Maybe 10% if I'm trying to be optimistic. But there are moments that are 80-100%. Just so few...

For me the more stark question is the percentage of time feeling burdened. 60%

Working on it bro. Shit takes time. Life emerges and when it does grab onto it. I try to not to judge myself. The more you let it be and try to become conscious the more you will feel alive.

All of it.

Fuck this one hit hard, I'd say a good %7

I am waiting for this book to come out. [amazon.com]

I've had seasons of depression, but they were temporary - triggered by circumstances. I feel for you.

Otherwise life goes on mostly pleasantly enough, punctuated by highs that I know I can create, but often am too busy hiding from

I try to maintain my attitude of gratitude, as I know I'm so much better off than so many.

I am in this place sometime s but not so often now I am past 70 y.o.Something seems ot have changed maybe a bit more acceptance I don't really know - I have been a lot worse and have had quite few suicide attempts and have been in psyche units often but then life started getting easier /or I did.these days Iam nore frustrated about what is going on, and angry at it rather than depressed.

Depression is a beast.

100%. I feel for you. I am fortunate in that even though I have experienced great sadness in my life-monster father, loss of a child-I do not get depressed. Ever. Sad, yes. Good luck finding a path that works for you.

I suffer from Schizoaffective disorder. A good part of that is major depression, so I know what you mean.

I have two things that I do in life that make me feel not only alive, but good about myself.
One is my writing and recording music. I feel creative, and it takes my mind off of what ever down feelings I may have at the time.

The other is I volunteer at a homeless shelter most of the week.
That has many things that help me feel alive and good about myself.
I love helping others, I've needed help before so I know what kindness can do for a person.
Plus it's a form of therapy, I have a tremendous fear of being around people.
My work there helps me over come that a lot.

What i did was i made my job very important to me and i enjoyed it. Got to the point where my vacations were for health and i wanted to go back to work. The things i wanted to do on vacation werw the thinga that mattered to me. Visiting family. Traveling across the state to visit a friend. Work on my computer and motorcycle. I don't chase material things that much anymore and feel simpler and happier.

I struggle with depression too, though I'm feeling more alive the last few years than I have through most of my life. A big part of that I have to attribute to a life-changing illness, it kind of blew my life open in ways I couldn't have imagined. Good or bad, I feel so much these days,

About 2%, maybe 3%. If I'm underwater with all my critter relatives, then I'm up in the 80% to 90%.

I'm not sure. It's difficult to gague how alive one feels when one has narcolepsy. I'm half asleep most of the time.

I have had some extremely sad and tragic episodes in my life, but I have never suffered from depression. I can't even conceive of what it must be like to go through life like that. I am very sorry. I feel alive 100% of the time, even when I have been in the depths of despair. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, that would help, but I know they would ring hollow. All I can offer is that, although I don't know what it is like, I feel compassion for a person that lives in such sadness.

I am alive 90% of the time. I suffer from anxiety and depression at times, but I have learned that your life is only as good as you believe it is. I see so much Beauty in the world and I search for joy. It is easy to see the bad and focus on the negative, but all that does is make you mad and sad and depressed. So making a conscious effort to see the good will change your life. Also make a commitment to meet people and make connections. This will help you enjoy life more. Human connection is one of the best preventative to depression. I hope my comments help, it has been a really long road to this place in my life. I just wanted to share what I have learned.

I am living in terms of existing. That’s all really. I empathize with your feelings about being robbed of actual living. My situation is weird. Monday to Friday, 9-5 I appear vivacious and cheerful (what people annoyingly call a “people person&rdquo I have a senior position at work and would be classed as a “high performer” blah blah.
The truth is that outside work I manage my inner pain with prescription drugs, which is turning into an issue. I come home from work and eat a microwave meal and go to bed. People drain my energy and I don’t really feel like I like human beings very much, and every weekend I just sleep because I am so depressed. I came to the USA 4 years ago, to Chicago, and I haven’t even seen around the city. I know this isn’t actually living. I guess what I am trying to say in a long winded way is you will never know how many people are suffering from mental health issues. At all socio-economic levels, all genders, all races people have overt or secret struggles and are not actually living life. You are not alone. Everyone has terrible moments of depression in their lives and for 1 in 3 of us, it’s a permanent condition. I think many many people will empathize about the way you feel. You can message me if you feel really low and want a kind word.

about 100

I feel very alive but sometimes the constant struggle seems like too much and I wish I wasn't alive. I guess that makes me depressed but it just feels like common sense to me.

