Does anyone have any suggestions for depression.

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I have Affective disorder, Anxiety Disorder Not otherwise specified, Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1, Bipolar and borderline Personality Disorder. We live in Missouri, and my twin sister is away at Stanford for school and the separation has been really hard for me lately. I have felt suicidal, and we are doing everything that we can do to keep me out of the hospital. Is there anything that has helped one of you with depression other than increased mess and any type of hospitalization.

Exercise. It just takes a lot to start.

Stop eating anything that contains sugars. Boycott them all. Completely.
Namely : High-Fructose Corn-Syrup, Refined Sugars, Processed Sugars, Candies, Pop, Soda, Soft-Drinks, etc.

When I am at my lowest, physical pain is the only thing that will reduce the agony of my depression.

Explore the source of it, I know sometimes everything just feeds into a background hum and you have no source but often there are things poking out that radiate a lot of bad stuff and once sifted and acknowledged it becomes more of a flow again, I'd advise it being explored with a guide like a counselor but I know that's not always possible.

What works for me is getting out in nature; interaction with animals.

Physically viewing huge natural vistas can be breathtakingly reviving to one's mood.

Getting stuck into a hobby or interest can change your mood once you force yourself into initiating the activity, which is the hard part.

Are you on medication?

Yes

Marijuana?

There's a really good book, called 'The Antidote' by Oliver Burkeman, that helped me through depression.

It really depends on the person. It seems like you have a lot of compounding issues that affect how you experience depression. That being said, many of the techniques that people generally use can help alleviate the symptoms or at least make them more bearable.

First of all, if you experience suicidal ideation and you feel you might be a danger to yourself if left to your own devices then it's a good idea to make use of a suicide hotline or out of hours crisis team. I don't know what help is available to you, but it is important to seek others when you are having these vulnerable feelings. If others aren't an option, you should do something that keeps your mind away from the situation. I know this is frustrating to hear, but sometimes binge watching Netflix can save your life. If that still doesn't disuade you or you are concerned that you can't control your behaviour, you have to call an ambulance immediately. No excuses.

However for the day to day difficulties that comes with depression, it's really a case of setting the bar much lower until you are more capable of getting by. This can mean not doing as much as you would normally do but at least doing something. For me, it's getting some housework done when all I want to do is sleep all day. I would start small like washing a couple of dishes and then going back to bed for a while and then starting again and then going back to bed until the task is done. Not ideal, but better than just staying in bed all day.

Also remember to let your doctor and/or psychiatric team know your progress and how things are going for you. You don't have to wait until your allotted appointment to let them know that somethings gone wrong. I don't know much about BPD but I know that people with this condition have very complex needs and their mental state can change very quickly and unexpectedly. So if you are needing more intense psychiatric support, communication is important in letting them know whether you are capable of handling this stuff on your own.

I know this is stuff you probably already know and it's probably getting old now. But in my experience (even with psychiatric support) I often feel like you have to white-knuckle it until the feeling passes.

How would an ambulance help in this situation?

If you are seriously suicidal (like, with a plan that to through with it) and you can't talk yourself out of it, then you should call an ambulance or get somebody to take you to the hospital.

This is only for the worst case scenario, of course. Mitigating suicidal feelings through self care is better than letting these thoughts fester.

I find being creative helps me the most. I enjoy crafting when I am depressed. I knit, crochet, draw, and make jewelry for my friends and family. I also find going to the craft store relaxing, so that is a bonus.

If you ever find yourself crying and you would like to stop it , take a front video or a pictures of yourself.

Depending on the severity of your depression, if you are close to eating a bullet or cutting arteries, try putting a rubber band (preferably big, like the ones used to hold together broccoli) around your wrist and snapping it. Physical pain will distance you from the agony in your mind.