Getting out. I know it doesn’t work all the time, and can in fact make things work, but just going outside and talking to people can be a real mood booster.

If you’re not too anxious, reading Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman and applying it. If you’re too anxious, reading The Happiness Trap and applying it. Those are both books on proven ways to deal with many mental health issues.

Unsuccessfully.

The main ‘mood fixes’ for me are:

1. Sleep a lot (the most important)
2. Hard exercise (like sprinting or pushups)
3. Read a couple chapters of a book you actually like.

And to deal with the actual ‘causes’:

1. Write a list of what causes the anxious / bummed feelings.
2. Divide that list into two groups - “Thing I can change” and “Things I can’t change”.
3. Beside each item on “Things I can change”, write a good idea for how to fix it.
4. Pick ONE IDEA from “Things I can change” and start doing it (and decide to enjoy it).

Something I notice… after doing those ‘lists’ and ‘mood fixes’… the situation is usually not as ‘hopeless’ or ‘complicated’ as it seemed.

Feel free to share your lists/ideas (or feel free to message me if you’d rather discuss it in private). I will be honest and encouraging.

I take regular vacations from social media and video games and use the time to try to actually engage with people and nature on a face-to-face basis. It usually works wonders for me.

To me is understanding. Understanding that before current times depression was less common because of community. Now society have change to be more selfish and isolated. That’s why group treatments are such a success in almost any mental health and substance use treatments. So…

• We should not do this by our self necessarily, but seek help.

Understanding mental health for the most part is a combination of mental and physical issue. That’s why exercising “cure” depression for more than 30% of people. Food also plays a big role in mental health since we are what we eat.

• Eat and exercise consistently & persistently.

Understanding perspective is everything. What we belief, think and perceived is basically you fate. So access your beliefs/perspective, if you are not getting better, they are sabotaging you by maintaining the depression. That’s why most self help books focus on this.

• Challenge your beliefs and perspectives in pursue to ones that makes you feel better, hopeful, noticing happiness again. But easier said than done so see point #1.

Mental health looks different for everybody. For instance, for me being too functional is the issue and I have to actively root myself in the world, intentionally connect with people, break the flow of work, union organizing, networking, building stuff. Alienation is the consequence and it looks very different from, for instance, my GF’s experience of ADHD+Autism related stress

It depends, I can normally “controll” them and go on with my life, but at times if can get hard. If you want my advice, try to stay occupied, so you can avoid negative thoughts, not saying it’s easy, but that might help