I don’t have anything to look forward to in life except money entering my direct deposit every two weeks and back catalogs of podcasts. I don’t even want to listen to music anymore.
Do stuff. See new things. Nature. I work 50-60 hours a week at the moment, but on my day off I always go to a museum or a big park. Does wonders for soul.
And although I get burnt out sometimes, the more you do, the more you do. Back when I was a student I did as little as possible. Worked subsistence wage for a basic quality of life. Now that I've got much more money coming in, fuck it, on the weekend if I turn up somewhere and some historic house is 20 quid to get in, I can easily drop 20 quid on it no worries. Work feels shit when you're spending the money to survive. It feels great when you're spending it to do things you previously couldn't.
I don't know if it's just in my genes, but I remember seeing the tickers on my dad and my grandma. I was in awe. They're always totally nonstop. Grans 89 and broke her ankle the other week by flipping her three wheeled bike from riding it too fast round a bend. Now I'm starting to get it. My motors running and it's almost more comfortable to keep it running than to switch it on and off all day.
It'll do wonders for your sleep quality too.
Mood. I have felt this way myself many times. I don't know if it helps at all, but it didn't last forever for me, so I hope maybe it won't last forever for you.
Depression makes everything so damn hard. Have you asked a doctor about medication? Sometimes anti-depressants and therapy can give you enough motivation to try something new and get out of that rut. If you get that energy back you should try something new that involves people if you have time, like joining a community garden or joining an org. Something that gives you a goal that matters to you. Because you matter.
Relatable. 
Same, but vaguely employed with a short-term tutoring grift. But hey, I'm 46 episodes away from being current on Death is Just Around the Corner & while everything the host MSJ is saying seems to ring true, it's definitely making things worse (:
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on’t! O fie! ’tis an unweeded garden, That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
This quote stuck in my mind the first time I read it, written at the beginning of capitalism it still strikes a chord with all the grist for the mill. When I am inevitably drafted into the reserve army of labor I only hope to frag my commanding officer.
Burnout maybe? When's the last time you took a break?
My whole life has been a break. I barely put effort into anything and if I do, it’s only enough to get it done. I have more time off than time spent working and I have nothing to do with it.
If you can find a tiny seed of passion somewhere in your life, and water it little by little, it can become a feedback loop where the bigger the seed grows, the more you want to water it, and the more you water it the more it grows, until some day you realize that your seed has grown into a tree. It's like this with learning an instrument. The better you get, the more you want to play, and the more you play the better you get.
Treating depression is also a feedback loop. At first nothing makes you happy, and you don't have the energy to do anything to change your situation. So you start really small. Work on it a little bit each day. Some days you just manage to shower. But over time, as you keep at it, positive changes start to accumulate, and you start to have more energy to make more positive changes, until some day you realize you're okay.
How about making plans for something to look forward to. Like a hike or a camping trip. Or pick up some active hobby, like swimming or disc golf or archery. Could make some buddies with mutual interests if you find something you like to do regularly.
This this this, you gotta give yourself things to look forward to.
It doesn't even have to be anything big or all that interesting either, packing a lunch and going to some touristy thing nearby can do wonders for the soul, even if whatever you go and see kinda sucks! Heck, just walking down a path youve never used or a route you've never taken helps too. Seeing where you live in a new light can be way fun.
My dumbest tip for keeping things whimsical is to have little treats with you and maybe even hide them some place you'll forget so that its doubly fun when you discover them again! It's lovely when I clean my car out and find that cookie I hid a couple months ago just so I could run into it like this.
literally this, road tripping to a pretty place, hiking, and either camping or sleeping in your car is the best way to reset your mood and get dopamine flowing. It doesn't even have to be with friends, changing your environment is all that is needed
Hit the gym, get swole, and then either you’re ready for whatever comes next or you can engage in hedonism while hot
hey depressed person: engage in a multi-year process that requires a ton of dedication, effort, and self-motivation!
Just get gains, don’t overthink it.
You’re gonna be sad anyway, be sad while lifting something.
This. It's actually surprisingly simple, too. I think the hardest part is just committing to starting it.
bruh what part of
Can’t bring myself to care about myself or life anymore
do you think is compatible with long-term regimented activity?
Stop thinking of it in terms of “you must do this specific thing in a regimented way every day until I die”
Maybe the issue here isn’t depression but perfectionism resulting in inaction?
Just pump some weights.
When I was depressed I watched YouTube in a kind of bored disengaged manner. I’m sure you having something like that too. Do that same thing but lifting something.
OP said they liked listening to podcasts. It’s perfect for OP.
It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting.
bootstraps
It’s not easy, but mental fitness is possible with effort. Why is there so much stigma around giving people good advice? Sure well people can overstate how easy they think it is, but I’m pretty depressed most of the time and I still find interesting and healthy things to do. I know I’m lucky and it hasn’t cured me, but it’s possible to feel ok sometimes if you’re mindful and touch grass (I would never blame anyone for not doing those things, I’m just trying to help).
