How To Beat Depression During NaNoWriMo

It seems you already have a good hold on what to do to stay upbeat. You don't need help from us.

But I would say that if Nano is making you feel that stressed this year, by all means don't force your way through it! Do something else with the month...let yourself heal, get strong, etc.

Or use nanowrimo, but forget the official rules..set a goal for say, 20,000 words next month...use the counter here and all of that, but go for the personal triumph, nothing more.

Nothing is worth making you feel worse.

"I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul."

Thank you for your response, Tyunglebo. It's greatly appreciated.

I wasn't particularly looking for help on a personal level--that is, unless someone had some ways to stay upbeat that I could try out--but rather, offering help for others who may feel a little down during the month of November. I've weathered the blues for years now, which include two or three NaNoWriMos (and I've won them all). I'm sure there are some Wrimos out there who are having difficult times but still would like to write in November.

I actually set my goal for 75,000 again this year. I'm kind of a masochist like that. But if I'm starting to feel that the task is too monumental for me to meet, I will lower it, no doubt. That was a very reasonable recommendation.

Again, thank you for your advice to perhaps skip NaNo this year, but seeing that it's something I look forward to more than anything else throughout a year, I figure it's more of a healing process than anything else. Writing is very therapeutic to me. Plus, I decided that re-applying as a municipal liaison would be a good idea, so I'm in for the long haul. ;) Being a municipal liaison is a bit stressful, sure, but it forces me to meet new people and break free from my comfort zone without rendering me completely exhausted.

I'm not very good to myself, am I?

NaNo '08
Genre: Fantasy Western
Title: Boot Hill

Art | Blog

I definitely plan to do all I can to stay upbeat. I had a really bad night last night and got afraid I might be heading toward that same old road I take which is: "Ooh, I'm feeling better(or even if I'm not feeling better and just decide to anyway) and am all excited about Nano...lets stop taking my meds and see if I'm still feeling good" ......No not a good thing for me to do. So, I plan to 1. Stay on my meds.

I have also been running my story past my friends to see how they like it or to help me and that really keeps me going.

I don't socialize much either except with my two roommates, so I like meeting new friends and everything too.

My blues kick in when I start losing my sense of humor about this Nano thing. So this year I'm going to start a weird and funny subplot, kept in a separate file from my main novel, which will only be vaguely connected to my main story. I think it will help to have something absolutely silly I can write when the big parts of the story make me feel outmatched and undertalented, but kept in a form I may easily edit out after November.

The quickest thing that kills NaNo for me is getting competitive and listening to my inner critic. I have writer's block issues over my inner critic, and that tends to combine with the depression.

Weirdly enough, NaNo actually helps with depression, because it's a fixed goal. I tend to be able to fight depression better when I have goals I can tick off, quantifiable stuff. So here's hoping!

Personally November and December have always been hard months for me, especially since Daddy got sick/died at that time of year. But Nanowrimo usually keeps me, for the most part, all right, because I love the Toronto community, because it's a fun challenge, and because I'm so crazy I don't give myself enough time TO be miserable.

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I'm so glad you started this thread! I know that November is going to be really tough for me and you've given me some good pointers and some hope for this coming month. I don't really have many suggestions because i usually just flip out. Perhaps, if you don't already, you can schedule a certain time for writing. That way, no matter how busy you are, you always know that there's a spot for your writing and you don't feel like you're cramming it in.

November is always one of the worst parts of the year, but I have found that a few things help.

-Take care of yourself. This is the most important thing you can do. No matter how crappy you feel, make sure that you get some rest, eat healthy, exercise, and take care of all your other basic requirements. Use alarms, sticky notes, or other reminders if you have to.
-Shower and get dressed right away every morning, right down to your shoes, make-up, and hair. Clothing alters how you see yourself, not just how others see you, so this is not a wasted effort, even if you plan to stay home all day. You can make this easier on yourself by picking your clothes a night- or even a week- in advance.
-Treat yourself to something nice while writing, even if you feel that you don't deserve it. A candle, a nice scarf, or a mug of good tea can make a world of difference.
-Don't neglect your surroundings. Even if cleaning your home seems hopeless, just set a timer for ten or twenty minutes and see how much stuff you can put away. Don't get caught up on getting every last speck of dirt off the floor, just take care of the quick stuff like tossing the trash and shoving anything you can out of sight. All that clutter and garbage just makes you feel guilty.
-Turn on some extra lights. Don't worry about wasting electricity. Gloomy lighting worsens depression and makes you feel tired and lethargic. The brighter your lights are, the more energy you have. Just try to use warm, friendly lighting rather than harsh flourescent lighting.
-Resist the urge to re-read. Wait until a month or two after NaNo to start looking back at your work; you don't want to start focusing on the little imperfections until after you have a completed first draft.
-Remind yourself that you're not alone by spending time with people who make you feel needed. Isolation is more common with depression, but if you're in charge of a write-in or just helping out someone you know, you'll feel more appreciated and useful.
-Get out of your house. It's too easy to lose perspective when you are locked up alone in your house. Deciding that Tuesday is grocery day isn't enough, either; make sure that you have plenty of things scheduled where people will be expecting you to be there. It's really easy to drop things that are just for yourself, but it's harder to dissapoint others. Also, don't go crawling back home as soon as you get the chance; you'll have to go through the process of motivating yourself to leave all over again if you have something going on later that day. Instead, pack up everything you'll be needing that day and just go straight from work to the library to the laundromat to dinner with some friends. If you'll need to change your clothes, just keep the clothes in your car and change in a restroom rather than using it as an excuse to hide yourself away again.

