I would like to ask those of you who frequent this forum what strategies you have devised for dealing with long-term bouts of depression? I live with depression off and on, and it's usually triggered by something else in my life. But every once in a while I will fall into a moderate to semi-serious depression for no obvious reason at all. I suppose it's caused by a conglomeration of all the bad things in my life right now, but I can't be sure.

I've been ill for a long time, and I've suffered from depression off and on for the last five years. Usually it only lasts for a week or so, and then I start to feel better. But this past year I've been falling into depressions that can hang around for up to several weeks, and during that time all I can do is sit and stare at the wall. I even went to my best friend's surprise birthday party and had no fun at all. All the talking and laughing were just like a background buzz to me, and I felt totally apart from it. I don't plan on trying this, but sometimes I feel like I need someone to just slap me hard enough to knock me out of it.

This is not the kind of depression which can be helped by meds. I've tried those already, and still take one each night. But it's like being trapped inside my own body, because I'm explicitly aware of the depression and what it's doing to me. Even so, I can't force myself to ignore it, or to find any pleasure in the things I normally like. Do any of you ever get like that? And if so, have you ever found a way to force it aside? Because it really is senseless, and I would totally appreciate any advice from anyone who's experienced this before. Thanks everyone for reading this, and for any help you can offer.

Idealist