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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 10:06:32 GMT -5
I wish I had some magic words of wisdom, but all I can really say is that you aren't alone. I would hazard a guess that most of us here have reached that point of depression when you are simply immobilized and everything is just too hard.
If I can force myself out for a run, it does help. And socializing with friends is a mood lifter also. I know how hard it is to force yourself to do something, but everyone here is right - moving is the key - just do something, anything at all.
Music is a big one for me like many others here. I take piano lessons and just started learning the ukelele this week. The ukelele is a very happy little instrument and not at all hard to learn to play (Ukelele Mike on YouTube is the bomb). You could take a class of some sort - having a scheduled event might help get you out the door.
I'm so sorry you are at this point. Sending you hugs and good vibes!
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Post by greatcoastal on May 24, 2016 10:33:07 GMT -5
Painting is a good relief for me. I can paint most anywhere. As I take my kids to all there activities and find myself waiting in the car or inside the gym I Cary it with me. As others ignore you and are buried in there clicks, or there phones, I am producing something, something that I can share my expressions, feelings, onto. Something I can market,enter in a contest, or give as a gift. Then there is so much music that goes with the painting.
You will find groups to go to to take lessons. Advanced lessons are full of conversation times while painting. Along with painting comes picking a subject to paint. For me that means going out and taking pictures, thousands of them, I include my kids,and they have cameras. I have shown my kids how to paint, I think they will always remember it.
I strive for solitude, power, and happiness in my paintings. Good healthy things to ponder on.
There are many books at the library to get you started.
Don't get caught up in the" I can't draw anything, I have no talent". I can draw well, but....I learned to enlarge my photos and trace them off, then paint them using my photo as my reference,and let my creativity flow as I continue to improve on what I learn.
Hey.. Kind of like recovering from a SM. Find what you like,duplicate it,express it, be proud of it, be creative, be yourself,and continue with what you learn!
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 18:08:34 GMT -5
@helentishappy - PM me if you want to.
What helped me when I was at my worst depression - years ago, I was introduced to the concept of cognitive therapy. There is a great book by Dr. David Burns called "Feeling Good, The New Mood Therapy". The premise is that your inaccurate thoughts create depressed feelings, and if you can re-train your thinking, you won't experience as much emotional pain.
That sounds simplistic, I know - but it worked for me. That's all I can say. It still helps - if I catch myself having a thought that's just illogical, and has no evidence to back it up, I replace it with a more reasonable and positive thought. For example, "This always happens to me." In that case, you would tell yourself, "No it doesn't" - and remember some situations where it didn't happen.
Anyway - whenever the depression has gotten really bad for me, I've gone back to the book, and it lifts me up enough so that I feel enough energy to do the things everybody tells depressed people to do (exercise, call a friend, play with the cat, try something new for dinner, go out with a Meetup group, etc.)
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 18:22:37 GMT -5
Yes, that⬆
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 18:31:02 GMT -5
OMG what @smartkat said!! Dr. Burns' book is a fabulous resource.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2016 19:41:43 GMT -5
Frankly, the cognitive model is something that's just healthy to consider and understand. Thoughts drive feelings. Or according to the model, they should.
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Post by unmatched on May 24, 2016 22:58:30 GMT -5
I did quite a lot of cognitive work in my 20s and I found it very helpful and very effective. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
Doing it regularly, I also started to notice that there were times when it was very effective and times when it was less so, and that it depended at least partly on how open I was feeling and how willing I was to change my mindset. It feels to me like cognitive work feeds into your brain and starts to teach you that your mind is often wrong and is not the sum total of who you are, or even the place you make most of your choices. That can then help you connect with the world on a more primal level, where the connection is not about your thoughts or your feelings but a more basic awareness of life itself. Which in turn makes it easier to not take your thoughts so seriously and be able to work with them. So for me I found that cognitive work led directly to meditation and spirituality, which I know is not the way people usually think of it.
[Sorry Helen, this probably should have gone somewhere else. I was intrigued by @creelunion's last sentence and started thinking...]
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