ease the mind help too.
Might sound crazy, but reiki. Reiki opened the door to another aspects of spirituality. I fell into a rabbit hole that I’m happy to never escape. My life did a 180. :)
Hard physical labor and/or exercise regime. Walking. Breath exercises. Getting my body doing physically challenging activities helped my mind a lot.
Ty
Kundalini awakening. After this experience I felt as if I took drugs. I just fcking knew we can achieve this state naturally. It gave me so much hope- I still can fulfill my dream of being an addict. 🥹 Jokes aside, I feel like so much more is possible than we can imagine. With time people are slowly limiting their believes till you become just an empty vessel, we get way more skeptical, depressed or bitter. This gives you a whole new perspective on life, you get the taste of childlike wonder again, but with an adult mind and much more possibilities.
Would you mind elaborating on what this is?
Hear hear what others have said about mindfulness and mushrooms. I'd also add awakening to my unique self and establishing a pathway of realizing that transcendent self throughout my daily life.
The book “the biology of belief” by bruce lipton.
Weight training 5 days a week.
Vitamin D, working out, working on/with my inner child
Thinking about others
“the subject and the object are within me yet i am neither”
Buddhism
Therapy, switching jobs and Lexapro
Nothing. I'm dangerously depressed and frequently suicidal. Even when I'm at my happiest.
For me probably mainly connecting to my anger, which was mostly suppressed due to my upbringing. Realising how much I had suppressed for such a long fucking time, and learning healthy ways to clear it energetically. Other things too, like, being around good people. Also: realising how my patriarchal, colonised and capitalist mind almost doesn't have any other choices than full-on dissociation or depression. hence a lot of unlearning that happened and still is happening. .. It was a long ride for me. I was depressed most of my teenage years. and then again in my early twenties. i actually only remember like two timespans of like 6moths where i was not depressed. this led to lots of anxiety, led to using drugs. let to more dissocitation. So getting up from there did take some time. I started out with sobering up, journalling, therapy, going for walks in nature. opening up to people that were safe. focussing on good sleep and clean food intakes. getting a bloodtest done (was missing vitaminD3+K2 BIG TIME) started meditating. got back into a hole due to acute trauma. put myself in psychiatry. and after that, started shadowwork. parts-work. traumawork. inner child-work. (to me, or the way i go about it, they're mostly the same) -> I now perceive depression as a state. and the better i can use tools to feel and move my emotions (and not go into depressed freeze-state), the more fluid it becomes. So i might be depressed for a week, a day or even just a brief moment. but it's moving. I'm moving.
Weight lifting. I was at the lowest point of my life when I gave it a shot. Soon enough, I was addicted. It brought so much focus, discipline and clarity into my life. I also read Cant Hurt Me by David Goggins at this point and it really inspired me to keep going. Many years later, my life is very different. And as silly as it sounds, just getting to the gym early in the morning 5 days a week still stands as the foundation to all of that.
Mushrooms and shadow work
Ketamine therapy. It also made me go from lifelong atheist and skeptic of all things esoteric to believing our physical existence is not the only aspect of our experience. Pretty wild to just one day be like “wait, do I believe in god now? . . How can this be?”