Why is there so much stigma around giving people good advice?
People are saying it's not good advice, not that good advice is bad.
Well, they’re wrong. Exercise objectively makes you feel better, like good food, socializing, doing things, and meditating. Obviously if you get too goal oriented (I don’t feel muscular enough etc) it can be bad, but generally such actions are good. I’m a big nihilist with executive dysfunction. When I do such things out of obligation, I still feel the benefit.
This is true. Not everyone who is depressed is sedentary, but everyone who is sedentary is depressed.
yeah its weird "advice", exercise does play a role in boosting serotonin levels and increasing longevity but a person doesn't need to become a bodybuilder to gain these benefits
even "just get fit lol" is fucking wild disregard for how depression does you.
Man, I hate that every man's reaction to depression is: they must be fat.
This is honestly just generally good advice for your health but also depression specifically.
?? I didn’t say they were fat.
I told them to lift. If they aren’t fat then they should get fat while they lift. Gotta bulk and cut.
My reaction was that OP is bored and likes listening to podcasts. Lifting will make that experience more fun.
All these replies “but that won’t cure cancer as well” are missing the point in a weirdly defensive way about stuff I never said. Projecting ass mfers.
I'm not projecting, this is just something I see time and time again, guys implying that other guys online they know nothing about are depressed because they're fat.
You say hit the gym, implying they don't already. You say get swole, implying they aren't already. You say engage in hedonism, implying they don't already. You say get hot, implying they aren't already. To me, that's clear cut you're implying they're fat and need to fix it. Cause I guess swole, hedonistic, hot people have nothing to be depressed about? You catch my drift?
I mean it's not that deep, I'm just bored of the line that getting swole is the answer to depression, it'll probably help just as any exercise will if you're lacking it but it's not going to fix your problems, despite what queues of men are waiting to tell you.
EDIT: Also I love all sorts of body types. Plenty of chubby guys who are hot and sweethearts. Plenty of skinny guys who are drop dead gorgeous. And loads in between. Why they gotta be swole to be hot.
Where did he say the OP was fat?
This is a shitty take. I'm pretty fit and good looking for someone my age or so I hear, but I really suck at picking up on social kills and have terrible self esteem issues/depression and anxiety, also as @OrionsMask@hexbear.net said it's lame to just assume someone'sstruggle is just because they are ugly or out of shape, i don't think you inrended harm but show a little more empathy when a comrade is struggling.
it's lame to just assume someone'sstruggle is just because they are ugly or out of shape
I fucking didn’t
its not bad advice and I don't think you meant anything by it, but saying "get swole and then you can do hedonism while hot" does absolutely assume OP is not already swole.
I can see how regular exercise can help, but how is hedonism going to lead to anything beyond an emptier and more depressing life?
It doesn’t make life less empty but it’s a more fun type of nihilism
Big mood 
I'm kinda in the same boat. I'm trying to get out of it through self-improvement with other comrades (community improvement), you can join us if you want. 
Which podcasts are you into?
yuuuuup
Does your job insurance cover any kind of mental health services? Maybe you are vitamin deficient. One way or another this probably isn't your fault but you are in the unfortunate position of having to deal with it anyway.
Something that often – but not always! – helps me in this state is to find someone else to help instead. Seeing that I can make a difference for someone else can help renew my faith in the possibility of change and my ability to help enact it.
Is there something you can do that is focused on others? You mentioned a steady paycheck - if you can afford it, would it feel good to go be a mutual aid fairy and sprinkle some financial magic on your comrades? That could be a fun thing to look forward to every couple of weeks – throw a little payday party and bring out your inner Oprah: "You get a meal! And YOU get a meal! AND YOU get a meal!!!"
Sometimes just finding posts here or on reddit made by people going through similar things and commenting to tell them I don't have a solution but they're not alone helps me, too; if they're not alone, then neither am I.
Everyone is taking this post like it means you're not feeling well. But honestly...
So you actually look forward to the money every 2 weeks and your podcasts? Honestly that sounds... Enough to me? I could spend all my time working and listening to podcasts if that's what I enjoy. I myself only play video games and work (well and have sex with my partner all the time) and I'm happy.
You say "can't bring myself to care". Why exactly do you think you need to care about you or your life? Like, I'm perfectly happy right now and even I don't care about me or my life :D
What I'm trying to say is... You haven't actually said what you're missing. Do you have a desire for something that's not being fulfilled? Like do you need sex, romantic connection? friends? A sense of community? Connection to nature? Larger resource(money) acquisition?
Or of course, do you think something is missing, but you don't know what?
everyone is taking it that way because they read the post... you know, where he said
Can’t bring myself to care about myself or life anymore
and
I don’t have anything to look forward to in life
and
I don’t even want to listen to music anymore.
classic hallmarks of depression. And if everything was just fine and dandy, he wouldn't have posted this, get real. The "why do you think you should care about anything?? =D" smiley nihilism energy isn't helpful or appealing tbh
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