Quest against Depression (Come on look at the bloody thing before judging :D)

Depression. Whether you like to think of it as a raincloud following you and ruining everything and making you continually uncomfortable or as Winston Churchill called it, The Black Dog, it is shitty way to live.

I don't think any of you here deserve to feel like that. Not even Sanal.

So what is Depression? It is an imbalance caused from stress and gloom over bad situations and EVERYONE WILL suffer from Depression IF they are put under enough stress. No one is immune or too tough. It is not just you.

So that is what it is.A crappy horrible pervasive disempowering subversive subduing feeling that dampens joy and vitality.

Time to get the vitality and joy back. Let's go!

OK you are there stuck with an imbalanced brain (If things were not bad enough already). You can take pills but then if they don't apply correct to your particular body chemistry or brain neurology it is even worse than bad therapy. So here is what i suggest....

Hobbits hike barefoot

Clever little things hobbits. They pack a swag and set off for a journey, barefooted no less. Tactile sensation and clean air, a mental break and a long trek that elevates the heart and creates positive feel good endorphins.
A brain that has been in depression mode needs the feel good hormones to imbue the brain and regularly. Realign and re-balance.
What exercise? I don't care and neither will your brain or body. Find it and do it.

Goal one: (Make like a Hobbit) Minimum 30 minutes exercise (By exercise i mean elevated heart rate) every day.


Importance of bare feet?

What this is not about is saying you have to have bare feet to enjoy a walk. The hobbits would have found shoes uncomfortable for that reason they did not wear them. You may find likewise or you may find bare feet uncomfortable.

What is is saying is, find the things that your senses love and respond positively too. Your brain is trying to spoil the things it processes. So give it a constant bombardment of things you love.

Taste: What food do you like or want to try? Find something you love and learn to cook it. Go buy that thing you are drooling over in the supermarket as a treat now and again. Ask others for suggestions of what they like.

Listening: Music - who hates music? No one. Everyone has different taste in Music. Find the Music that drives your soul and that you relate and drift away with and feel one with....listen to this stuff when you can. Nothing that will make you sad...all on the positive.

Sight: Clean your room and do away with clutter. Open the windows to let in the light. Spring clean. Your car too. Your office space. find a nice calming or soothing painting or photo and buy it and hang it where you will admire it.

Touch: Ok all of us have different tactile enjoyment. Walking barefoot? getting satin sheet for the bedcovers, getting a leather jacking or woolly ugg boots? Whatever does it for you. Think on it and find that pleasure centre

Smell: Again if you are surrounded by nice not overpowering smells you are likely to feel better. Air refreshner, cologne, aftershave, perfume, flowers, coffee or scent disbursers.

All of these things. Assault your depression with stuff you know you love.


Goal Two: (Good enough for Frodo) Find stuff your senses love and make it a part of your life


Cutting yourself away from Gollums

OK we all know Gollum was a horrid little wretch who seemed to ingratiate himself to Frodo. Not really worth the effort.

We all do these. Make silly choices because they seem nicer than what logic would dictate. Not giving that friend a miss after they have hurt you, accepting criticism from a parent that is unfair because they are to be respected, and any other situation where you endure bad unnecessary negativity because it is too hard to cut yourself away from it.

Be brave. Assess it as an outsider. Pretend an outsider was to have, that person who puts you down, call them the same name. If you think that an outsider would not put up with it, it goes double for you.

At bare minimum you deserve respect. Cut yourself away from negativity and stop it. Tackle it head on if you can. If you can't then distance yourself from it. You don't need it and it is no use to you.

Goal three: (Ditch Gollum) Distance yourself from others's negativity


.......To be continued............

I have heard of the barefoot thing. It actually has some credibility in the field these days... apparently there are so many nerve endings in your feet.. and to walk on and over different terrain, and texture is meant to stimulate and calm the nervous system at the same time. I know that doesn't sound like it makes sense, but i believe it's validity. I am barefoot all the time anyway... so that is one thing I don't have to change...

I find this INCREDIBLY clever.

awesome suggestion!

