DepressionIndiaOnline Forums

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Last week I finally went to a psychiatrist and told him my life story, all the ups and downs, everything. At the end of it all, he told me he thought I had dysthymia, as well as some strong psychological lingerings.

I'm socially active, have a lot of friends, have a successful career going, and always eat and sleep well. I've just got these knee-jerk emotional reactions to certain relational situations (friends or intimate) that, no matter what I do, send me down and down; or rather, knock me into a state of physical disruption and coldness. Usually I can function well in this state, "faking" life in a way that doesn't feed the sadness inside. My hope is that through "practicing" outwardly feeling good, the inside feelings will follow.

And so my question is - What strategies can I rely on when I feel myself going down? What can I do to remain up, without the medication? What do you all do?

My latest strategy: when i'm going down, get on the phone and call whoever I can, and just be relational, and talk. It distracts me from the coldness inside, and doesn't let me go down any farther.