What is the best way to deal with depression?

I know I always used to either go running, take care of my pets or hang out with my best friends to get my mind off of things. But I just moved to an apartment and had to lose half my pets, my best friends aren't available to me (one just got married and the other moved away to Alaska), I can't work out anymore because I have a bad knee injury. I don't have internet or cable or a phone in my apartment so, I'm screwed!!! Any ideas? I've been reading and writing alot...

I've lived by myself for over 30 years and been retired for about 7 years.
Friends are important as is exercise, pets, Internet and other STUFF but the most important thing you can learn is all about yourself and accepting yourself.

It looks like, whether it be consciously or unconsciously, you've placed yourself in a position to learn to accept yourself in a raw state without the distractions of your friends, working out or cable/net.

Coming face to face with yourself is not easy nor is it entirely pleasurable at first but after a while you realise 'you' and 'your growth' are your only reasons for being, other than the real 'only reason' which is to procreate.

You could spend your time investigating religions and InvisibleSkyPixie stuff but again these are only distractions.

The Buddha said: All of life is Suffering.
If you break that down to digestible bites it goes like this: All of life is Suffering - all Suffering is caused by Ignorance/all Suffering is caused by Desire and or Expectations. All Desires are for Different Circumstances.

Therefore if you can be happy with what you have OR you can be unhappy.

I realise this sounds trite, simplistic and all that sorta stuff but THAT IS all there is.
(The KISS Principle = KeepItSimpleStupid)

Everything we ever do is so as we can get some Happy as a result.
I heard that when I was about eight years old and I've been trying to disprove it ever since without success.

GoodLuck on your journey/quest.

Oh, the other thing that may help to save you is: Don't take ANYTHING too seriously - it's only stuff that happens between Birth and Death.

I have a bad knee as well, I use a staff to distribute my weight against my knee.

I dealt with my depression with hiking. Nature is the best cure. I believe my soul wanted to travel and to get away from all the negative energy from the city. I go hiking 3 or 4 times a month depending if i have time. I make a 4 to 6 hour journey in the mountains before i come back down. I feel so great when i am on the top with the wind blowing, clean fresh air above the smog ,2900 feet above elevation with a great view of multiple cities. If you dint have mountains, forest can do as well. Nature is a place to heal yourself because it only has positive energy to share with you.

The other thing is while i hike, the only thing I worry about is not falling down and having enough water for my trip. best way to put it is that you leave all your troubles behind and your mind is cleared and free of negative thoughts.

I dint think you have to do that much, but if you have no experience in hiking, i would say go with a friend to be on the safe side. Take lots of water, rope, small knife, backpack first aid, and food.

It's good that you are reading and writing. Read Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by Hubbard (you can get it on Amazon.com or at the library). It will give you lots of insight into unwanted/negative feelings and what you can do about them to get relief. Even just getting more understanding of the mind helps a lot.
Feel better!

u can talk to me for the while dogmicjoe@yahoo.com

Exercise is a definite mood-lifter. Think about what exercise you can do--even while you have a bad knee. Your doctor should tell you what is safe for you to do. So, while waiting to return to running--try something new! If all else fails, you can do stretching, and upper body strengthening exercises.

Time to make new friends or just interact with new people. Take your book and your pen and notebook to the nearest coffee shop and hang out there! Volunteer for some organization in your new neighborhood. Being with people is a good mood-lifter too.

I love making collages. All you need is a piece of paper, some old magazines, scissors, and a glue stick. You can make a collage one of two ways. In the first method, you just flip through magazines and tear out pix that appeal to you. Don't think about it too much. Make a collage, then look at it to see what you think it expresses.

The second way is to think about how you are feeling or about a thought that is running through your mind, and search for pictures that express this.

I journal on the back of my collages sometimes. It can be very therapeutic. Try it!

Hang in there!