I did an hour of biking today, very invigorating indeed. I wish I could have gone on a long barefoot walk through soft green grasses though.

lol @ Not even Sanal. lmao

Frodo Baggins said:

I don't think any of you here deserve to feel like that. Not even Sanal.

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Post whatever you want dude, but lay off Sandal.

I already go everywhere barefoot.

It's because I'm a pirate. We only wear boots if we're going into battle. Otherwise...it's easier to gain footing on a shifting deck with bare feet.

And I already exercise more than 30 minutes a day. Thanks anyway, though.

Good advice, Frodo.

mintymint said:

Frodo Baggins said:

I don't think any of you here deserve to feel like that. Not even Sanal.

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Post whatever you want dude, but lay off Sandal.

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Thanks for the suggestion (or was that a demand? LOL). Trying to boss a hobbit.

(*Knock off the insults Frodo - Minus edit*)

So on that note let me say that you actually make a decent lead in to my next point. It is about friends and companions.

Ah that is better. Hi five Mintymint and thanks again for the suggestion

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......continued..............


Importance of questing Companions
An Elf, A Dwarf, A handful of hobbits and a couple of men and of course Gandalf. More diverse bunch you could not meet but they were mighty.

The sum of the whole greater than the parts. They complemented each other and their individual strengths made up for each other weaknesses.

Be a friend and a support. Be a rock. Let others be that for you. Help each other. Lend your help willingly. Don't be afraid to ask.

Don't be afraid to be a friend. As much as you should cut out negative influences, you should look for good and embrace good people and give that they may prosper and they will give back.

Find people who accept you and who are excited by your efforts to challenge yourself and grow.

Make them a part of your experience. Make your journey theirs and theirs yours. A Path is less lonely if traveled with someone.

Goal four: (Questing companions) Find good friends to help


Brave Hobbits
What is 3 foot tall and can take down one of the scariest demons in Middle Earth? A Hobbit. Hobbit saved the word too in Middle Earth.

It is being brave. It is not procrastinating or being frozen from fear or waiting for a sign to take on a challenge. That is not how to act.

To act is to be doing something and in doing something, something will happen and with that something happening you then have a situation to work on.

Do nothing and you are faced with inertia and staleness.

A life of doing nothing is a stale useless life and no-one wants to live that.
Be brave. Be brave enough to face your past and accept it. Be brave enough to accept yourself flaws and all. Be brave enough to have a bit of pride in yourself. Be brave enough to attempt to make something out of each day. To leave the world a bit better than it was yesterday. Be brave enough to tackle depression and your fears and insecurities head on.

Just like a hobbit would.

Remember Gandalf fighting the Balrog? He threw everything at his tenacious foe and then more and more and spent and wounded and tired, he fought some more.

That is how you fight Depression. You can do that I know it.


Goal five: (Brave like Hobbits) Bravery to act


Fallback to Helm's Deep
Try to set a plan. A battle and a position of strength and find in yourself a fallback point.

You may find for a number of reasons that your efforts to stay motivated or your ability to maintain your quest compromised.

Perhaps you get ill or injured and exercise routine is thrown into disarray. Maybe depression is taking a bit of a bigger hold than you would have liked. Maybe you lost motivation half way through tidying the home...whatever.

You need a fallback point. A basic exercise replacement plan, A bare minimum questing daily routine, a superficial tidy

This is a holding pattern. It is not defeat and the chance to say "oh all too hard" it is not the chance to say "I am just going to stay doing this, its easier"

Do not throw in the towel when times are tough. This will test you.


Goal six: (Fallback to Helm's Deep) Back up plan


Party like a Hobbit
Not only should you cut yourself an even break but you SHOULD reward yourself for reaching a milestone or for making that step closer or for feeling tha effects of your efforts.

Pip and Merry partied after the fall of Isengard. Why not they were crucial to the downfall of Sauruman and a major contingency of orcs and trolls. Out came the pipe and booze and munchies...

You need to feel a reward for effort. Direction is great and achievement good but without the reward it is kinda shallower.

