Should I come out to a wider community about having depression? I don't want a psychological opinion, I want a PUA opinion. Will this add context and character, or pigeon hole me? Would I seem confident and strong for sharing my insecurities, or demonstrate my insecurities by sharing my insecurities? Please read the following:

I am writing this because I am coming out of the closet. I am not gay. But I am depressed. Severely depressed. It’s real. It’s a disability. It’s not a fucking choice. Get over it.
“But [name], why are you depressed?” I am depressed because there is no “Why?” Reasons for being depressed are not reasons, they are life. When I think about not having this disability, not having this pain, I don’t think about a perfect life. Why would I want a perfect life? Why would I want to be immune, completely, absolutely? I don’t want a perfect life. My mother and father will almost certainly die before me. Am I supposed to feel nothing then? What about my step-mother and step-father; what about people like [godfather], or my aunts and uncles? People will die, and statistically, I am far more likely to attend their funerals than to have them attend mine. Should I be happy and joyous then? And what of those that should not die before me? The children, the friends, the cousins… it is more depressing, perhaps, to never be sad than to always be sad.
But I am, almost always, sad, and that is what depression is. No reason, just is. Because it is a disability. It prevents me from achieving what I want from life. It slows me down. And, yes, it might just kill me. But, where it is daft to demand someone with a physical disability to suddenly connect with their legs again and climb up some stairs, I face a demand and expectation all the time. Like it’s a choice. There is room for rehabilitation, with depression as with physical injury. But room for improvement and choice are two different things. Completely different.
Indeed, where there is room for improvement, mental disability is far more retarding than physical disability – action comes from will. Depression is the lack of will. Where there is no room for improvement, obviously physical disability is more retarding than mental. Some things are physically not possible, whereas there appears to be no limit to the potential of the brain. But that is the brain with will. And with depression, there is no will. It’s a horrific feedback loop. The only “hope” is to have a moment of clarity and will, and from that spark a positive feedback loop. But then, even with will, and positive feedback, there is always the risk of relapse. Relapse an injury by slipping down some stairs or taking a hit in a game – relapse on depression by one failed relationship or one stressful time crunch. Then it all starts spiralling again.
I think publishing this takes a lot of courage. Why should it? Because being depressed makes you poorly understood, looked down upon, stereotyped, and although maybe not particularly institutionally discriminated against, certainly socially discriminated against. Sad part is, with depression, along with will, there isn’t much courage either.

This is sitting on my computer, and I haven't shared it with anybody. Yet.

I used t have the exact same problem you've got going on right now. I constantly thought about how much everything was just awful and depressing. There is a sure-fire way to get rid of this problem...THINK POSITIVE.

The brain is a weird thing, sure its awesome cause it keeps everything ticking, but it can also be a bit of a bitch. When you get into a cycle of negativity its very hard to break out of it, but you can do it. Just think about how great YOU are, you don't need the "approval" of a woman, or some know it all classmate/co-worker, etc. Just you, your friends and your family. Positive reinforcement, you are better than your current self, and you should remind yourself every day of how great a person you are.

_________________
The only thing holding you back is you.

My first recommendation would be to ask yourself if you are truly depressed -- do you think its a clinical depression, or a just sort of mopey-sadness that you have? From what I've read, this could be clinical in nature, in which case there is no substitute from having a consultation with a psychiatrist or a psychologist -- I would not turn to a messageboard of your peers for guidance on this, because it sounds like a professional needs to diagnose you.

Having said that, if you think that its more a series of things in your life that are simply "Bringing you down" which is the case for a lot of people who get mis-diagnosed, do this simple exercise:

1. Write down everything that is bothering you in life -- whether big or small, write it down. What are the obstacles keeping you from living the life you want to live?
2. Organize the problems from the smallest to the largest in terms of difficulty to overcome.
3. Starting at the top, BEGINNING WITH THE EASIEST PROBLEMS, create a seperate list -- a series of steps you can execute to either mitigate permanently or defer the problem to a later date. You seem to be very down in the dumps, so key to this strategy is QUICK WINS. This creates a sense of momentum for you, where every day when you goto sleep, you do so with the knowledge that your life has gotten just "a little bit better" because you have taken actionable steps to change your position in life. You will feed off this momentum, and use it to create bigger and more sweeping changes to yourself.

