IMO the best remedy to any down moods is to own a dog. Even thinking about it gives me joy.
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That reminds me of when I went to see a therapist years ago to say ‘I’m depressed, I need drugs’. She said you are not a depressed person, you are just going through something awful and you are reacting to the situation.
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Yes.Everything about a dog makes you feel better, from the constant live and affection they show when you come home to the exercise you get walking them everyday!!
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Exercise (or just long rucking), Sauna, Red Light, Eating Healthy, Be Present, Hugs, and Don’t Borrow Future Worries.
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I am not my brain.
The brain is a weird thing. It will involuntarily offer up dark thoughts, destructive thoughts and drag me into it’s alternate reality.
I have found that by understanding that my brain wants to harm me, I take control and stop those thoughts by focusing on my reality, and I end up in a better place.
By learning how to disarm those thoughts, by recognizing what they are and where they came from, I find I spend more time in a good place 
Just because something in my life is difficult doesn’t mean I can allow my brain to drag me down.
It took me a long time to get to that point of understanding the battle between my reality and what my brain presents as it’s reality.
My reality, while often difficult, and has on occasion been severely dysfunctional (like all humans) is filled with a lot of joy, happiness, accomplishment and gratitude.
For those who do have more serious issues in this area, all the other suggestions about exercise, diet, drugs, counselling etc are quite often necessary and truly beneficial. For me it’s a matter of understanding that not all my thoughts are my own or my reality.
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Haha! Wishful thinking!
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He is right in that OCD, stress and lack of sleep can change thinking patterns to the worse compared to baseline.
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Neither a new concept and not my concept I learned this in another way in 1983, to separate the conscious and sub-conscious mind and use the conscious mind to “program” the sub-conscious. CBT was conceived in the 60’s
That’s also when I learned the concept that we are “3 selves”.
Interestingly, these responses mirror the current debate raging in the neuroscience community on this very topic. Some scientists believe that there is nothing but the brain—that it controls what we think, who we are, our values and actions. To them, the mind simply does not exist. Rather, it is the brain that changes itself, not us or what we do. The other camp, which my mentor and co-author Jeffrey Schwartz and I are part of, believe that the mind is intimately connected with, and can exert some pretty powerful effects on, the brain. In short, we believe that people are so much more than what their brain is trying to tell them they are and that the brain often gets in the way of our true, long-term goals and values in life (i.e., our true self).
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Of course it not a new concept! Cogito, ergo sum! But if you are brain dead you know what happens regardless of a connection, if any, between mental and physical 
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Well said! I wrote something similar here . . . you are not your emotions, you’re the observer of your emotions:
https://www.stoicsimple.com/you-are-the-observer-a-stoic-mindset/
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There are a surprising number of people in that category walking among us
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I stumbled on this paper today:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361923025001819
The introduction was interesting to me so thought I would share. Geomagnetic storms are getting stronger because the earths magnetic shield is getting weaker. This causes depression in some people. It looks like melatonin might help?
In any case it looks like if a depressive mood strikes, it might be smart to check and see if we are in a geomagnetic storm:
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I have BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder, and most of the meds or therapies do not work on me.
SSRIs, Exercise, Omega-3, Lithium, literally I tried everything.
Empty and worthless keeps attacking me…
SSRIs can only relieve the depression symptom, Lithium has no effect at low dosage for longevity.
I need to find better way to treat BPD, otherwise my lifespan definitely would be shorten because of this…
Have you tried or looked into Low Dose Naltrexone?
You say lithium has no effect at low dosage for longevity, but does it help with BPD? If BPD is something you think will cause you to live a shorter life then if lithium did help then it might increase lifespan.
I find low dose lithium orotate quite useful for blunting emotions, which can be useful in certain situations. I don’t like to rely on it, I’d rather solve the root issue. For me that was low testosterone which I’ve resolved with TRT. I still take lithium orotate a couple times a week for brain health effects.
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For BPD have you investigated Dr. Marsha LInehan’s dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)? Not a drug or a supp, or a quck fix, but could help.
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Something to try that may help in many ways is a ketogenic diet. Many people suffering from mental health issues have benefited from a ketogenic diet.
“The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate dietary approach that shifts the body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where fats are burned for energy instead of carbohydrates. This diet has gained attention for its potential effects on mental health disorders.”
“West’s experience parallels initial positive results from a pilot trial of 21 people with bipolar disease and schizophrenia. Numerous other clinical trials of the ketogenic diet for people with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder are currently in progress around the world. (Many of these trials are by funded by the Baszucki Group, a philanthropic foundation formed after Matt Baszucki, the son of the group’s founders, successfully treated his bipolar disease with the ketogenic diet.”
“Why Mitochondria Are More like a Motherboard Than the Powerhouse of the Cell | Scientific American”
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Being healthy and pain free are among the most effective antidepressants. And making sure you don’t let gravity get you down.
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Sorry I made a mistake
It’s Lithium has no effect at low dosage for BPD.
I cannot feel any mood smooth smoothing effect from lithium, maybe because I only tried lithium dosage under 15mg elemental.
SSRIs give me the most significant effect, but SSRI cannot relieve the emptiness feeling too.
I need to keep trying diffenrent stuff to fulfill my mind, this is the most painful part.
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Sorry to hear that. I hope you find a solution, don’t stop looking.
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