How to Destroy Your Depression

The cycle of depression can trap you and prevent you from moving forward in life. In today's video we explore why depression causes cognitive biases and how to deal with that.

▼ Timestamps ▼
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00:00 - Introduction
00:39 - Perception and cognitive bias
03:57 - Inciting event
09:22 - The problem with treatment
16:15 - Interpretation of ambiguous stimuli
18:12 - The cycle of over-generalization
21:02 - Thematic apperception test
23:14 - Depressive realism

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Healthy Gamer is an online community and resource platform for gamers and their families. It does not provide medical services or professional counselling, and it is not a substitute for professional medical care. Our coaches are peer supporters, not professionally trained experts, and they cannot provide medical service. If you or a loved one are experiencing an emergency, please call your nation's emergency telephone number.

All guests of Healthy Gamer are informed of the public, non-medical nature of the content and have expressly agreed to share their story.

[Lily-cxvo]

I appreciated the part about depression realism because my depression is often triggered by frustration and it is SO frustrating to see the world in a negative light but be told “it’s not that bad, just be happy anyway.” That doesn’t help me, it makes me lash out and cling to my depression even more. By acknowledging it, it is a relief, like “yep, ok, I understand and now maybe I can let it go anyway.”

[biglew]

"If you look for the light, you can often find it. But look for the dark and that is all you will ever see." -Iroh

[Brr_Brr_Brian]

You HAVE TO BELIEVE that you can heal from this depression. Trust me. I did the work, and the work is WORTH IT. Moving to another country, layoffs because of the economy, an HIV diagnosis, separation from the military, separation from my partner of 11 years, living paycheck to paycheck, and many, many others.
But you have to have hope…
You might even need to start with it, because it WILL get better, but you cannot give up so easily.

[ahem]

ive noticed im almost addicted to depressive and “”unaliving”” thoughts. if i’m feeling bad or stressed about something, it feels really good to think about death and dying. usually i can resist, but sometimes i give in and it feels like snoozing an alarm and letting myself fall back into warm sleep, rather than get up and be real about my life (ie think objectively). the pull that it has freaks me out a bit.

[jorge]

One important thing that I personally want to add to a doctor Ks thing at the end about depressive realism is that as I’ve been climbing out of depression, having been in it before, I don’t see the world in this “ignorance of bad things / the world is sunshine and rainbows” delusion, rather, I am able to more accurately see that there are positives as well as there are negatives. So I am privy to all of the horrible things in this life, and they do affect how I feel, but I can now finally feel and be aware of all the positives that there also truly are. So to those that are depressed and feel like they see the world more accurately and don’t want to think that if they become happier they’re going to lose that sense of realism, don’t worry, because you will still be aware of all the shit happening trust me. You will just be a better gauge of reality overall, by recognizing the good that there also is. This has made me more human, more happy and more appreciative of the beauty in my life.

[zachlove]

I've gotten a better understanding of what is going on with me from this channel than I have the last several therapists combined.

[ratjesus]

I cleaned my room today for the first time in months, I'm also doing laundry and I did dishes and took out trash, I'm pretty proud of myself. EDIT: holy cow this has a ton of likes, wow. Thank you all for your kind words, it's been very motivating seeing the replies every so often and I greatly appreciate it. Thank you all once again. EDIT 2: I've seen people asking how I'm doing and I wanted to wait a bit before answering. I'm alive at least. I've been really struggling again mostly due to me and my now ex splitting. It's been months but I'm still grieving but it's one step at a time a guess. I decided now would be a good time to make an edit because I decided something yesterday. I'm gonna go through and find everything that reminds me of her that I cherished and I'm gonna retake that for myself. Gotta start somewhere fellas and fellets, as well as everyone in between. Hope you all are doing better than I've been, and again thank you for the kind words and words of encouragement. It really means a lot. So again thank you all. EDIT 3: this is likely the final edit but I've got some interesting news. My best friend who I've known for at least 12 years now has asked me if I'd like to fill in as an uncle to his kid. I told him I'd be honored. I've never so much as even held a kid so I guess it'll be a learning experience for the both of us. At any rate I hope you're all doing well, staying hydrated, and keeping yourselves up. Good luck out there y'all! EDIT 4: I'm alive. I still struggle greatly with depression but I'd like to think I'm doing alright. I've been meeting new people and connecting with a few old friends. Speaking of a girl I hadn't heard from in years messaged me and we've actually kinda hit it off. I also actually just redid my whole room so things feel a lot more spacious right now and I also have a new shelf for my things:). My health has kinda leveled out a bit but I'm certainly not well. Good news is I'm about to get insurance so I can go see people about these things. Progress is slow but it's there. I'm really doing my best and seeing people still to this day reply with kind words means a lot. Thank you all very much, and I hope you all are doing well in such difficult times.

[waitingonamonabel]

This is literally free therapy. Thank you for doing what you do. I think you saved me today.

[RipTommy]

My childhood was extremely unstable and I was abused by my father who could not control his emotions and would take his rage out on me regularly. I am now 25 and despite years of trying to change I cannot escape the thought patterns that have been engrained in me deeply. I am extremely mentally ill.

