depression has been absolutely awful lately

Main advice is to keep eating, as much as you can. Stopping eating results in feeling very nauseated when you try to and then it just gets harder and harder to start again. Even if it's not much/not healthy/really lazy food, eat something.

 

I'm pleased you took a few minutes to post about your depression on here. When we are very low, it seems so easy to lock ourselves away from the world and internalise all thoughts and feelings. It's a familiar pattern that so many people with depression fall into. Even though your post was brief, you made the effort to break that cycle, so give yourself credit for that. I hope you will re-visit this thread to say more, when you can, to share some of the pain - it really can make a difference.

Depression does suck the life out of you, leaving you with overwhelming feelings of lethargy. As your motivation drains away it's harder to take care of the basics, important as they are. One of the most basic things is eating, even when you don't feel like it. If you stop eating the right foods, you will crash even more (imagine how awful that would be). You don't have to prepare yourself a feast - just nibble on fruit, nuts and vegatables if you want and drink plenty of water. If you like fish, try to eat one or two portions of oily fish per week for the Omega 3; some people with depression are thought to lack essential fatty acids. It's as simple as opening a can.

Eating well is one of the most essential steps in the self help process. What more can you do to help yourself? Self help is just as important as clinical/therapuetic help - it's about playing our part. We may not feel like it, but stop trying and it will be so much harder to beat this illness. There is a whole load of information out there on self help for depression and it's important to try some of the things to keep yourself well. If you can't find anything, let me know and I can send you some links.

When depression blackens our world it's all too easy to get trapped in a cycle of nothingness with an endless lowering of our mood, so dig deep and push back against the 'black dog'. I'll not pretend it's easy or presume to understand your depression, but I've seen people manage and overcome depressive illness with help and support. Don't give up. (*hug*)