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I have a lot of stress and get depressed easily now. I have many reasons because of this, but don't really feel like sharing..Anyway when I get stressed out and depressed I eat and I mean I eat. I once ate a whole oreo bag and once ate a whole thing of ice cream. I don't even know I'm eating it..I just eat and eat. I don't get full or anything and I later had feeling in my stomach I never ate all this food. Anyway, I don't know what to really do about it. I mean I've heard bad stories about people cutting themselves or throwing up when they are stressed or depressed. Don't want to do that..soo..

What do you people do when you guys are over stressed and depressed? Maybe your ideas can help me.

**Sighs and takes a deep breath** Im going to be perfectly out in the open here about this whole stressed/depressed topic. I used to be one of thoes people who would cut themselves, and I mean I would tear my arms and legs apart with razor blades, knives, anything I could use to get the blood flowing. I always wore long sleeves and pants ((yes even in the summer)) just to hide it all. And you know what, even to this day no one knew that it was going on. I knew what I was doing in wrong and I needed to stop, but its not one of thoes things that you can just stop. I became so dependant on the physical pain to numb my pain that was inside me.

Oddly enough, things took a turn for the better when I got into a horrible car accident ((Lets just say it involved a teen on a bike without a helmet, a broken windshield, and a lot of blood, but the fault was not mine, it was the stupidity of the kid)) But anyway, I had a mental breakdown after that and pretty much just shut down. My family sent me to see a psychiatrist but I couldnt bring myself to devulge my aweful secret even then.

After a whole lot of pshycological tests and some blood work they found out that I suffered from clinical depression. It never crossed my mind before then that this could have been something more then a will power problem. They talked to me about being put on medications, but I have an irrational fear of taking perscribed meds so I refused. I knew this was something I had to tackle on my own.

I had new insight into what was wrong with me, and it was either fix it myself or deal with the horrible medications they would put me on. I started to find new outlets for my internal issues that did not include mutilating myself. It was the hardest thing Ive ever had to do, I had to force myself to not pick up that blade. Eventually I learned to pick up a pensil instead.

No matter what the ailment, it can be overcome by willpower. I learned that the hard way. Now I just write and draw pages and pages whenever I am feeling the urge to hurt myself. I have dozens of notebooks filled with journals, poems, stories, doodles, and tons of filled drawing pads filled with bloody and macrabre images. It helps, it really does.

So yeah, thats my story. In short, if you are really worried about your methods of stress/depression relief then all it takes is some will power and finding a new outlet. I know it seems hard, and I wont lie, it is, but it is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world to know you changed something about yourself that is potentially damageing. I must admit that at this point in my life, I have never been happier. Sure Im still prone to depression, but thats something I cant help becuase I refuse medications. But Ive saved my own life and Im happy.

... I go through the exact same problem... It's weird, as if some kind of reflex to bring proper balance back to my moods...

Sorry, I didn't know..eh..I'm not very smart after all..I should read things before I post anything..

there is another one that I just discovered today...

When I am stressed, I like to shop and spend monies I don't have stare

maybe you could try substituting the food?

Like celery and ranch....or snow cones or something?