Is there anyone on here with anxiety or depression, who is having a hard time?

Baw if you need someone to talk to, shoot the shite with, or just talk shite with I’ll give you my personal email and phone number.

Imagine doing life in a supermax

Isolation for 23 hours a day.

Friend,

At such times, I find both prayer and entering the world of great stories helpful. Two books you may find particularly helpful are Tolstoy’s Resurrection and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. It is much easier and beneficial to have the book in hand, but I have linked online copies as a last resort.

One thing that is biochemical fact is alcohol will only make depression worse. It may numb feelings, but will only cause the spiral to deepen. I will pray that this dark time doesn’t last long.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

Hang in there man. This too will pass. Better days are coming.

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How are you coping?

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I try to avoid the news. I've also delved into the internet to talk to people.

r/anxiety's discord for the coronavirus; you can probably always find someone to talk to there

r/anxiety megathread

r/anxiety good new megathread

Little chatbot app/website I saw that might help you; it's light and simple but maybe it'll help.

I hope something helps you. It's not easy to deal with the anxiety, especially when it comes and goes depending on what's happening that day.

Just know that you're not alone with these feelings.

Tunasntigers92,

I've said before that if finding yourself smack dab in the middle of a pandemic didn't even take just a little bit of the wind out of your sails, then you're either a liar or a damn fool who's escaped natural selection. For me it's the social, economic and constitutional ramifications that affect my psyche with all of this more so than my own health, but I'm most certainly worried about my parents, remaining grandparents and others who are at risk of dying if infected. That said, I miss people and things when they're not even gone yet, so I'm already predisposed to worrying (oftentimes unwarranted) about the people and the intangibles in life.

Furthermore, I'm not unaccustomed to the existential feelings of dread, but on top of those preexisting feelings, having yet another daily (hourly, if you let it be) reminder of our imminent demise is a bummer on top of a bummer. Straight up: It's a bummed out thing to contemplate, given our mostly first world problems 60 days ago (e.g., don't get ran over by a Mardi Gras float), and it makes it worse when the happy-go-lucky folks that people like myself depend on to give perspective are in the dumps too.

If you're already a depressed person then this exacerbates it. I'm a pessimist, but far more of a realist, as I look at life as being a series of tragic, horrible and burdensome events that defines who, what, where, when and how I'll live out my days on earth, because at its essence, that is life: Outside of the births and maybe a wedding or two, it's the hard times that send us on our way down life's path. It's how we recover from the hard times that defines us, not how we live during the normal, aka "good," times. IME, there are no good times, there are only the times in between the hard times and hard events from which we are recovering (or not recovering).

It's okay to be a depressed person, but you've got to always acknowledge your depression or it can (and oftentimes will) destroy you. Many times in my life I've nearly succumbed to my depression, but I've never forgotten this: "Fear is a liar." 2nd Timothy says, "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."

IMO, you gotta get outside- really get outside. There's a reason why many humans not only enjoy nature, but worship it; likewise, there's a reason why billions of others worship its Creator when experiencing its grandeur: The natural environment was not created by a fallible man with different tastes and designs; the breadth and depth of the natural environment are seemingly endless and never grow out of date and out of style.

Go hang out in the other society- the one where everything is always changing and yet it stays the same in perfect equilibrium (assuming we don't frick with it). There's a reason why nowadays more and more people are being prescribed "the outdoors" by doctors: It's in our blood. It is a divine place, and it is damned good medicine.

Go camping- in a tent. Go live a life of sustenance for a few days in the woods and watch what happens to your soul when you step foot back into human society. Float a river for a couple of days, and whatever you do, do not NOT fish. There's 2 things I've never heard a man say that he hates (and when I say "hates" I mean "hates like a man hates stubbing his toe"): #1 is his dog, and #2 is fishing.

The beautiful vibrations of a "fish on" is a universally- UNIVERSALLY, I SAY - replenishing thing for the human soul. Prove me wrong and I'll kiss your arse.

To paraphrase: It's normal to be melancholy about our current situation, as well as being a melancholy person at your core; we all have our cross to carry, our burden to bear, and our chains to break. It is in my best opinion and thorough experience that both now and in the future, the best safeguard and "cure" for depression is to acknowledge it (both to yourself and to your "burial people," i.e., your most loved and trusted people) and to get outside- but not just "outside," but really get out there. Go somewhere away from the pack and recharge your humanity and your sanity. Go out into the wide open spaces where it's safe and where none of the inhabitants are going to stick around to put up with your bullshite (unless you make camp on a yellow jacket burrow).

And for God sakes wet a hook while you're out there. It'll put things into perspective and you'll realize that there's a whole 'nother world outside of our own where we've no capacity to change the happenings (unless we were to destroy it), and gaining that insight, if only for a moment, tells you all that you need to know: There's not a damned thing we can do about the road left ahead in our lives except to live it.

Let’s talk about it. What is bothering you? What specific thoughts do you think have triggered the depression?

I run stadiums daily, prison workouts in the garage, tend to my business which is still functioning at least for this weekend, read as much as I can, smoke alot of weed, call and talk with friends or see a friend and talk daily, listen to motivational videos daily and often multiple times, evade my vices like high alcohol spirits and dont drink to cope with pain, focus on what I can control and acknowledge what I cannot. Im in a decently bad little mental rut right now but there are real factors contributing to it that In aware of and working on letting go of daily.

You’re Stronger Than You Think - Youtube - Jordan Peterson

Reading material that could help-
12 Rules Of Life - Jordan Peterson
Cant Hurt Me - David Goggins
The Road Less Traveled - Scott Peck
Lost Connections - Johan Harri
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a frick - Mark Manson

Audible has a free 1 month trial period along with 2 credit free download upon signing up.

Stay in the fight. There is meaning to staying in the fight. There is huge meaning to your life, and you have a ton of potential to bring joy into other’s. This feeling is just a snippet in time of your life, it’s not always and it’s not forever. It can be negotiated and navigated and there are days on the horizon where smiles are effortless my friend. Stay in the fight.

Hope you're doing alright. Give us an update when you're up to it.