Do you ever have random waves of negative feelings or emotions? What do you think causes them? How do you deal with them?

[Anonymous]

Updates

+1 y

Currently experiencing a brief bout of negative, sad, and maybe even depressive thoughts & feelings. I’m not sure where this came from, but I suspect it is from a combination of not eating enough today and running nearly 6 miles in the sun. I feel somewhat sluggish, but also I feel less optimistic. I’m usually hopeful & optimistic everyday, nearly all times of the day.

[Not_Average]

It's normal to go through ebbs and flows of life like that. The key to getting out is to force yourself to do things that benefit you even if you don't want to do them. The reason why depression is such a vicious cycle is that it prevents people from their day-to-day obligations. The more depressed they get, the more life success they miss out on. The more life success they miss out on, the more depressed they get. For me, if I'm feeling depressed, I'll force myself to go for a run with my dog, go socialize, go to the gym, and then maybe sit and reflect after. Why am I feeling this way? What's causing this? What can I adjust to make this better?

As men, we have to learn to recognize these things quickly and come up with effective strategies otherwise they'll beat us down to nothing. Just look at half of the people on here. Women are able to discern emotions better and get endless support from society when they feel down. Nobody really cares about men and our waves of depression or struggles. I'm married now and my wife wants a kid soon. I don't really have any mental resources to spare. I have to stay focused. When I was younger, I'd forget it's there because I felt weak for feeling it. Then it dragged on until I finally dealt with it. Shit would serve to be a useless weight on my shoulders. Today, I try to take care of any leaks right away like muscle memory.

Something to consider when looking at this from a logical lens is that people expect instant gratification when it comes to everything... Including their happiness. In reality, success and happiness are a long accumulation of smaller, but effective and healthy decisions. Let's say that a plane is taking off from CA and is heading to FL. If the plane takes off just X degrees more north, it will end up in New York. We're an accumulation of our day-to-day decisions. Depressed people often ask themselves how the hell did I get here? It's just a series of unhealthy decisions. It takes time to achieve happiness when you're in a rut. That's why I say you need to force yourself to do things that benefit your mental state even when you don't want to.

[Asker]

Very helpful answer man, thank you.

[OlderAndWiser]

I am prone to mild depression which is unrelated to any events which transpire in my life.

[Asker]

Well, I hope it’s not something that is too bothersome in your life.

Perhaps a form of mild depression is common in everyone to some extent?

[OlderAndWiser]

Thanks for MHO!

[Asker]

Sure thing

[Andres77]

When I was younger... yes.
Devastating
But as I suffered through more and more but the end results were not so bad and eventually better... now, even if things are just shyt... I'm finally able to maintain a positive attitude so life doesn't suck anymore... it's just not easy.
Keep your chin up, young squire.
The challenges ahead will make you forget all the pettiness that is your life now.

[Smashingdoozy]

Yes. I have depression, BPD and PTSD. Negative feelings and thoughts are a daily thing for me.

[Asker]

What are you doing to treat these?

[Smashingdoozy]

Medication and therapy

[ChrisMaster69]

Yeah part and parcel of living with PTSD and depression.

You learn to live with them, your own cute black dog to take around with you.

At times you sit and wonder where they are, then they come running down the road to meet you, often catching you by surprise.

You just get on with life and battle through it.

[nice-girl]

You should watch motivating self-help material frequently. Like read every night some self-help book and meditate every morning. Also food has to do a lot with feeling low vibration. Try to eat healthy and bio. Listen to music, be in the nature more.

[Rob17792]

you sound like someone i know

[disgustingweebtrash]

I avoid people because that gives me time to process everything

[Asker]

Honestly, I’m kind of the same.

For me, this works quite well

[maddie2003]

All the time. I have no idea what causes them and have not yet learned how to deal with them.

[Dennisjf12]

It's hard to say what causes them. It could be any number of different things.
From saying something that will get you very upset to someone's death to someone with severe depression like me, I planned my suicide multiple times.

[Kaneki05]

Not random no. But depression since i was very young yeah. I just ignore it, if it cannot be helped it can be ignored.

[Gwenhwyfar]

Depression and anxiety

[Asker]

You have depression?

[WowwGirl]

If you have one you have the other anxiety and depression cause one another. So They are a duel diagnosis caused by the chemicals gaba and serotonin imbalances

[Asker]

Ah, I see.

[WowwGirl]

😊..

[WowwGirl]

Don't let the cute face fool you. She's educated too

[Asker]

Oh I know she is.

[pink_and_inlove]

Yes overthinking usually causes them for me I usually try to distract my mind on my phone or shows that I like

[Rob17792]

i ride them out let them come until they go and sometimes i resort to distracting myself

[WowwGirl]

Lack of serotonin

[WowwGirl]

Eat love

[Asker]

Yeah, I will.

[Nazgol]

Yeah me t

[Nazgol]

*too