You slowly lift depression and reset your brain and you deserve to party and be happy about your success.

Funny thing is that this will compact on your mental sense of well being in exactly opposite way to the way negativity impacts on your mind.


Goal seven: (Hobbit Party) Reward yourself!

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OK my friends.

This is the first quest. The quest against depression.

Hobbits hike barefoot Goal one: (Make like a Hobbit) Minimum 30 minutes exercise (By exercise i mean elevated heart rate) every day.
Importance of bare feet? Goal Two: (Good enough for Frodo) Find stuff your senses love and make it a part of your life
Cutting yourself away from Gollums Goal three: (Ditch Gollum) Distance yourself from others's negativity
Importance of questing Companions Goal four: (Questing companions) Find good friends to help and be a good friend to others
Brave Hobbits Goal five: (Brave like Hobbits) Bravery to act
Fallback to Helm's Deep Goal six: (Fallback to Helm's Deep) Back up plan
Party like a Hobbit Goal seven: (Hobbit Party) Reward yourself!

No my friends there is 7 things above I want you to do for you.
Here is what I want you to do for me.

I want you to suggest this thread to those you think may benefit from reading and/or participating on this forum

I want you to help each other with suggestions and encouragement for being brave.

I want those participating to start their own thread titled (Your name) Quest.

Cut and paste the bolded onto your thread and develop your tailor mad plan with each goal catered for and report on your success or failings and accept our support.

I have faith.

First of all, if you have read my thread, means you have done a research on me. Second, I was depressed for just one day and that's it. My depressions are super short-lived and I am pretty over it and I found a new job and working from like 2 months now so am pretty happy about my life and things are going pretty good.

Now third. I never picked on you. If you read it clearly, I gave you a credit there and you failed to understand it rather you took it the wrong way. I never even got time to explain it cos the thread got locked before I could post so well yeah I don't care what you think of me, just making it clear that I wasn't picking on anyone. and fourth.. This what you posted above is what is clearly an insult and what that means 'picking on somebody'.

Okay Frodo, i hope that is enough for you. Despite your disclaimer, that was an insult and is unacceptable.

Minus said:

Okay Frodo, i hope that is enough for you. Despite your disclaimer, that was an insult and is unacceptable.

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Agreed. No more insults, directly or indirectly. NONE.

Frodo if I were you, I'd heed Eve and Minus.

Liking the full concept of the thread so far though dude.

I do not respond to threats or bullying (See: Brave Hobbits)
Thanks though Sofia.

Frodo Baggins said:

I do not respond to threats or bullying

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Then i advise you to stop your bullying.

Frodo Baggins said:

I do not respond to threats or bullying (See: Brave Hobbits)
Thanks though Sofia.

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If you are refering to my warning, it wasn't a threat - it was a statement. You need to let this go and move on. People have been banned for less, so I suggest you end this or I will close your thread. I'd hate to do that, as some people seem to be enjoying it, but I will. Now...back to the topic - no more snarky remarks from anyone.

Yes people are, generally.

There are a couple of people posting posts that are derailing the fun and seriousness of the thread.

They are making overtures of banning and editing posts. Making statement that sound suspiciously like threats. Threatening to close the thread if they don't have their way. They are casting around accusations of bullying at members. All types of derailing behaviour.

Eve, I am glad you want to keep this thread open and and back on topic. I would too.

Now if you could remove the aforementioned interlopers then I will happily resume and try to salvage what of the thread is left to salvage. I think there is a lot of good and real help to be had in this thread but not with the above kind of posts.

Those interlopers would be you and Minus.

Cheers

I hope you use your time off the forum wisely.

Agreed.

lol...And so the furry little hobbit Frodo returns to the Shire from whence he came.

I'm still about 63% sure that he's a troll anyway.

Badjedidude said:

lol...And so the furry little hobbit Frodo returns to the Shire from whence he came.

I'm still about 63% sure that he's a troll anyway.

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shh you're not allowed to say that. i got banned for that. lol