Does wallowing in your depression sometimes make you feel better than trying to get over it? It does with me. Sometimes, if I allow myself to wallow in my misery, I begin to feel better. Is anyone else the same?

That's what I use my journal for. When I'm depressed, I make an entry and write about whatever is on my mind. If I had a really bad day and I'm feeling like garbage, I'll write about it. I write as if I'm talking to someone, so, in a sense, it forces me to explain things, like my depression, to myself. It can sometimes open up an interesting perspective I would have, otherwise, not taken. On the same token, it can sometimes make me think too much on something, causing me to feel even worse than I did before, but, you take the good with the bad. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.

Wallowing in my depression doesn't make me feel better at all, it just seems to highlight how annoying and pathetic the situation is. I try to focus on other things so I can take my mind off it, but sometimes this doesn't work because it might bother me too much, so in the end my concentration and enthusiasm just goes and I can't put my heart into anything.

When I wallow, I feel especially shitty for an hour and then within the hour I'm able to go do something. If not, I will jsut feel shitty for half a day or so AND THEN be able to go do something. It's kinda strange, since I tend to wallow regardless of whether or not it hellps- it just kinda happens.

Wallowing usually helps me to see the situation more clearly and motivate me.

I see wallowing as nothing more than a "quicky" escape from problems that one doesn't want to face. I've done too much of it in my life and am determined to put that shit to an end. After all, no one is going to get me to where I want to be other than.. ME!

when i was younger wallowing in my sorrows just made me spiral further out of control. these days i try not to dwell on things that no longer matter.

I find that people wallowing in their own depression deserve to be depressed as well as all the other shit they're faced with in their lives. I used to wallow in my own depression for years until I realized I can only live according to my own ability. I stopped trying to adapt to others and my depression vanished. I became content with my life. When I was depressed, wallowing made me feel worse, and I certainly deserved to be depressed because it was my own fault for setting up unreasonable goals not even in tune with my own nature.

My respect for people wallowing and living with unreasonable expectations not suited to their own ability is non-existant. In fact, I loathe them.

It's great that you're able to live that kind of life. But you should realize that most people are not. You've even stated before that Sweden takes very good care of it's disabled people. Well, America does not. Not everyone has the convenience of being able to live a life that doesn't involve having to worry about doing things that make them uncomfortable & without having to set unreasonable goals for themselves. I'm one of those people. I know that having a job is not something I can handle. Yet, I must somehow get to a place in my life someday where I can handle one because without that, I will be left homeless, with no money & no way to take care of myself once my mother dies, which could be very soon. Either that, or, if I am approved for SSI, I will get a very meager check once a month & live my entire life poor & on various government assistance programs just to survive, like I have done for the last 28 years. I want better for myself, & unless I make myself uncomfortable & do things I hate, my life will be terrible forever like it has been so far.

It depends on the depth of my depression as to whether I wallow in it or not. If it's just minor depression, or melancholy, wallowing makes me feel better, quicker than anything else. Usually, wallowing in it makes it go away much faster because it's not very severe. But sometimes I would never wallow in it because it's too severe & will lead to a very negative place. Since last night, I've been in the non-wallowing kind of depression & have been trying to pull myself out of it & not wallow because I know it will lead to suicidal thoughts, & maybe even actions & I try to always keep those things at bay if I can.

Absolutely, this is one thing about america that completely disgusts me. It sickens me how poorly people with disabilities are taken care of in this country. Hell, just getting a medical settlement from an injury so you can go on with your life is hard in this country. My uncle got rear end by a city metro bus like 3 years ago- he only just, about 2 months ago, got the money from that. It was a fair bit, thankfully. Its stuff like this that just isn't right. The cost of medical treatment in general is ridiculous. You can have "good" health insurance here and still have to pay for half of that expensive medication.

I am similar in my wallowing process to Soulless. I get really depressed, depending on what is going on I can get to the point of writing out suicide notes. However, after a few hours I start to get angry. Then that anger motives me to get off my lazy ass. Then I start doing stuff... like exercising or reading the various self-help books I have downloaded.

Generally when I am less down I just lie around until I get angry and motivated. Either way I end up angry and motivated. However, I still feel like crap because I was wasting away.

No.

Generally no.

It doesn't make me feel better.

I don't know how it works for you. How does submitting to the feeling of hopelessenss and despair make you feel better? It seems sort of counter-intuitive.

I need to go take a shower...but, dont feel like it. -_- hmm................After two minutes of pondering whether or not to go take a shower I've decided that I should go take one. I hope I get to bed earlier than I did last night. I need to.

Dont mind me. I'm just mumbling to myself. *hugs the Original Poster*

Spend a lot of pent-up emotions, and then you feel better when you come out of the wallowing since you left all that burdened you before behind.

I don't ...subdue my emotions for the most part unless I want to cry. They are just there. I guess you try and ignore yours? I acknowledge mine I guess.

I'm not very good at hiding my emotions. Theyre just there whether I like it or not.

I don't know what I feel until I'm doubled over in some dark room at 3 am sobbing. Outside my room, I am easily mistaken for a happy-go-lucky kid with ADD. It's just instinctive for me, wallowing for a few hours a month lets me let go of all the bad stuff I didn't know I felt.

Wallowing makes me more fucking depressed. I get really angst when I get to that point (like now). So not liking right now.

No kidding.

-huuuug-

i rarely wallow in it these days unless im having trouble sleeping. wallowing really is just contemplating how shit you feel, it has very little to offer other than reaching new and profound lows. i find it easier to just escape somewhere by playing video games or watching tv or listening to music. sometimes when it gets bad i just dissociate and stare into space without really thinking about very much until i get so tired I cant stay awake anymore, then I just fall asleep and hope I have a nice dream (you can't have nice dreams when you're depressed apparently. I wouldn't trust that theory though)

I've had nice dreams when I wallow. [Ok well, my nice dreams are rarely all that nice.] They're a strange mishmash of my imagination and whatever my mind has come upon during that day.

well there we go then. i think i've also had nice dreams when very depressed. i don't know where that theory originated, but i've heard it around a lot.

I remember one dream about a picture of a bard with a tambourine hanging off one of his legs. I told him 'oh you forget your tambourine' and he smiled and picked it up and walked off with his gypsy friend. It was an odd dream, but when I woke up I wanted to continue dreaming so I call it a good dream.

wallowing doesn't help at all it does is bring you down deeper and deeper till you almost insane.....punchin' walls is a differnt story......i can say that frum personal exp

I try not to think about my depression. If I think about it, I freeze up and I can't get anything done. What good am I to anyone if I'm just laying in bed all day?

So I guess I'm just a big fan of avoiding things instead of wallowing.