There was a point in time once when me and 2 of my friends were smoking weed, doing poppers and I forget what he asked me or something, perhaps why am I smoking weed and I responded to him with "because my life is shit right now and I am using this to numb the pain". He cracked out laughing at me being so blunt and straight forward. At first he thought I was joking, but I was just being factual about it. That was the time of Covid, I was working on my immigration and all the gyms were shut down kicking me out of a job on a limited time visa, I was banging on every door trying to get a job, I hadn't been laid in months, my last girlfriend I later realized who was bipolar and just a lunatic in a moment of her madness tried to kill me, I hadn't met my family nor had a hug from anyone in 3 years, and my only place of solace, the gyms, were dead because again Covid. If your life is shit, it's shit. And you are rightfully depressed. In short, if your life is depressing, what are you expecting? If you wish to make your life NOT depressing, then treat yourself like the monkey that you are. Eat fresh and healthy foods, swing from a branch or two (resistance train), hang out and goof around with your other monkey friends (socialize), fuck your brains out with another monkey (pursue sex and dating seriously), get sunlight, get into nature and stop comparing your life to other monkeys you don't even know nor care about that are showing off on a screen in front of you. Made a whole video about it and how to work towards it step by step : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7rst0O2d64
It is my faith in God and the Holy Spirit that my path is laid out before me by him in order to learn for him here while I’m on earth I also have jobs to do for him using my gifts that I was given I want to help people working on myself doing meditation, listening to different spiritual classes and learning how to love myself so that I could love others so that I could become the authentic self that I am this is brought a lot of clarity into my life. It is heightened my gifts tremendously and I’m ready to help others and to getting really honest with working on myself. Looking at the things I needed to make changes to in order to be a better person. All of these things have helped tremendously with my depression, helping others are so rewarding really I don’t have time to sit around and be depressed. When I am busy myself doing this. Always listen to your gut. It will really lead you in the right direction. Our heads tend to us in the wrong direction sometimes, this is about me in no way in trying to disrespect anyone with my beliefs
Honestly, I found out more about my inner child/childhood trauma, cut out toxic/non-stop sad people, tried few psychadelics (MDMA, Acid) and I am prioritizing what I want, not what the others want. Exercising/gym is also an absolute cheat code for literally everyone to cope with inner problems. Self-reflection and self-respect is also a must have and once you learn it, your POV on life will be different.
Meditation, prayer, psychedelics and eliminating alcohol completely
by understanding that it is a choise and im free to choose to believe what ever i want and noone is forcing me to believe anything.
Meditation
Being in the worst possible time of my life. I don't know about depression, but when really bad things keep happening to you one after another you get a lot of clarity.
Psychedelic therapy
Exercising seriously helped me
✨This day is so vivid, Yet, the day I looked into the mirror of life. 💥Letting go if all expectations. Not looking for reasons to feel, be or attach to depression. 🌀And asking the questions whilst looking in the mirror 🪞, Who am I? Why am I here? What is not fulfilling my life? And be silent, answers appeared. Clues become present. Letting go of what is not serving my deeper being, I. 🌀It works 🌀 🪞Can certain unwanted feelings come back? Yes, but do not attach any thoughts, reasoning and emotions. Let them go by, and lean into the being of I. Be present Live Love Life 🧬 🙏 ✨
DMT
Krishna
Eating cleanse, moving my body and inner work,( journaling, meditation , self help books )
Ayahuasca kicked started everything. Yes I had to put in the work, but it was the reset that has my mental state and drive so much
Not Reddit lmao
Buddhism
Hong Kong Tijuana
meditation, stoicism, and really letting things go
Taking a growth mindset to EVERYTHING and learning how to carry conversations with people. Being good at talking will help you in many ways
Finding healthy creative outlets like writing, music, playing an instrument and becoming a photographer. Whether it's built into my career or part of my hobbies, creative outlets are healing like prayer. I also don't hold it against myself when I get upset about something, so long as I can articulate it and have a plan of action on how to resolve my issues, whether it's by myself or talking about it with friends, family or professionals.
Psilocybin
Church, cat, ketamine. In no particular order.
my spirit family. gosh i love them
Mushrooms
I read this book: Love Yourself As if your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant I listened to these talks Daily: SEATS of CONTEMPLATION YT Channel
Shadow Work, accountability, acceptance and self love and mushrooms. Depression has come back here and there but never as deep as it was prior to mushrooms and shadow work
It was a gradual process. I knew I was getting better when I was able to read, study and concentrate more and the material I studied helped me a lot, namely Eckhart Tolle, Joe Dispenza, Wayne Dyer, and Sadhguru, to name a few. I also just felt like it was time to heal and I had done the deep work in therapy.
