Artists and depression - seeking advice

dillont

dillont

Well-known member
Hi folks,

Long time participant and sometimes freelance filmmaker here. LOVE this forum and check in obsessively. It, in fact, has been my 'college' of learning for the last 7 years.

I'd like some of your expert advice in a personal matter. I'm sure others here have suffered from depression. I'm wondering what usual (and unusual tactics) you have used to fight depression and demand creativity from yourself again. I've suffered from bouts of depression on and off the last 20 years. I've done all the right things (exercise, eat right, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, etc), and still struggle. I'm turning 40 years old and can feel the sands of time etching away at my soul the more I don't create.

I'm an artist, and I must honor this by being more creative. But depression gets in the way far too often.

What tactics and strategies have you all mustered to beat depression and/or started working on your personal projects again?

Thanks in advance.

Humbly,

Dillon
 
Exercise and eating right helped some for me. Have you looked into medication/therapy? Those were even more of a help.

More than anything, though, it's getting out into the world. Hanging out with people - like-minded or not - and do fun stuff. Not only does this help counteract the depression, it also helps as an artist to experience other people, especially when you work with them on their projects and they in turn help with yours.
 
Hi Tom,

Thanks for your feedback and suggestion. Yeah, I tried the medication route, unfortunately I don't respond well to pharmaceuticals (I get loopy and unpredictable). Also spent years in therapy, but frankly, I'm done paying $ to tell someone the drama of my childhood. It's time to move on and let go of all that.

At this point, I'm looking for the "out of the box" thinking and unusual tactics that people have found that worked for them. And I agree, working with other people is helpful, and I struggle with just getting myself out there in the first place.

Thanks again Tom!

Dillon
 
Depression is an "inward" experience so I suggest do more outward experiences. Join a sports club, activities, something physical. I had spent two straight years writing two scripts for about 6 months each. I had to get out and find some life. Being inside 4 walls can mess with your head. So get out, DO stuff!
 
I agree 100% w/ Charli.
Not knowing what you're habits are, I would suggest getting out more.

I moved half way across country to be with a girl who subsequently left me a year after moving. Not knowing anyone, I sank into a deep depression and turned towards alcohol and drugs to try and feel 'better'. Didn't work.

I was able to find people who I now call my friends who have helped me in so many ways.

Keep your chin up! San Francisco is an awesome city, which I just visited a few weeks ago (my sister lives there), and there is so much to do and so many people to meet.

Again, try what Charli is suggesting. Get out and meet people. It helped me.
 
Try doing things radically different. For example, try working night hours (it may be that you are a 'night person').
 
What kind of exercise are you doing? The one thing I can always count on to pull me out of a funk, or at least put me into a lesser funk, is running. A good hour jog, with short sprints in between, usually shakes off the demons. And keeping busy with creative work. It's usually when I'm in between projects that the carnival starts inside my head--

 
While it's all to the good to get people's perspectives - particularly people sharing your creative nature and interests - if you find that you experience depression severe enough to interfere with your ability to pursue your goals I suggest that you look into professional treatment. No amount of well-intentioned internet advice stacks up to professional help from a competent provider.
 
Thanks for your input everyone.

SadMax, I did seek "professional treatment" for most of the 20 years. And still dealing with it. As I said in an earlier post, pharmaceuticals didn't work, and I'm done talking about childhood drama after 15 years therapy.

I did adopt a siberian husky/border collie to disrupt my routine 2 weeks ago, and the dog sure has upended my habits. A very good disruption. This has me thinking outside the box for other creative ways to battle depression than the "tried and true" methods, which have only wielded lots of self awareness, but not much relief from the actual depression.

Great insights Charli and Cyclone. Creative disruption to my routine is the direction of "outside the box" thinking that I'm looking for input on.

Battuta, I do HIIT training on the treadmill until I injured my foot a couple of months ago. It's mending and I'll be back to my HIIT training when its healed.

Thanks again for your input everyone. Welcoming any and all suggestions. I need to beat this.

Gratefully,

Dillon
 
As Sad Max noted, none of us are "competent providers." We can only throw out what has helped us. I can tell you that in the situations that I have observed (depression runs in my family), it is definitely chemically based - meaning that the brain's chemicals are not quite balanced like everyone else's. I am a big believer in chemical solutions.
 
For some people pharmaceuticals can be very effective. For some they're downright destructive. There's so much individual variation that it's impossible to predict.
 
Truly I wish chemical solutions worked for me, but sadly, they didn't. Tried many, and they made things quite dangerously worse for me. Which is why I'm asking for creative ideas from others who have struggled. When I put this thread up, I was hoping for some personal anecdotal "outside the box" thinking where other creative artists applied their creativity to their depression and found some success (above and beyond standard protocols, which I'd followed for the better part of 20 years).

I do appreciate the feedback. Thus far I've gleamed that changing habits and disrupting routines has been beneficial (in addition to the 'tried and tested' methods).

Gratefully,

Dillon
 
Indeed. After much "experimentation" by a psychiatrist, we deemed that pharmaceuticals were NOT the way to go with me. I don't respond well to them at all.

Sad Max said:
For some people pharmaceuticals can be very effective. For some they're downright destructive. There's so much individual variation that it's impossible to predict.
Click to expand...
 
Another note, certain medications do list depression as a possible side effect. I was taking an asthma drug, and didn't really notice how it was affecting my mood until I switched prescriptions. Not sure if your are taking anything on a regular basis that might affect your mood but it's something to consider...And hitting the treadmill if that's all you can do is great, but nothing beats running outdoors in the sunshine. Sunshine in general is good for you. The 'winter blues' have been attributed to lack of sunlight, which is how we get most of our vitamin D.

Something else I realized when I suffered from depression. After going through the cycle many times, I came to the conclusion that I actually wanted to feel this way. It fed some sick part of my soul. I think because it was easier to withdraw from the world and not face things. It was easier to feel sorry for myself, then to actually put myself on the line again and risk failure and humiliation. Once I realized this, it was easier to see the warning signs and turn from the path of self loathing and depression before I went too deep. This was my personal experience anyway. It's like an addiction. You never defeat it. You just learn to manage it and keep it at bay. But it's always there, ready to pounce.
 
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I don't think I'm prone to anything rising (sinking?) to the level of clinical depression but when I'm down I find it useful to focus upon the fact that I -know- I'll feel better later, with adjusted perspective. There may be levels of depression, though, where that doesn't help.
 
Being with a group of people who are "energized" allows your soul to soak up that energy. That's why I always recommend a team sport. Something with movement. Co-ed softball, touch/flag football, something that gets those endorphins working. I played rugby, fencing and co-ed softball all in one year. Almost killed myself, but that was my mid-life crisis. I played!

People's positive energy is contagious. Live it.
 
Sometimes other people's positive energy leaves one feeling extra-down and wondering what's the matter with me? How come everyone -else- is having a good time and I'm not?
 
I can't begin to tell you what will work for you. This works for me, though. I shoot something. Anything. I've shot a lot of s**t that nobody will ever see. Just doing something makes me feel like I've accomplished something.I can't say it will help you, but it works for me.:beer:
 
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