God, this is all so appreciated. I was so hyped about Nano a couple of months ago, but recently a variety of shitty stuff has happened, and I'm pretty damn down. I'm kinda hanging on to Nano as something to keep me from going completely mentally/creatively dormant, but I'm worried I just won't be able to summon the spark come November. But I might print out this thread and stick it somewhere prominent...

These are all helpful tips! I'm pretty bad about taking care of myself when I get really depressed. Meds are good if you can get them! I like to have impromptu write-ins with my friends when official Nano write-ins aren't enough! It's good to be with other people who are doing the same thing as me!
___________________________________
*Co-ML for Tucson, AZ*
This is the most fun I've had without lubricant!

___________________________________
*Co-ML for Tucson, AZ*
You see these? You see these words? These are REVLON words!

NaNo's my number one depression beater at the moment. I'm hanging out for November 1st.

Socks, are you a Flybaby? Because you sure sound like one...

I'm generally wary of giving advice on depression because most people never seem to take me seriously, but here goes...

My advice for helping with depression (in general and for Nano too) is get yourself a copy of David D Burns Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Read it. Try advice and techniques in book. Apply and repeat when necessary.

I usually don't recommend self-helps books, only because I've read enough of them to realise how full of crap they can be, but this one is different. Don't be put off by the cheesy cover or title. It's based on tried and tested actual cognitive therapy techniques, and has been in print since 1980. The premise is very simple: your thoughts affect your mood and feelings; many of your thoughts are distorted, so here's some simple, effective ways to change that.

I've been fighting depression on and off for too many years, and so far this book seems to have given me a light at the end of the tunnel (and this time the light is not from an oncoming train!). I know the advice and techniques may seem very simplistic and that they don't apply to you, but try it anyway - you got nothing to lose. If you can get it from your local library, you don't even lose the money.

Anyway, my two cents...

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars
Kahlil Gibran

Yes, actually. However did you guess? XD

I have depression mixed with (or perhaps caused by?) really severe ADHD which wasn't diagnosed until after I dropped out of high school. I managed to create a system for myself that worked fairly well and I got into college. I'm a psychology student, so I learned what caused many of my major trip-ups, but every time I messed up, I started sliding downhill again and I couldn't figure out how to smooth things back out.

Then, I found FlyLady, and three major concepts in her emails helped to slow down the nasty downward spirals I get into. Those three things were that you deserve to take care of yourself because you can't function when you're running on empty, that habits don't form immediately and improvement happens gradually, and that no matter where you are, you are not behind. It's funny how easily you can apply those to NaNo.

But yeah, thanks for bringing that up, dvanulya. FlyLady can probably help out a lot of NaNo'ers. Has anyone made a flybaby group here yet? If not, maybe we should start one.

If anyone here is interested, the website is www.flylady.net/ and the mailing list is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlyLadyMentors/ .

I found a video on that site about starting with the dishes in your sink and now...I wanna do my dishes. Which is good cause most of them have been sitting there all week. I need a shower first though. I've really been lagging in taking care of myself and my place. Its not as bad as it has been in the past, but getting there(piles of garbage bags, dirty dishes, cigarette ash on my tables)

I was on that site for a few mins and it inspired me to accomplish something today. I think that's pretty cool. Thanks.

______

I agree. NaNo beats any kind of depression I have, it doesn't add to it... last year, when my life was awful and busy and strenuous, I made time to write during November, and my novel seemed to sap away all of the bad feelings. It was amazing.

Intention, I think you and Socks said it beautifully.

I know for me being a part of the local Nano group is key. The boards are great, but there's nothing like going to a write in with a bunch of other fabulously creative people to make you feel fabulous and creative.

I had such a bad depression last year I had to be kept home from school for over a month. It almost killed me, quite literally.

My advice is -

1. Take responsibilty. Realise that only -you- can change your feelings, that only you can sit down and type that novel, that you can only rely on -yourself-.

