I struggle with depression (sometimes crippling) and it’s becoming more clear to me every day that it is possible to live with this disease. The trick for me has been to make lifestyle choices that accommodate my disease in exactly the same way someone with diabetes would alter their lifestyle to accommodate their disease.
For me that means having a fairly stringent routine and curtailing bad habits:
1. going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day
2. eating the right kinds of food (not junk food and not skipping breakfast)
3, avoiding pot and caffeine
4. avoiding too much alcohol (one or two drinks max, few and far between)
5. exercise at least 4x per week
6. keeping my things uncluttered, meaning no piles of laundry and dishes
7. getting haircuts regularly and keeping my general physique in order
8. talking to friends immediately when im upset and feel myself regressing/obsessing
9. keeping myself near fresh air and sunlight as much as possible
10. listening to music as much as humanly possible (it muffles the internal chatter)
11. and really try to remember to take myself a little less serious (I got a tattoo to help)
Depression is beatable, but it needs to be starved and left out to die like a snarling beast. I haven’t been depressed (or even mildly depressed) in quite a while.