RE: Using Steemit to overcome depression
I also get long spells of depression. I figured out that if I get bored or let myself get into a rut where I sit and watch videos or sit and do nothing I start thinking about all of the wrongs that have been done to me and the people who have done wrong according to me. That starts a cycle of anger and depression that causes me to be an asshole to other people, which causes other people to stay away from me, which makes me more angry and lonely and so on.
So I decided to use that angry energy to start working out and keep myself busy working around the house, gardening, learning new subjects or running my small business. I keep a close eye on my moods, check my attitude and listen very closely to the tone of my own voice when I talk to other people now and I find that I am still lonely but I don't have a chance to let it get to me because my mind is busy with other things.
One thing that I do that is very important is stay away from drugs and alcohol. It is fun getting high but not so fun comming down.
It's sad that depression seems to be such a major issue nowadays. I agree also, prolonged amounts of time on my own tend to set me off, I end up just thinking about the most ridiculous things. As for the alcohol and drugs, I agree again. Besides the fact that i can't actually drink anymore because of health reasons, back when I did drink it would never end well. And I don't mean it would end up with me getting in a fight or throwing up. It would end the next morning, when i'm hungover, staying in my bedroom/away from people and thinking to myself.
I think that it has become such a major issue these days because we have way too much free time on our hands and we tend to text, sit on social media and surf the internet alot instead of socializing and connecting with others on a personal level. I also believe that this isolation makes us angry and lonely.
We watch TV and believe that our lives should be glamoruos like some of the characters that we see and when we come back to reality and see that life is not as glamorous as the characters on TV it is a hard pill to swallow.
We also have great expectation put on us from work and peers and speaking or myself, I have no one to talk to because most of the people that I meet are into getting drunk all day and have no drive or real interest in anything or they are very negative so I tend to stay away from them. I also believe that the food we eat plays a big part in our mental health because most of it is garbage and that is why I enjoy gardening. I eat better and I get a nice feeling when I give away vegetables to people I know.
I'm glad to see your finding alternative methods to keep yourself busy rather then going out and getting drunk. You're absolutely right with the media and entertainment shoved down our throats though. People have a hard time being happy because they don't have the things people on tv/social media have.
As much as I believe Facebook could have turned into a wonderful thing, It's not living up to it. It doesn't bring people together, it pushes them away from each other.
Like you said, the more people are relying on social media and modern entertainment, the more isolated they become and that's one of the reasons depression is so ripe nowadays.