Could use some help.

[D_Davis]

As silly as it may seem the stuff we take in has a major effect on our perspective. I suggest you stop reading Nietzsche for a while and give Spinoza a whirl.

This is so true. We really are what we eat.

[Milky Joe]

As silly as it may seem the stuff we take in has a major effect on our perspective. I suggest you stop reading Nietzsche for a while and give Spinoza a whirl.

This is good advice. Even if it wasn't because of Nietzsche, reading what great thinkers have to say on the subject can help improve your worldview. Read some Emerson (par example). Tolstoy's A Confession is about essentially the same problem. Get a handle on what is truly beautiful about life, what makes it truly worth living, then you can begin to truly stop being depressed about it.

[Ezee E]

Yes. I hope there are others, too.

I remain optimistic. Plenty of opportunities ahead. I have an awesome apartment, love my dog, and have a few different sets of friends. Shouldn't complain too much.

And Match Cut, you cheer me up too.

Keep it classy.

[Fezzik]

I've been in a depression spiral for years.

I have an issue with translating thoughts into actions. Like, I KNOW I shouldn't do something. I know its bad for me. I tell myself over and over that its a bad idea.

Then when the time comes, I seem incapable of actually following that advice. I don't mean I blow it off, its like I never gave myself the advice. Then I look back and saw what I did and that makes me more depressed and makes it more likely that I will do something stupid again.

Unrelated, but just as telling - I'm a writer. I may not be paid for it, but its my passion. I've written published things but after they've come out and the glow of accomplishment has faded, I'd ask myself "so what?"

A small, insignificant piece (usually a D&D adventure for WotC) that a few people enjoyed but that will disappear into the ether of thought after a while. It won't last. What was the point? What impact am I making?

What I started to realize - especially recently - is that it isn't what I leave behind as a tangible accomplishment that is going to define me, its how my works affect others. Even when the stuff I've written is forgotten, the people who got something out of it will remember it - maybe not in the fore of their minds, but maybe it will inspire them, or maybe they'll do something or treat someone different because of it.

Life is like dominos. You set the pieces up and you make a decision that knocks them all down. Did you accomplish much? Not really. The dominoes are knocked over and now you have to clean them up. But, the people in your life are like the dominos in your pattern. Your decision to knock over the first one affected them all, and even if your stamp isnt visible, things you've done or said will affect others - and then they will affect others, and that will continue.

Things said or done by people in the 1500s are still affecting people today, even if their names aren't known.

Your words, actions (or inactions) can do the same. It took a long time for me to figure that out, but it's done wonders for me.

As a side note, finding a passion is really a great way to go about it. Since I've started cooking, I see the world in a completely different light.

[Qrazy]

This started way before I started reading Nietzsche.

Yes, I know. You also came out of a dark place for a bit and now seem to be back there. I'm just saying that Nietzsche doesn't help breed happiness. There are certainly other factors going on I just think this may be one of them.

[Ezee E]

As a side note, finding a passion is really a great way to go about it. Since I've started cooking, I see the world in a completely different light.

See. It's all about pursuing a passion of some sort. I was in a huge mope several years ago when I started pursuing firefighting. In less than a year I got my EMT, Firefighter I, and a Volunteer job with a department. They've put me through more training, and I've gotten experiences that I never thought I would have.

Right now, I'm simply annoyed because it is an incredibly tough job to get. I may have to go to Paramedic School to get it full time.

With that, I'm in the early preproduction stages of a short film about a Paramedic. I think I'm going to have a shooting draft ready by the end of this weekend. We already did some test shots in an ambulance. So it's moving along great.

[bac0n]

Here's what worked for me back when I was in the shitter in my early 20s - probably around your age. My life and grades were in a downward spiral, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, my girlfriend left me for another guy but was stringing me along like a marionette just in case that other relationship didn't work out. It kept getting worse for about 3 months, to the point that the only thing keeping me from killing myself was the thought of the pain I would be inflicting on my family.