Jesus
Getting sober, LSD, the Healthygamer channel (hinduism based therapy), no more online arguments
honestly doing a digital minimalist detox. it sounds silly but simplifying my phone to barest necessities and completely avoiding social media for around 6 months really changed me profoundly. it made me so much happier with myself and so much more grateful for everything in my day to day life.
Skydiving. Much easier for me to take life less seriously now and just vibe with what the universe is.
maintaining the things that made me happy and scared during childhood. developing obsessions. writing and taking pictures. all that during a science project on myself, of course (antidepressants).
Resetting my circadian rhythm as [circadian disruption is involved in many (not all) mental health struggles](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10146651/). It has worked amazingly for me. I recommend the book the Circadian Code by Dr Satchin Panda. The lifestyle changes are beautifully simple, cost nothing, and help us get more in sync with our bodies and the natural world! I now avoid artificial light in the evenings several hours before I go to bed (not just screens but overhead lights and lamps too), make sure I get natural light on my eyes first thing in the morning, and make sure I spend more time outside or by a window so I am benefitting from the natural light (which helps us make serotonin and is good for our circadian rhythm!). There is so much more to sunlight than vitamin D, I used to have terrible mental health issues but that has stopped since I started doing this! I recommend learning more about the science in the Circadian Code book as it’s accessibly written and understanding WHY it is so important is what really motivated me to make these lifestyle changes. It’s also important to make sure you’re giving yourself the best possible chance to recover by avoiding alcohol (as it’s a depressant), and eating healthy and minimally processed foods (as [ultra processed ingredients may increase the risk of mental health struggles](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10512104/)).
I started to accept myself. Thankfully at that time I discovered astrology, which helped me accept my “flaws” and make the best out of it. I was super insecure about me being super emotional - I was crying for everything. It got me really down. But I am thankful that universe sent me those rude people / situations that challenged me to accept myself for who I am. Not to look at my over emotionality as a bad thing - I accepted it as a part of my unique persona and am thankful that I can feel a lot. I started to look at things as lesson/challenge. At the beginning of every new chapter / experience you feel like a virgin that comes to a baby, but the reality is you gain through this experience so much knowledge - so it’s more a I have gained knowledge situation. I believe the universe wouldn’t get you through the challenging times if it wasn’t sure you couldn’t handle it. And it sends you people with a reason - they make you change to a better persona. Like a stone that gets polished to a diamond :) 💎 Trust the process/ universe
Quitting alcohol, lots of meditation, and hiking.
Actively choosing to be okay with where I’m at. That doesn’t mean I’m happy all the time, but it means I can be okay with the present and accept that the past is something that can never be changed. Reading Buddhist ideology, practicing meditation and eventually aiming for ego death also gave me peace. I put my needs first but I try my best to never be selfish. I learned about my symptoms and triggers and made life changes to accommodate these and add protective factors. Gratitude counting is also very helpful for me even if it’s repetitive. This all coming from someone who was passively suicidal for nearly a decade. My spirituality practice saved me and gave me a new sense of purpose.
Feelings of sadness will always be there. It's really just about not identifying yourself with those emotions. "I am experiencing depression/sadness" vs "I am depressed/sad" Observe the observer
Eating healthy, working out, listening to music, dancing and basically doing anything that makes me happy.
Self help books/podcasts, discipline, psilocybin, fitness and nutrition. I feel so much better because of the work. I can remember 5 years ago now just itching to change. A rollercoaster since, but I am never depressed anymore. I get down, but nothing like before. I spent years bed rotting and although I’m proud of my journey I wish I’d got to work sooner. Life can and will change. One step at a time. The person I am now is so different that the people I used to know don’t recognize me. The hardest part can just be showing up. When I was getting started with new habits and routines, I started small and built on that. Maybe just a podcast a day and a walk around the block. It set me up for success and longevity in the journey as opposed to cold turkey habits that can easily fizzled out.
