I have a BIG problem with that. So like... I got this far. I can dress up, do morning hygiene routine, make my bed, eat breakfast. That works pretty okay every day now.

But then after breakfast I can't make the jump to go do work (remote part time work).

I can't make the jump or even keep engaged with the world, my life, keep "stimulated", I slide back to being "understimulated", in the depression rut, dangerously close to being stuck in my head, whatever.

I used to be lying in bed for 3-4 hours before I could get up in the "morning" and if I went to lie down during the day, bc I felt too tired or I got an acute depressive low, it would also take me like 3-4 or initially 5-6 hours to get out of it and get up again. I am able to get up in 30 minutes now and I do not allow myself to lie down during the day anymore.

I used to find dressing up actively *painful* or starting the extra morning routine, etc. It's no longer really painful. It's now not like dousing myself with a whole big tub of ice cold water (same amount of pain), now it's like a few splashes of cold water drops that go away quickly. I can dress up and stuff every day. It's regular now.

But what do I do after breakfast to make the jump?

Because now instead of work, what I do after breakfast is I continue reading something, I dunno, the news, topics of interest, to keep myself out of my head, but it is not enough to keep engaged with my actual life. I am actively avoiding self-help/psychology books/articles because I find they pull me down more into my head.

I do also have an issue with going to bed in time simply because of not feeling good for it (YES, self-sabotaging feeling!) But I've worked some on my sleep schedule. I know it does give me energy for the day if I'm able to sleep from midnight until 8 am, but I still have the same issues, it's just overall easier. So a good sleep schedule isn't enough.

So what do I do?

I discussed once on the chat on here that I could just go and make myself sit down at the desk even if I don't start working. It's a first step, right?

The thing is. I forgot that we thought of that...until now. And this chat where we thought of it was weeks ago!

So that makes the whole issue harder. I keep forgetting the stuff to do to get ahead with my day.

And if I try to jot down things, they are usually ideas that I can't seem to use later.

I would like a really practical guide here for steps, habits to do, if anyone has gone through this before.

Thank you a lot for any input!