gr3yh4m3

is this him?

http://en.wikipedia....Icicle_(comics)

http://imgur.com/Tp42q

I don't mean to sound negative towards previous suggestions for getting out of funks, that's not my intention at all, but I honestly don't think burying yourself into your work would be a productive long-term solution to those numbing downward spirals of depression people like all of us here are prone to at times. At best it's a temporary distraction and what you're only doing is pushing that stuff further down so you don't have to deal with it right now.

I know, I totally know how easy it is to do. But in my travels I have also found out a few techniques that help in a more positive way, for me at least and I'd love to share them.

Firstly, you know how when you feel depressed, all you want to do is listen to sad music? Try to fight that and listen to something really upbeat and uplifting. It's super hard at first, but if you can muster up the patience after a while you could find yourself dancing like a crazy in your bedroom by yourself - and it feels great. Trust me.

Secondly, journal it. Even if you don't think you're a journal kind of person just give it a shot. I didn't think I was a journal kind of person but when I did try it I found that it made things so much clearer when they were out of my head and on paper. If you're a song-writer you can also/instead do that, or paint, or anything creative that expresses how you're feeling. Even if you don't think of yourself as the 'creative type', you are. You just have to find the way you create stuff. Math? Code? I don't know. That's up to you.

Even for starters, or if all else fails, just speak it out. Again getting stuff out of my head and in to the open has helped simply for clarity's sake. You can speak it, then go away and read or something for a while, and then come back and try to process it again if it's overwhelming.But yeah, find how you express yourself, is probably the best advice I could give.

And if i could bore you with my ramblings for just a minute longer - every time you journal something or speak it out or write a song about it, try your best to in the end put a positive spin on it. There's something about flipping something negative on its head that sparks hope, even if you don't feel it at the time and it's the last thing in the world that you want to do. It's always nice to sew a seed that you can reap later - as in if you come back to it one day, maybe even the next time you're feeling depressed, you can look at it and say "well yeah, but that positive thing though..." It can be a nice reminder that you're still sane, and that really the basis of everything is good.

and sorry just one last thing, i swear, even sitting down and writing a list of everything you've achieved can really help. Not what society deems as achievements, like getting that fancy car or whatever, but something you know in your heart was an achievement for you. And keep it handy. In your wallet, on your wall somewhere, something that can remind you that you're really doing good, and this bad time will pass. I keep a few pieces of sheet music that I've transcribed or notated around me so when I feel guilty and like I haven't done anything with my life I can look around me and see that I am actively pursuing my dreams and that I can and do quite hard work more often than I give myself credit for.

I dunno, if you get something from this then that's awesome, if you don't then that's fine too

You guys all rock, and I hope everyone is feeling better.

btw Loafcat, how'd it go with that girl? I would totally echo the advice of just be yourself! You've got nothing to be worried about! You're awesome! And if she says no, well stuff it, that's her loss and it only means that there's an even more special person waiting to experience the awesomeness that is you! 

Neat concept.

I really hate dragging and dropping though. I wonder if there's a text editor alternative.