The mental changes are pretty subtle. I think I'm more focused and daydream less. I also feel that I have less of a temper and handle the negative parts of life better. My fight or flight response is harder to kick off now, so things like social anxiety are better managed.
From a philosophical perspective I have absorbed some Eastern concepts that I probably wouldn't have without exposure to mediation and the various Eastern philosophies and religions that influence it. I pretty much accept that life is unsatisfactory in general, so I try to not beat myself up when I realize I'm, say, doing worse than my peers financially or whatever. I also stopped believing in the myth of progress, that humanity is on this course to utopia. I'm at peace with things being cyclical - the rise of liberal democracy is temporary and dictatorial autocracy will once again take over, then back again, etc. Today might be good but tomorrow might be bad. Everything is temporary really and there's no permanent fix to anything. I will die someday and it shouldn't be that big of a deal, etc.
The above attitudes really have been the only things to significantly help my depression. I think being at peace with some of this stuff and having realistic expectations in life goes a long way towards good mental health.
From a philosophical perspective I have absorbed some Eastern concepts that I probably wouldn't have without exposure to mediation and the various Eastern philosophies and religions that influence it. I pretty much accept that life is unsatisfactory in general, so I try to not beat myself up when I realize I'm, say, doing worse than my peers financially or whatever. I also stopped believing in the myth of progress, that humanity is on this course to utopia. I'm at peace with things being cyclical - the rise of liberal democracy is temporary and dictatorial autocracy will once again take over, then back again, etc. Today might be good but tomorrow might be bad. Everything is temporary really and there's no permanent fix to anything. I will die someday and it shouldn't be that big of a deal, etc.
The above attitudes really have been the only things to significantly help my depression. I think being at peace with some of this stuff and having realistic expectations in life goes a long way towards good mental health.