Maybe I don't understand the question, but I feel alive 100% of the time. I'm not always happy, but I'm alive and I'm happy that I am alive...

In my youth I met a psychologist who helped me with advice I practice to this day. I had graduated from college in December and moved to a small southern city for my first job. It was always dark, my college girlfriend broke up. You know the story.

So he said what made me happy in college. Well I hiked in the mountains with my friends. Had u done that since I moved to small town? No. What else do you like he said . He made me keep going until I named 20 things

And then he said. So before we meet next week I want you to do five of these 20. And I did. I learned that we are happy when we do things that make us happy. I still practice this . I walk 5 miles a week four times. I find two new musical acts I like. I garden. I read a book. I try a new wine. I joined agnostic.com. I just got back from Alaska.

Most of it is small and doesnt cost anything. Live what you like.

I guess I'm not a person that suffers with depression some days are better than others and some resemble a bowl of f*** but I feel alive all the time I interact with people daily I also take my quiet time in the park generally on the way home from work. I like to wander around in my own little world for a bit. (I put up mirrors to make it look bigger) my dog's Dudley and Fenwick give me great satisfaction and if I am down I think of Eric Idle hanging on the cross singing always look at the bright side of life.

This is your LIFE, not a rehearsal.

I feel alive all the time, although I’m in a lot of pain for most of it. If you mean happy/ecstatic/in awe relatively little of it. Maybe 5% if I’m lucky. Herb, nature, music, comedy, star gazing, yoga/martial arts/the moment manual labor is done and human connection are what make me feel most alive. I can usually be making a concerted effort to put more of those things in my life but sometimes when you’re already depressed it’s hard to make yourself get up to bother. I get it, I’m there myself most days. Try to do it anyways though.

I just noticed a significant increase in my energy today by resisting carbs and eating two massive salads for dinner. It’s little things like that that you’ve gotta identify and make habits of. I love carbs but damn I’m starting to confirm for myself that refined sugar and simple carbs are poison to the mind/motivation/gut flora all over. If you want to feel better about yourself finish the things you start and make improvements in your habits. Don’t try to change everything at once, pick something relatively big you wanna do like give up smoking, sugar or carbs, or start exercising and start one thing at a time, hold yourself to it for a couple weeks and notice how much better you feel. Relish in each new bit of energy or strength you build and channel it into a new hobby. Keep up each new habit for a couple weeks to a month before trying to change something else big about your life and your willpower will build momentum.

I know it’s easier said than done but by no means impossible. I’ve lost 100 lbs twice and regained it 2 1/2 times, working on getting rid of that extra half again now. I’m no personal trainer but looking back on what I learned during my quickest weight loss and getting myself out of a rut, that’s mostly what did it for me. Free your mind and your ass will follow works both ways. Free your ass and your mind will follow.

Learning to play drums and doing hot yoga for the hips was really mentally liberating as well as physically. Look up psoas release yoga on YouTube; sounds crazy but that’s where most of our emotional tension gets stored: your hips. Dance or roll around on tennis balls or go get a massage, anything to loosen up your hips and your mental state will change I guarantee it. Take any form of creative exercise that gets you in touch with your body and/or nature and throw yourself into it little by little while changing your habits one at a time. Productive sweat and self discipline are the way to a satisfied mind from what I can tell so far. It’s more fun than it sounds once you start feeling the benefits, let’s do it. Go go go do the thing!

100%