2. Realise you always, ALWAYS have a choice. You may have to pay the consequences, but you DO have a choice. I realised this last year when I started refusing to go to school, even though before I would have easily gone against my parents as breathed underwater. You have a choice in everything you do.

Would type more, but this keyboard is awkward.

http://muserampant.wordpress.com/ - Writing Blog

2005: Musical Scales (53K)
2006: Myra (50K)
2007: Dark of Day (50K)
2008: The King's Hand &
Spiderweb Skin &
Featherwitch &
Crows and Pencils (163K total)

Another bi-polar, reporting for NaNo! :)

One of the best things that I've found is insanely simple: eat good food. Seriously. I know you'll just want to grab a handful of candy or chug a soda during November, but don't do it, at least not all the time. Have a stockpile of simple healthy snacks. Your energy levels will be more regular, and so will your moods.

:)

These are wonderful recommendations and I'm glad to see the overwhelming support here. Thank you everyone!

NaNo '08
Genre: Fantasy Western
Title: Boot Hill

Art | Blog

Feeling crappy and running low on meds with no way to get more without driving two hours away and...I don't drive.

I'm going to work on my novel to kind of ignore these feelings and so maybe if I accomplish something I will feel better. Maybe.

So, I guess my advice is to keep pushing forward. Accomplishing something is always a good feeling.

Sorry if I post way too much on this thread, October is a rough month for me.

A few things that I find help...

Fresh air. Even if it's a little chilly out and you need to put on a jumper/coat/whatever have the window open, if only for a while, while you work. Go for a walk, it's good to get out for a while and I often find I get some of my best ideas while out walking and listening to music.

Talk to people. As others have said, a writing buddy is good. I'm lucky this year in that I have my friend doing NaNo as well so we can keep each other's spirits up and keep bouncing ideas off each other. Usually I'm not a very sociable person and it's very easy for me to hide away from the world, so, don't ignore the people around you (however tempting it may be sometimes), spare some time for them, even if you're writing at the same time.

Ditto-ing the point about good food, some fruit and veg. I know one idea which is pretty much always thrown up for that is carrot sticks, but there's plenty of other stuff too. I like a good apple or satsuma. If it's cold then hot drinks are good, I love my tea, but hot squash/fruit juice drinks are good too, and, of course, water.

Also ditto-ing the keeping on top of the state of the house/room/self. Keeping your work space clear and clean and light just generally makes things feel better I find.

NaNoWriMo actually got me through two of the worse times in my entire life. The first was a house fire(right in the middle of the month!) and the second was the back-to-back loss of my two dearest pets. The thing that got me through was simply writing. I lost myself in my worlds and typed like mad - I read somewhere that the you can become addicted to using a keyboard because the act of typing sets off feel-good chemicals in your brain, and I'm certain that helps with depression.

Another bit of advice that I find applies to both writing and depression is to take a walk. A nice long walk, at least long enough that you can get into it. I usually take my dog for a 2 mile walk everyday - it works wonders when I'm feeling down or have writer's block. It can really take care of two birds with one stone.

I want to third the eating good food. Snack on fresh veggies and juices when you can. For one NaNo I got a big case of V8, and cauliflower is a personal favorite snack.

Going to meetings definitely helps as well, the people who do NaNo are generally very friendly and supportive. I look forward to NaNoWriMo every year because, despite November usually being one of the worse months in my year, I feel so good for most of the month that nothing else matters.

Alaska/Mat-su Valley Co-ML

Yay for the Trebuchet Club!

This is just the thread I needed to read. I've been bouncing on and off from depression for some good three years now. This year I told myself it would be different, and all these things people posted here are true (keep yourself busy, not stressed, just moving, talking to people, getting out of the house, exercising, eating better, do anything, DO SOMETHING!!). One of my goals was to write more, do NaNo and win, or at least get close ;) . Though there were a few bad moments (some very recent), I managed to get by this year pretty ok. I started outlining the plot and the characters and gathering ideas for the novel a couple of days ago and I couldn't be more excited to just start typing. In a way I'm using this NaNo as a major F***-YOU to depression, specially because I participated last year and barely made out of 10k before quitting, but this year I'm preparing.

Also, I've been postponing this for a couple of months now, I intend to quit smoking this November (I even made my MC someone who's quitting too). I tried once, started getting really nervous and picked it up again. I guess it's something extra to be nervous for a while, but it's fot the best in the long run (though my devious mind already starts thinking of marlboro packs for the 10k line and so on...)

I see I'll be coming back to this thread November comes.

Oh, good luck with quitting smoking! I've managed to stay off them since the 5th of September, and it really is for the best. I used to smoke mostly as a stress reliever, so I can empathise with the nervousness, and it does get easier.

How To Beat Depression During NaNoWriMo: With a big stick.

