Martial Artists with Depression

How do you handle depression?

  • Martial art training

  • Light therapy

  • Antidepressants (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.)

  • Herbs/aminoacids/minerals (St. John's Wort, Rhodiola Rosea, 5-HTP, Sam-E, etc.)

  • Counseling/therapy

  • Combination of two or more of the above

  • Other (not mentioned abouve)


Results are only viewable after voting.

Jade Tigress

RAWR
Lifetime Supporting Member
MTS Alumni
Joined
Mar 11, 2004
Messages
14,196
Reaction score
153
Location
Chicago
I just wanted to post a quick update.

I've managed to beat this disease and am now completely off my anti-depressents. So far i'm holding up well - i'm feeling like a complete person now, i have ups and downs - i have good days and bad days.....in other words, i think i've beaten it.

So if your suffering from this disease there is hope - i think i'm proof of that!!

Congratulations and best wishes for your continued progress. :asian:
 

Sukerkin

Have the courage to speak softly
MT Mentor
Lifetime Supporting Member
MTS Alumni
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
15,325
Reaction score
493
Location
Staffordshire, England
Good to hear sme peoples news of recovery and their coping with the vagaries of this little understood and often ignored disease.
 

IcemanSK

El Conquistador nim!
MT Mentor
MTS Alumni
Joined
Nov 7, 2005
Messages
6,482
Reaction score
181
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I just wanted to post a quick update.

I've managed to beat this disease and am now completely off my anti-depressents. So far i'm holding up well - i'm feeling like a complete person now, i have ups and downs - i have good days and bad days.....in other words, i think i've beaten it.

So if your suffering from this disease there is hope - i think i'm proof of that!!

That's fantastic! Congratulations!
 

Dagney Taggert

Green Belt
Joined
Aug 22, 2006
Messages
144
Reaction score
8
I do not suffer from depression, but I know people who do, and I admire all of you for your dedication to stomping over this confusing ailment. "Go train, and leave it on the mat".

Dagney
 

MartialArtHeart

Green Belt
Joined
Jun 3, 2007
Messages
104
Reaction score
4
Location
Milky Way
Nice thread... seems to have good staying power, too.

I've had several diagnoses. ADD, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Hypoglycemia, and a "bad attitude". I've been depressed since 7th grade- I just graduated high school. Almost two years ago, my mother tried to kill herself, and that snapped me out of it for a few months. Then, my senior year, it got really bad. I had lost my grandmother a few months before, who was like my mother. I started cutting a lot and making myself throw up. I even considered suicide. Then one of my friends told the counselor that I was going to commit suicide that night (second time a friend had done that; not true, though), and they gave me an ultimatum to get help. Now I've gone through about 8 different medications, and I'm a lot better than I was. I still cut sometimes, but not as much. I've regained a bit of my passion for the martial arts... though I'm still not where I was. I visited a contemporary church last Sunday... it was amazing. It made me feel as though all that stuff was simply a learning experience, a stepping stone, if you will, to something much greater.

And so we go, I suppose.
 

celtic_crippler

Senior Master
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
Messages
3,968
Reaction score
137
Location
Airstrip One
It wasn't an option, but other than MA training I find a good aged barrel bourbon with hours of video game-play works pretty well. :) lol
 

Hyper_Shadow

Green Belt
Joined
Jul 9, 2008
Messages
181
Reaction score
8
Location
Tipton, West Midlands
I've personally hit some seriously low points in life and sometimes my dojo is all I've had. I had a terrible upbringing and my sensei took me under his wing and made me the man I am today. Therefore I rely on my dojo to pull me together and give an outlet for potential aggression.
 

celtic_crippler

Senior Master
Joined
Jan 15, 2006
Messages
3,968
Reaction score
137
Location
Airstrip One
I've personally hit some seriously low points in life and sometimes my dojo is all I've had. I had a terrible upbringing and my sensei took me under his wing and made me the man I am today. Therefore I rely on my dojo to pull me together and give an outlet for potential aggression.

The dojo is a great place to channel negative energy into positive results.
 

Fiendlover

Black Belt
Joined
Feb 17, 2008
Messages
579
Reaction score
7
Location
C.A
Oh everyone who knows me knows how I handle depression. It instantly turns into anger and that's when I pull out a pair of gloves and punch the crap out my punching bag. That's the only way I know how to handle it. I don't cry (at least in public lol) and I don't discuss it. I try not to hold it in though, then it just becomes unhealthy. But taking it on the bag or pulling out my sais or busting out a kata or overworking out in the gym is my relief.
 

TheOriginalName

Blue Belt
Joined
May 21, 2007
Messages
239
Reaction score
19
It wasn't an option, but other than MA training I find a good aged barrel bourbon with hours of video game-play works pretty well. :) lol

I totally agree that a night of drinking and xbox\playstation is an awesome way to shake off some bad vibes however i do feel the need to just ensure one thing is understood by others - and i mean absolutely no disrespect here.

Alcohol is a depressive drug. In moderation it's all good but for those who suffer from depression it only makes things worse.
Now some people will argue that it is not a depressive and that they feel great whilst drinking - this is because alcohol does loosen us up. But it also prevents the creation of seritonin in the brain - and for those who have depression this is a serious thing.

So if your just having a crap day - then by all means a night of the bottle may be just the thing for you.

If you are a sufferer of depression try to avoid the drink - it may undo all your previous good work.

Again, anyone who wants more information on depression or other mental illnesses check out BeyondBlue (http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?)
 

wingchun100

Senior Master
Joined
Sep 2, 2013
Messages
3,300
Reaction score
525
Location
Troy NY
I have never had to use any anti-depressants, but I certainly have a good amount of things in my life that could depress me. When I go to wing chun, that goes away not only because I am focusing on wing chun instead of the depressing stuff, but also because wing chun is something I am good at.

Some people might say, "Well what if your teacher tells you that you are doing something all wrong? Doesn't that bring the depression flooding back?" And I would have to say No because, unlike some things in my life, improving a poorly executed technique is something I can control.
 

DennisBreene

3rd Black Belt
Lifetime Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2012
Messages
956
Reaction score
19
Location
Illinois
I have never had to use any anti-depressants, but I certainly have a good amount of things in my life that could depress me. When I go to wing chun, that goes away not only because I am focusing on wing chun instead of the depressing stuff, but also because wing chun is something I am good at.

Some people might say, "Well what if your teacher tells you that you are doing something all wrong? Doesn't that bring the depression flooding back?" And I would have to say No because, unlike some things in my life, improving a poorly executed technique is something I can control.

While most of us face a number of stressful situations on any given day. That does not constitute clinical depression. Clinical depression is a medical condition that results in depressed mood, physical symptoms and ideas of self loathing, hopelessness and helplessness. It also carries a 10% mortality from suicide. There are numerous studies that demonstrate that exercise may be helpful with some symptoms of depression. However, this illness requires medical treatment as well via several potential modalities including pharmacology, psychotherapy and even electro convulsive therapy. It is quite treatable, but like any potentially fatal illness, it should not be taken lightly and prompt medical evaluation and treatment should be sought.
 

donald1

Senior Master
Joined
Jan 20, 2013
Messages
3,533
Reaction score
810
I don't know about anybody here but im always happy :) , Or neutral if bored..... stress or no stress
But I remember hearing something in psychology class, this one guy said make a list of everything that makes you happy and read the list outloud in the morning when you wake up and before you go to bed
 

Latest Discussions

Top