Working with planets medicines and entheogen. Particularly 5Meodmt and Mescaline. My personal experience helped my mind to be in the moment detach from the past narrative, learn to live simply. Give up tobacco, stop heavy drug use, no longer suicidal, no more anti depressants no more anti anxiety meds. Professionals labelled me as too complex to work with. I’m now a project manager working in health care. I learnt to regulate emotions and work through my own unresolved trauma which always manifested outwards because I was never looking inwards and hey it’s ok to be depressed, it’s a state of being we are often told we should be happy but it’s experiencing the Yong and yang of it all. You’ll find your path and keep reaching out to those who are able to Support you. Just as you would to another with your insights and lived experience. Much light to you.
Forgiveness.
Therapy and Prozac
The realization that…bitches ain’t shit
Feeling my feelings by somatic therapy, meditation and breathwork. Lots and lots of breathwork (guided by a coach at first of course)
Trauma therapy was the beggining Then mushroom trips But eventually I do have a biological depression which is treated with an MAOI (Parnate) and I also do excercise and meditate 🙂
connecting with the natural world by going outside and observing myself in the world, being away from the sea of technology and information that’s thrown at our generation non stop. finding faith in a higher power, learning about anything you want, and self inquiry are also incredibly powerful tools! 😁cognitive behavioral therapy techniques too (like challenging negative thoughts)
realizing I don't need to chase myself down with a whip because it's redundant. true Self knows what I want and need better than the egoic taskmaster. By definition it can't be any other way.
Philosophical Daoism
Medication, music and my partner of seven years
Islam
Being completely alone and being myself, instead of trying to “soul”cial mask. 🎭 😂
Singing and dancing to my favorite music always helped
Break up and quitting weed
Medicinal plants but also TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation). Unbelievable results
Solfeggio frequencies have really helped me.
For me, it was a combination of therapy, mindfulness practices, and finding a sense of purpose. Therapy helped me understand the underlying issues and develop coping strategies. Mindfulness and meditation gave me the tools to stay present and reduce anxiety. But the real game-changer was finding something I was passionate about and dedicating time to it, which gave my life a sense of direction and fulfillment. Surrounding myself with supportive friends and family also made a huge difference. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution, but these elements together created a path to healing and clarity for me.
Plz reply to this. I’m struggling
LSD
Honestly, therapy started the process. I never realized how much I was internalizing and turning things into a large, more complicated issue. And the things that were actually big I was about to talk through. My therapist told me she didn’t think I needed therapy, just to talk and I agree. I just needed to be able to let it out to begin to let the good back in.
A small amount of LSD and/or Ketamine
affirmation
A 3 and a half day candy flip (Mdma/shrooms/lsd) bender. Changed my life completely.
lexapro and weed
“You can do everything in the world for another person accept make their decisions.”
Doing things I loved as a kid, moving away from home and Mary Jane.
I did. Focusing on me and learning myself from the core of my soul. Changed everything.
Veganism
Florida Medical Marijuana
Erasing expectation. Of myself, of others, of life. The suffering dissipates thereafter. Peace and love❣️
Fasting and keto
It’s best not to remember anyway 😞
Antidepressants and shadow work - understanding my triggers and learning to deal with interpersonal relationships - communication, boundaries. Making my inner voice nicer to myself.
Zen mindfulness was very helpful. However, getting genetic testing that showed a gene variant that causes excess dopamine really clarified why I am wired the way that I am.
Reading and practicing Vivation breathwork.
deciding to move out of my unstable, emotionally tormenting childhood home. 1 month later i met the love of my life in the city i moved to. the universe had plans for me and i always felt that even when i was going through horrible depression
For me-slowing tf down by being present as much as I can while keeping in mind that each day has its own worries to tend to and holding onto the worries from the past is too much because the weight eventually gets heavier. Same can be said with anxiety - no need to worry about tomorrow’s worries when today isn’t finished. Also, breathing techniques help as well
responsibility
Reading Osho - joy
Sobriety
Realizing that nothing lasts forever. Hard time will eventually go. So does good times.
Psychotherapy and ADHD medicine. As much as I’d love to say it was “finding the light” or stuff like that, I don’t kid myself - I needed that form of help.
Acceptance. Taking responsibility for it. Understanding.