It got to a certain point where I just couldn't take it any more. So I:

• Changed my scenery. I left Iowa State Univ, moved in with my Mom in Minneapolis. Hard to leave my buddies at ISU, but moving to Mpls was a breath a fresh air in a time when I needed one.
• Removed the source of pain. I called my ex-girlfriend and basically said "it was nice knowing you." (I haven't spoken to her since). It was a rough night after that phone call, but the next morning I immediately started feeling better.
• I found some music that resonated with me and spoke to the condition I was in. Lindsey Buckingham's Out of the Cradle in particular.
• Leveraged my friends: I spent a lot of time with them not worrying about shit and just having fun, and figuring shit out by just talking about it and getting my ass kicked in Mortal Kombat 2 by a certain punk who shall remain nameless...
• Figured out what I wanted to do with my life. This took months, but when I finally went back to school a year later, I had a plan. By the time I finished my degree, I had a 3.75 GPA.
• Had fun. I spent a year having fun, tuning out, not worrying about my future, travelling to chicago on weekends, staying up all night at raves - all the shit I wish I could still do but can't cuz I have kids.

Doubt all of them apply to your situation, but perhaps a few might give you some ideas. Best of luck!

[D_Davis]

This is one area where the "delusion" of religion helps me out a lot. When I'm feeling beat down, or depressed (yes, I do get depressed sometimes - I think we all do at some point), I often find great comfort, healing, and inspiration in the words of authors like CS Lewis, Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, Alister McGrath, and others. So even if the supernatural side of religion doesn't exist, for me there is still a very real physical side that helps me deal with things in my life. It can give perspective to things, and often times I find that depression is a symptom of not having things in the proper perspective.

So maybe you need to find something that gives you perspective. Try volunteering at a homeless shelter, working with animals, cleaning up a road, or a park, or something.

[Sycophant]

Is anyone on this board happy about their life?

Yeah, I am. There's a lot of ambiguity and my life is by no means without trial and difficulty and definitely didn't go like I ever thought it would. Oh well! I like living.

[Watashi]

Yeah, I am. There's a lot of ambiguity and my life is by no means without trial and difficulty and definitely didn't go like I ever thought it would. Oh well! I like living.

I like living too!

High five!

[Watashi]

The best remedy for depression is of course Pixar movies and lots of them.

[ledfloyd]

fear of death implies that you enjoy life. so there's that.

i've struggled with the same thing, i'm a bit of a hypochondriac so i'll imagine i have cancer or something and start having panic attacks. the one thing i tell myself is kind of the opposite of how you're thinking so maybe it'll help. without death, life would be absolutely meaningless. there would be no reason to do anything because there would be an infinite amount of tomorrows. the inevitability of death places an urgency in us that makes us strive to be great today.

the other thing is, i, like you, am an atheist. so believing that once i'm dead, i'm dead, i mean, i'm not going to be concious of my non-existence. and the memories of you among your friends and family will live on and continue to inspire them. basically, do your best to enjoy it while you have it. i realize that's reductive and it's not anywhere near that easy, i've struggled/am struggling with the same things.

also, what qrazy said is true, when i'm really depressed or in the midst of a bad episode of anxiety, reading or watching anything negative can kick it into overdrive. i tend to stay away from stuff like nietzsche and bleak art films for a week or two until i regain my footing.

[ledfloyd]

The best remedy for depression is of course Pixar movies and lots of them.

haha, i posted before reading this post. i almost said 'the simpsons, seinfeld, classic hollywood comedies and pixar are your friends'.

[Melville]

This is good advice. Even if it wasn't because of Nietzsche, reading what great thinkers have to say on the subject can help improve your worldview. Read some Emerson (par example). Tolstoy's A Confession is about essentially the same problem. Get a handle on what is truly beautiful about life, what makes it truly worth living, then you can begin to truly stop being depressed about it.

I think some art is valuable for that; I'd suggest Camus' Myth of Sisyphus. But great thinkers can also help you analyze your own problems. During the worst period of my life, when I was severely, suicidally depressed for months, reading a lot of existential/phenomenological and Buddhist philosophy helped me understand both what I had been going through and why what I had expected of myself had been wrong-headed. Just being able to understand things helped me a lot. Though I guess I've still been chronically depressed ever since, so my advice is probably pretty worthless.

EDIT: wait, forget Myth of Sisyphus. Andrei Rublev is the way to go.