Does this make sense? It is a very simple but very powerful approach to problem solving.

_________________
http://www.taooftalk.com | Tao of Talk | "Talk Isn't Cheap." -- Got Trouble Opening and Holding a Conversation? Let Me Help You. It's What I Do. Send Me a PM or Visit My Site.

I kinda experience the same thing. Especially when you realise how people just like to have sex and also how easily people cheat on eachother. I'm still figuring out a way to fix it. it's eating me up

I experience this too. No quick or easy answers, I havn't solved anything myself either. It's a funny thing - I'm a pretty productive person, work, hobbies etc, yet still really struggle to find joy in the world, to find a reason, any reason, to be happy. I've got no reason at all, particularly, to be unhappy - but as you say, it's not about reasons. It just is. And we have to deal with what is. That's what get's to me the most, in some ways. If there were clear, or even not-so-clear, reasons - you could at least try to address them - job sucks? relationship sucks? family issues? health is poor? then at a minimum you can acknowledge a source for the great weight that pulls you down.

But when none is readily apparent - what then? I distract myself, with work, with walking, with porn and with cooking food and listening to music. But what then? The thing is - for me at least, there is this nagging feeling that there is something more - something else, that might be just out of reach, but is out of reach none-the-less. That just around the corner, things are different - better, happier, content. I've seen counsellors, both new-age and not so new-age, and it helps, a bit. Every little thing helps. But the sense that I'm aching, feeling empty inside hasn't left, only I'm better at overcoming it some times more than others. Maybe it's practice - who knows.

Sorry this isn't much help. If there was only thing I'd want to say to you, it's that you're not alone. Don't think that you're Marco Polo, charting waters that have never been charted before. I'm not trying to dent your ego here. Whilst each of our journeys are entirely our own and unique, I take solace in the knowledge that I'm not the only person who gets to drink this particular cocktail of emotion. It might just be that the knowledge that it's a growing phenomenon in affluent societies like mine adds to the issue, in some ugly feedback loop that ends in who-knows-what.

Somehow, I hope, there is a way to acknowledge it, bring it into my life, use it somehow for something and not let it consume me. I hope so, for both my sake and yours. Ganbatte!.

Hi, I just registered and wrote a reply but got lost in transmission.Here is my second attempt.Should have copied in case this happened and just paste again.

Peers may not help if they don't know the facts like blind men describing an elephant by touching different parts of the animal and giving different ideas
if you know what I mean.Phycholgists think it's in the mind and pychiatrists
think it's a body chemical imbalance.Only the psychiatrist comes close to the source of the problem.

Recent studies have shown that the brain specifically and that of the major organs
are dehydrated. You may say but I drink the recommended 9 glasses of water a day but according to the studies this amount barely keeps you alive which is shocking.Not only that but it's the wrong kind of water.Google Kangen water. It's purified/filtered and ionised water which is alkaline which is opposite of acidic tap or bottled water.This ionised water is smaller in molecular
size which is easily absorbed by the body and brain.Water is also a nutrient. .It is claimed to have improved and alievate many medical problems.

Next up is nutrition.Try to cut down meat consumption as they are acidic.Eat lots of vegetables and their juices.Raw is even better.Combined with good quality water it's a powerful stategy for overcoming your spectrum of problems.Don't forget vitamin D get some sun as oppose to tanning 15 minutes in strong sunlight
or if not in a sunny region vitamin D3 supplements with a teaspoon of olive/grape seed oil to help absorbtion.

Finally, exercise this will get you some sun and work the muscles and lift your spirits/feel good because it stimulates endorphine production in the brain.

It's a long and winding road like the beetles' song but you are still young and have a long journey ahead.Try these suggestions and feedback to help others in similar conditions.Hang in there bros.

_________________
law of attraction=Your reality is the outcome of your thoughts.

I agree you want a PUA opinion and not a psychological opinion. And I'll add that, since I'm not a PUA, I'll make this reply brief. As a practising therapist, I'd recommend that the OP seek professional help from a qualified therapist, doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist or whatever is right for the OP. The issue is not whether talking about those insecurities would pigeon hole the OP or not. The issue is the power those insecurities have over the life of the OP. If their power is great then something needs to and something can be done about that. Quality of life and mental health are priceless.