What does it feel like to not be depressed?

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ClockWorkWonderer
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20 Aug 2014, 5:37 pm

I'm in my late teens and have Aspergers. When I was a bit younger I was very depressed and suicidal but after a while it got a bit better and I started to just have depressive episodes with bigger gaps in between. Now, however, I still get depressive episodes but in between I almost always feel very devoid of everything. Some people may use the word "empty" to explain it I suppose. I guess i'm quite a cynical person and seem to have some level of anhedonia. (I have other recent posts if you want to understand what i'm talking about a bit more.) My question, which is probably quite a strange one, is what does it feel like to not be depressed/empty? I can't remember how I felt before I had these kind of feelings so I have no idea what i'm aiming for, what to compare my current situation to, how to measure my progress, or scarily, if i'm even already there(and am just in the normal human state, experiencing it in a weird way). Or if you have been depressed or felt empty in the past, what does it feel like now you're not in that place anymore? What signs did you get that you were getting better? How do you feel different from back then? Thanks to anyone who replies to this :)



Sweetleaf
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20 Aug 2014, 5:44 pm

I couldn't say as I have sort of experienced the same sort of thing except I'm 25, can't really recall a time before I had issues with depression or how that would have felt. Sometimes I wonder that as well.


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Jensen
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20 Aug 2014, 7:27 pm

Without depression there is more physical and mental energy. Some things even become appealing, - something you look foreward to. Colors look brighter. You lose the tunnel vision
You find, that you actually have a future.

My sign was a slight irritation over my lack of energy. I wanted to be able to do things.


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Persevero
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20 Aug 2014, 7:39 pm

Jensen put it down perfectly. When I'm not depressed I'm looking for things to do, as opposed to just sitting around and going through the motions.



Borden88
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22 Aug 2014, 3:35 pm

I honestly, don't know, but I imagine having a girlfriend, doing stuff together and I feel happy in the thought/dream. It's a really good feeling, like all the weight was lifted off you. Like you are free.

It's like being being free from being in a torture chamber for years, after being senselessly beaten and tortured for years in a dark dungeon, and all of a sudden you out outside and free. No more curse.

I think about her being supportive, sweet, understanding, non-judgmental, goofy/silly, adventurous. I guess in a concise way (I really like that word), she is very loving and supportive. This is a dream, which will be a reality. I'm still in the transition and getting to positive and beating this damn curse. I got it beat down to the bottom of the steps. :)



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23 Aug 2014, 4:02 am

There are brief moments that I'm energized and inspired, and I just feel like having to do things or I'll break. Following those, I feel very low or empty for stretches of time.



ElsaFlowers
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23 Aug 2014, 7:51 am

Borden88 wrote:
I honestly, don't know, but I imagine having a girlfriend, doing stuff together and I feel happy in the thought/dream. It's a really good feeling, like all the weight was lifted off you. Like you are free.

It's like being being free from being in a torture chamber for years, after being senselessly beaten and tortured for years in a dark dungeon, and all of a sudden you out outside and free. No more curse.


This probably is the best description. It's like being free and on infrequent occasions I've experienced short periods of feeling happy and "normal" before it quickly turns to sh*t again and I realise that the happiness I thought I had never existed and was just my own wishful thinking.



ClockWorkWonderer
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24 Aug 2014, 1:05 pm

I can definitely relate to what ElsaFlowers said about feeling happy and normal for brief times and then everything going bad again, and then questioning whether you really were ever happy or if it was just wishful thinking. Also, could someone explain what it feels like to be "going through the motions" of life? I think maybe I feel like that, but i'm not sure. All I know is that I feel very devoid of everything, I feel bland all the time, nothing inspires a reaction in me, nothing interests me, doing things that "should" be fun feels like i'm doing nothing at all. People say that I should just go out and take up opportunities more and stuff but the empty feeling is there ALL the time, it makes no difference what I do. I sometimes get depressive episodes and start thinking all kinds of things, but then that goes away after a while by itself, there's no way i've found so far that gets it to go away. It just sticks there, no matter what I do. Which is very much like the empty feeling I have, it just permeates all things. I don't know if i'm still depressed or not or how to make whatever this is better :/



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24 Aug 2014, 6:30 pm

It feels like waking up from a good dream. There has got to be somethings that peak your interest. Every emotion in your life is energy. Every emotion is a different energy. With every different energy, the mind produces a different chemical. Through time the chemical that your brain gets use to, is the one that gets used the most. Like an addiction, or a dependency. It does not differentiate good from bad. If you are depressed all the time, your mind becomes familiar with that paticular energy, and chemical. When you command change, after some amount of time, your mind will become familiar, and dependant on the energy, and chemical that you command. It is an impeccable order of command. Impeccability, and belief is your alley. These things do not get better on thier own. While you may get help of somekind, you still need to command it. Unquestionably, with no deviations. There is no relative amount of time that it can take either. It can be swift, and it can take a while.

That is the best I can explain it I guess.


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mattschwartz01
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27 Aug 2014, 10:27 am

ClockWorkWonderer wrote:
I'm in my late teens and have Aspergers. When I was a bit younger I was very depressed and suicidal but after a while it got a bit better and I started to just have depressive episodes with bigger gaps in between. Now, however, I still get depressive episodes but in between I almost always feel very devoid of everything. Some people may use the word "empty" to explain it I suppose. I guess i'm quite a cynical person and seem to have some level of anhedonia. (I have other recent posts if you want to understand what i'm talking about a bit more.) My question, which is probably quite a strange one, is what does it feel like to not be depressed/empty? I can't remember how I felt before I had these kind of feelings so I have no idea what i'm aiming for, what to compare my current situation to, how to measure my progress, or scarily, if i'm even already there(and am just in the normal human state, experiencing it in a weird way). Or if you have been depressed or felt empty in the past, what does it feel like now you're not in that place anymore? What signs did you get that you were getting better? How do you feel different from back then? Thanks to anyone who replies to this :)


I'm recovering from severe depressive disorder or whatever they call it. The first sign that I was starting to feel better is simply that it is easier to wake up and get out of bed in the morning. The second, bad news on television did not seem to affect me as heavily. Does this help some?



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29 Aug 2014, 4:34 pm

I often wonder the same thing. I have been depressed my entire life.

And I unfortunately know all about anhedonia as well. Deepest hell I've ever been in.


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