I'm bipolar, and if NaNo were in the spring, it would be so much easier for me. Of course, then my novels wouldn't make any sense at all, instead of occasionally making sense. I do find that NaNo is a good mood-booster, though, because it's fun to write, and to hang out with your local NaNo posse and on the boards.

I bought a book called Get It Done When You're Depressed: 50 Strategies for Keeping Your Life on Track, and I haven't read the whole thing, but I like it, 'cause some of us are depressed a whole lot of the time and we have to find ways to work around it.

I'm in the middle of getting officially diagnosed, but it's generally agreed I have some sort of Depression/anxiety issue.

And, of course, the winter months are even worse on me, due to the extreme lack of sun.
What do I do?
I go on walks, soak in the sun I can.
I gain warmth from those who love me, absorb that feeling, and carry it to my writing.
I take a lot of showers because they make me feel awake and fresh
I clean my writing area every day to make sure I don't get too uninspired
and I reward myself in little ways when I accomplish my word count for the day. :)

If you can't be a good example, you've an obligation to be a horrible warning - Joey Comeau

Yeah, I'm bipolar.
The big worry is that I'll let mania tear me away in a whirl of writing and I'll have a massive crash afterwards.
Everyone knows their own mind better than anyone else.
If you feel yourself getting up, or down, stop.
Just take a break.
Get a drink (non-caffeinated is best for mental health issues!!!).
Grab a snack.
Sit back, watch a tv program.
Have a bath (actually, this is probably one of the best ideas - a long, hot soak with a book to read whilst you're in!).

Then, your mind will be relaxed again, and you'll have a better idea of how you're feeling.
The biggest thing for me, being both physically disabled as well as mentally, is to totally ignore the daily wordcount. I write when I can write, and I tend to find some days I'll write 5k, others a couple of paragraphs. On the days you're feeling better, just let the scenes develop, they'll easily turn into high word counts. It means learning a new way of writing, but it really works.
I never write from the beginning of the book, I write scenes, and tie them together.
I get a good idea of various scenes that will happen throughout the novel, and I just choose one I like the idea of, and go with it.

And remember, this is a FUN thing to do, keep in touch with your friends and family, and people on the boards. If you find you're having problems, just stop. You don't have to complete it, it's something nice and fun to try at. Don't get depressed because your plot is going all over the place, and your characters aren't anything like you thought they would be - look at the boards, everyone else is in the same situation!
NaNo has an amazing ability to let plot and characters run away with the story.
Just accept it for this month :-)

Remember to eat well, and regularly, and do at least 5 minutes of tidying up in each room at the beginning of every day.
Keep the desk you write at (computer or otherwise) clean and tidy; it will help your mental state.
Put a bin next to it right now!
Any chocolate wrappers, crisp packets, any snack related items that you use during NaNo, put into that bin straight away!
It'll help you massively!

Try to eat an apple a day, and drink a portion of juice.
Drinking coffee and eating chocolate, whilst good for other people, has a detrimental effect on the mind of those already prone to problems. Apples are perfect energy sources, and juice is lovely and refreshing, and gives you a really healthy energy boost!

If you're lucky enough to have a pet type shop nearby that holds smaller animals for adoptions, go there every couple of days just to look at the cute furry things :-)
I'm lucky; there's a Pets at Home pretty much next door, and they have rabbits and guinea pigs inside.
If you have a pet yourself, schedule time to just sit with the pet and have good pet - human time.

Nicola

This is also a great thread for me. I have suffered with depression for years, but was only diagnosed with it six months ago. I have participated in NaNo for three of them, but I have always given up and I'm determined not to do that this year.

Great advice all around here, and I have one thing to add: Find an escape. Sometimes writing can overwhelm, so I try to find another outlet. Specifically (for myself) with collages and painting, because not only is it distracting, but it can also help spark ideas you can use later.

Also, it's a wonder what exercise can do for you. It has been mentioned in other posts, but it releases endorphins and just makes you plain feel better about yourself. Dance and yoga are my personal favorites, but they are just suggestions.

When I am depressed I make excuses why not to go out and even when I'm not bad off I have a hard time with social activities anyway. But when I do force myself out I do feel better at least in part, so I guess it can't hurt.

Good luck to all of you and thanks for your help!

"There is not one big cosmic meaning for all, there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person."
-Anais Nin

I'm another one who is glad to have found this thread. I debated doing this last year, but I was diagnosed then with anxiety (the diagnosis for depression followed in March) and it was a very rough month for me. I am going to remember these tips and that there are lots of other NaNoers who are suffering from the same things I am. My life is rather rough at the moment, but I truly think NaNo will help. Maybe I should write down some of these names, just in case though... somebody who knows what you're going through would be nice. Or, better yet, maybe we should have a group of us.