Things that have helped me

[[al...]]

Hey gang, thought I'd share some things that seem to have helped me keep the depression/anxiety at bay. Don't know if these will work for everybody, but I figured what the hell, maybe it'll help somebody.

 

1) Exercise. This has been the easiest, most direct thing. Getting up and being active is a great boost to your self-esteem and gets a lot of feel-good chemicals and hormones flowing in your body.

 

2) Diet. Small meals throughout the day keep me from bottoming out. It seems like the most important meal for me is definitely breakfast. It starts the day off right and gives me the energy I need to get through it all.

 

3) Whenever I feel depressed I call or text someone immediately. Just to chat with them. Gets my mind thinking about other things. Some are in on what I'm trying to do and are very supportive (these are the ones I text late late at night!), others don't know but enjoy talking to me. This reminds me that I'm not alone and also forces me to be social. It also often leads to a fun night out if I'm feeling up to it!

 

4) I try to set a realistic goal every day, one that I know I can reach with just a little bit of extra effort. Maybe it's to go out and run for an hour and a half instead of an hour or maybe it's get to work a little earlier to help out. Socially, and this is a big one, if I'm going out I'll strike up a conversation with someone I've never met before. If I make the goal, that's great. If not I let it go and say "try harder tomorrow." If you notice a pattern here, this is me trying to counter-act the symptoms of benzo withdrawal/tolerance. The literature says I will be lethargic, agoraphobic, etc. I try to prove it wrong. I don't think it's very constructive to read about all of the symptoms and then say, "I will get this and I will get that." It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and you will definitely get that symptom you were fearing.

 

These mostly get me through the day. I still have bad days, but they're less. I'm just getting to the meaty part of my taper and hoping these tips will get me through this.

[[Pa...]]

Thanks for posting this.  When I send folks over to this board, it's usually because someone has given us tips to help combat depression, so thank you for adding yours. 

[[ke...]]

good post

[[...]]

Hi Alwaystired!

 

Thank you so much for posting this. 

I have my struggles, and your advice in this post are helping me very much