[CristhianMosquera-zrwj]

"Depression is like the HIV AIDS of mental illness"

5 seconds into the video and K is already spitting fire

[peacewillow]

i've been told that i am experiencing "situational depression", except the situations are non-stop.
the series that broke me was when my only child died, my 17 year marriage ended and i became homeless.
the weird thing is, i'm absolutely capable of finding happiness wherever i am, but i definitely feel held back by the perception that nothing i do really matters, and i'll never have the life i dreamed of, so why bother doing anything?
i'm content where i am, but i know i should probably be doing 🥀

[aldenyoung]

I used to struggle with crippling anxiety. It was so bad that I eventually wasn’t able to feel anything besides that terrible feeling all day every day. My grandmother often says, “seek and you shall find.” I devoted my whole life to finding peace and it has finally started to work. I read countless books, watched videos, went to events, and watched my mind for hours on end. I understand how hard it can get, but if you want to live a happy life you will.

[capyparis]

this is the kinda therapist i want.. he explains things so well and gives actual solutions 😭😭

[ChaoticAnswers]

I breaked out of depression last year. Nothing in my life much changed. I managed to let go. It's a wonderful feeling. It took a few months of not being depressed to realise I'm not depressed. Asking for help and also realising I deserve help. I matter and I'm allowed to ask for help

[yakcitytony]

I just recently became homeless again and have spent the last week in a really bad place, your videos have been helping me continue to try and take care of myself and improve my situation. Thank you

[dameanvil]

00:00 🔄 Depression creates a vicious cycle, akin to the HIV/AIDS of mental illness, attacking motivation and leading to further problems in life.
02:35 🧠 Blind spots in perception illustrate how the mind fills gaps with assumptions, a significant issue in depression.
04:14 🤔 Cognitive biases in depression include negative interpretation of ambiguous events, selection bias towards the negative, and overgeneralization of memories.
07:31 🔄 Depression distorts the balance of positive and negative events, leading to an overgeneralized negative self-attitude.
09:53 🔄 Treatment often neglects the perception problem, perpetuating the cycle of depression.
11:44 🧘 Yoga's mental exercises, like the mentality materiality exercise, can train perception and complement traditional treatments.
13:51 🧠 Practicing the mentality materiality exercise involves recognizing the attributes inherent in objects versus the interpretations added by the mind.
16:11 📝 To combat cognitive biases, actively challenge negative interpretations by creating procon lists for perceived negative situations.
18:03 🔄 Overgeneralization can be addressed by seeing things as they truly are through practices like the mentality materiality exercise.
18:15 🔄 Overgeneralization involves excessive self-blame in depression; individuals often perceive everything as about themselves.
19:10 🧠 Ketamine induces dissociation, breaking the cycle of depression; cognitive reframe helps practice removing the "I" from overgeneralized thinking.
20:49 🤔 Overgeneralization thinking links to excessive self-focus; consider external factors in interpretations to break the cycle.
22:13 🧠 Train perception by recognizing and challenging cognitive biases like selection bias, negative interpretation of ambiguity, and overgeneralization.
23:37 ⚖ Depressive realism: Depressed individuals may have a more accurate judgment of the world, but this realism doesn't contribute to a healthy mindset.

[flinngordon]

278 days ago I attempted suicide. I had severe depression. After my attempt I completely broke and told myself that even though I failed this time there will be a next time, and I won’t have the strength to pull myself through it. I was my own greatest fear. I couldn’t even confront what was happening to my own mind.

I worked incredibly hard on myself, and nothing changed day by day. But now I would hardly say that I’m even depressed. I went to therapy, and I learnt these things about my mind in my own way. I’m content, I’m fully functional and I plan for my own future. I fixed my life and with time, patience and kindness you can improve yourself too.

[yfaitube]

I’ve been dealing with the sudden relapse of my anxiety and depression and I’ve been reading and re-learning a lot of buddhist teachings. This psychiatrist crystallised their teachings into the most practical guides. This is it. ❤❤❤

[Bendilin]

My best practical advice; Don't sit down. Take thirty minutes just to get out of bed if you need to, but once you are up, stay up. Sitting down is the single worst thing you can do for helping your motivation. Stay standing. Walk. Clean. Organize. Even if you stand around staring at the walls idly, you'll eventually start just... getting things done. And as you gradually gets things done, you will be setting yourself up for a better environment to be healthier.

[klanderkal]

I am suffering horribly from bad depression. I retired!! I I made a HUGE mistake. I never wanted to Retire.! But, under the extreme stressful life altering family situations., I did, then after, I realized I DIDN'T have to retire, and that I was told things that weren't true!! I couldn't return to my position, and lost everything. I lost my position, that took 20 yrs to achieve, my co worker social interactions, my structure, my at work involvements ( clubs, sports activities, after work stuff, my uniform, and my identity along with self confidence )
I'm alone now, I no longer have joy, fun, and any desire to go anywhere. Every day, I'm miserable, unhappy and worst is self blame/hate. Depression has grown to all mistakes ive made in my life.! My mental and physical have declined as I have no will, want to live anymore. ( and Yes!, I've considered). I'm constantly though, telling myself to stop these negative thinking patterns, and force better one's. Just because I retired, completely destroyed my life.! Which most would b excited about. Maybe it's just me..? My struggle/torture is real.... Help, is all my heart can ask 🙏