YouTube and Depression

I struggle with depression too. What helps me is pushing my self to get out of my comfort zone, and experience new stuff.
Depression and anxiety is hard, but manageable, if you have a strong support system. We are all here to support you. Good luck.
 
Missy said:
So I struggle with Anxiety and Depression and it makes me discouraged to make videos sometimes like my effort won't matter. Does anyone have any advice for me? I love doing YouTube videos, but it gets in the way.
Click to expand...


I actually have suffered from anxiety and depression for a long time, and for a while creating youtube videos was one of the only things that made me feel whole. But now recently I have been getting really upset when a video i upload doesn't do that well. It's hard sometimes because we do work so hard on our content. I personally spend a good 20-25 hours just trying to put out one video a week, and with a full time job, that's made it difficult.

Two days ago someone came up to me and said they liked my work and wanted a picture. That really boosted my energy to keep going. I think the goal is to just create if you love to create and occasionally people with appreciate what you've made. When that happens, you really have to cherish it. Hopping on here to YTtalk is also a great way to meet people, talk, and get inspired to keep going! I wish you the best of luck with everything.

P.S. Your videos are pretty awesome, and I'm sure the hard work will pay off someday.
 
I'm autistic and went through alot of therapy and through youtube recently it has boosted my life and confidence in such a short time. just have fun and be your self thats whats important. having just one person into your videos can make you happy. never give up on yourself!
 
I have the lovely couple of anxiety and depression as well. They like to walk around holding hands a lot. I have actually found that YouTube helps me out a bit with it. I feel less anxious about posting now and interacting with internet people in general. Which is great otherwise I couldn't promote haha. It also keeps me busy and helps me forget the depression sometimes. I got hit rather hard a few weeks ago and stopped uploading daily (I still haven't bounced back yet) but overall YouTube has been rather cathartic for me. I would definitely suggest keeping at it. It may not make you feel great today but when you look back and see all the effort you put in and see comments from people you made happy it is worth it
 
I struggle with both, and not just as a YouTube roadblock. They're pretty responsible for keeping me single with so little job experience too. Honestly I don't deal with it well still. I'm not sure if one can ever fully "shut it off" vs. learning how to work alongside it. I've been practicing mindfulness a lot (The Illustrated Happiness Trap is my favorite resource for it) and that can ground me in the present well enough to at least start sometimes. I also had a therapist for a while (but I get that's not an option for everyone-it took me years to finally find something low cost).

At best I'll finally get going and enjoy a project I'm working on again. At worst I have these mental breakdowns where I toss up a whole bunch of negative uploads and public journal entries (typically related to how I don't like anything I'm making and aren't happy with my life at 26 years of age). Most of it has root causes beyond YouTube but yeah, I haven't been able to do s**t with my channel for months now but lounge around and not feel motivated to animate. All my uploads have been montages, Vlogs, or really low effort.

Comes in waves, I know I'm looking for that project that I'm really into again. The one for myself. I get really burned about the whole "making this for my audience not me" thing. I just keep on not finding it.

I will say doing live streams has actually helped me though. That and positive comments from fans. Always warms me seeing people actually like me and my content as most of my depression stems from being so alone and friendless.
 
Missy said:
So I struggle with Anxiety and Depression and it makes me discouraged to make videos sometimes like my effort won't matter. Does anyone have any advice for me? I love doing YouTube videos, but it gets in the way.
Click to expand...

I too suffer from severe anxiety and depression, which is exactly why I started youtube in the first place. Some days, I think about quitting because my anxiety gets so severe and I wonder why I'm even doing this in the first place and because I'm such a tiny let's play channel, my videos don't matter anyway

but then other days you get those wonderful comments from people and it really just motivates you to keep trying, you know? Plus in some weird ways, doing youtube is relaxing and filming helps calm my anxieties.

Anyway, good luck to you and I hope you keep making videos!
 
It definitely seems like it may be a roadblock, but if it's something that you truly enjoy doing I think you should keep at it for sure and recognition I believe will come with time! Also you should post about those issues as many people face those hardships and I think you could be a beacon of hope for them or advice on how you deal with it!
 
Missy said:
So I struggle with Anxiety and Depression and it makes me discouraged to make videos sometimes like my effort won't matter. Does anyone have any advice for me? I love doing YouTube videos, but it gets in the way.
Click to expand...

What helps me is to just do it once and the second day it wil become easier. Whenever I stop making video's in a regular pattern it is harder for me to start again although every time I do it makes me happy. So I try to remember that although it feels like a hassle in the beginning it makes my day in the end to motivate myself when I'm feeling out of it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top