Artists and depression - seeking advice

I usually figure that the fact that I can just push through it when it happens means that I may be depressed, but not suffering from depression. If that makes sense.
 
It's like any mental illness, there is a spectrum, and various ways of treating it depending on the severity and the make up of the individual person. There is no one size fits all cure.
 
I am looking for other artists creative, alternative ways they discovered that helps them (in addition to "professional" help from a competent provider).

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Dillon


Jordan Scott Price said:
I echo this whole-heartedly and with every ounce of my being, speaking from experience.
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I'm about to hit the big 40 too Dillon. Lately I've been dealing with more episodes of anger & frustration than depression. I've got a lot going on in my life. I am a relatively new dad, and I'm dealing with the reality of taking care of two little ones. My "all about me" attitude came to a crashing halt, whether i was ready for it or not. Where I used to have more time to get out and do fun stuff, now I find myself more house-bound as we raise the kids. Lack of sleep, lack of exercise…not healthy, right? A catch 22. I've also been dealing with the *occasional* a-hole clients that are making my life miserable for very little $$.

My stop-gap solution has been beating the ever-loving' sh*t…..out of my drum set! getting together with some like-minded fellas my age to play loud aggressive hardcore music when possible. that's a pretty good therapy session. and no, i'm far from "mentally balanced" that's for sure. I'll be the first to admit it. :Drogar-Sick(DBG):


And I appreciate you starting this thread. Many of you have raised a lot of good issues. And of course, I wholeheartedly agree: a message board is OK for us to throw ideas around, but one should seek sound advice from a professional if you feel you are in trouble.
 
You're right - I actually wrote a script about my experience with depression - it seemed to me a way of at least expressing how I felt, if you feel that the illness is limiting your creativity - create something about the illness.
 
I know you're looking for "new" and "creative" ways to fight depression but I just want to make some points. You may or may not find anything helpful but I just thought I'd put it out there.

* I have total faith that a good psychologist can help almost any person to help themselves feel better.
* There is a big difference between psychologists and psychiatrists.
* Like plumbers or teachers or musicians many Psychologists suck. Have you shopped around?
* Different styles of therapy can have very different results.
* Cognitive behavioural therapy is far more effective than psychoanalysis in my opinion.
* Dredging up childhood drama is good for the psychiatrist's bank balance though...
* An excellent book on CBT is "Change Your Thinking" by Sarah Edelman.

Having said all that I think what you might need to do is to completely restart your system the way you reboot a computer. Depending on your life situation maybe you should sell all you life's belongings and do something "crazy" like sail around the world with deep sea fisherman or volunteer as an aid worker in Sudan. Seriously if you feel stuck then do something radical. A lot of people in modern societies like the States are depressed because of the lack of challenge in their daily life. Maybe it's a cheesy idea to say "see the world". Maybe you have looked up at the Sistene Chapel in Rome or caught waves off the Western Australian coast? Have you been "woofing" through italy?

Okay I know I may have completely missed the point but as someone who's spent 8 years in therapy I feel for ya.

Definitely take more video. Have you checked out what the tiny Sony hx9v can shoot? Put one in your pocket and give it a name.

Okay I might be starting to give away just how loopy I am...

I wish you luck. I know you just wanted to brainstorm and that you will take people's advice for what it is. I'd hate to hear about some American who got eaten by a shark off the West Australian coast and read on here it was you...
 
I find a litle bit of nature goes a long way to balancing my darker moods. Problems feel so much smaller after spending an hour with real nature. I didn't find that a city park reallyd oes the trick. I'm talking about the woods. If you live in a really urban place, or a country with little true natural seclusion, this might be challenging.

I think if we could build smaller, more dependable communities and live off the land a bit more, closer to nature, we would find that some of the depression would subside.
 
sean90291 said:
I think if we could build smaller, more dependable communities and live off the land a bit more, closer to nature, we would find that some of the depression would subside.
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...but then how could he get all this great advice without the internet and all the gizmos people rely on these days? How would he even know what depression was...or any of all the other syndromes/disorders discovered everyday? I don't know how I could have grown-up using the one rotary dial phone in the house, there were no computers, no cell phones, no reality shows, no video games, you walked or rode your bike anywhere you had to go, there were chores that you were responsible for everyday, didn't have to lock your house or cars, you watched out for your neighbors & respected their stuff just as they did the same for you, you took picture on film and waited for a week to see the results.

So yes... I think you're on to something. We should live like we used to. Most people don't even know their neighbors anymore. It's turned into a world about 'me' and what can I get for myself, we see it everyday. Look at all of us here showing off our new toys and all the cool projects we're working on, all the time judging each other (I can feel it now, as you read this, you're forming an opinion of me :shocked:). This thread will go round & round, there is no 'one' answer. We live in a world of ADHD, FOMO, Facebook Depression, ED, anorexia, bulimia, low self esteem , etc....you name it... we all have it....and there's a pill, therapy or WebMD to help. There's always an 'expert' to tell us how we should feel....or what is 'normal'. If you hear it enough, you start to believe it.

Information is knowledge...and knowledge is power...maybe not always.

We all get caught-up in it. Sometimes I think it's important to step back and get a 30,000 foot view. Slow down a bit and try to take note of all the great things you DO have in your life, meet your neighbors & talk to them (and listen to what they have to say...you don't have to agree), make sure to tell the people you care about in your life that you love them, try to GIVE more and TAKE less (we just had Irene come through here and the whole neighborhood helped each other clean-up), get a pet and care for it, grow a plant...and think of all the other people in the world that would love to have even a small portion of what most of us take for granted. Take a breath.

...and remember, to a shark, tiger, lion or any other preditor...we're food!
 
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