How To Deal With Having No Motivation?

Hi everyone,

As the title states...I have no motivation and am wondering how you guys deal with it when you feel this way.

It sucks. My mind rationally knows that I SHOULD get things done, that I even need to get things done...but it's like there's a giant stop sign in front of me that I can't overcome. I feel paralyzed, mentally. I miss the days before I experienced mental health issues...I was so motivated and driven. I don't even know that person anymore.

Now I struggle to do the simplest things. Getting myself to bathe today was a HUGE internal struggle, I can't even imagine getting the drive/motivation/whatever to do school work, which I really need to catch up on.

The more I worry, the more energy I'm using up on these negative thoughts. But it's the only way I can think right now! I'd appreciate any input or advice from others who have dealt with lack of motivation before.

Melissa I am right there with you, I have zero motivation for the last while. Maybe making a list and then just slowly try to pick away at things one at a time. At least you will feel some accomplishment as you see them getting crossed off. Wish I had more ideas.

I had a period of time after mania where I was totally not motivated and was basically lethargic. My Pdoc and Tdoc said I was exhausted from the weeks and weeks of mania, however I still felt like I "should" be doing things, but my tdoc convinced me that I needed to rest...period...end of discussion. I don't know if that's your issue? However even if it's from depression you need to give yourself a break. Do what you can and what you have to do from day to day, the rest can wait until you feel better.

Paralysis precisely describes my depression when it comes. And in the fairly recent past, I have not dealt with it well (which is why I'm also on the Addictions forum regularly). In fact, I could tell you a lot about what NOT to do when depressed. However, in the calm that thankfully is now my daily blessing I could offer some advice and you can take it or leave it. These are things that I might try mysefl when depression returns; they are working now for me in my more "upbeat" state. I want to be ready for it when it comes, so I'm already putting defense mechanisms in play.

In this technologically-rich era we have become poor in certain skills which were the norm a generation or two ago. I recommend going back 20 yrs or more, before the internet came to be widely used.

Grab a Joy of Cooking book and find a cake recipe, something nutritious. Then buy all the ingredients and bake a cake. Add some special bi-polar frosting. If you enjoy it, bake another and give it to a neighbor.

Walk a mile. Get up early and force yourself to move down the road until it feels good. You'll be done in 20 minutes at a reasonable pace.

Write a letter, an old-fashioned letter to a friend and mail it. If it feels good, write another.

Talk to people. Not online, grab the phone and find a sympathetic ear.

Get out of the house and off the computer. i think the Internet is especially bad at these times, there's too much information, distraction, entertainment, etc. Keep the focus on you.

If you can, try and do some work around the house. Simple stuff, sweep the floor, make the bed, do the dishes, take a shower. Restrict it to the most basic tasks and when you complete them and feel good, try something a bit more involved.

This is all off the cuff so I hope you're not raising your eyebrows too much. I wish you a speedy end to the depression.

I've been right in the same position for a week. So frustraiting. I just ride it out. I've been in bed for two days, and haven't bathed for a week. The thought of doing anything is like impossible...I have tree trunk legs. I guess sleep if you can, and call your doctor. These break through days really suck. Hope yours ends soon. I can't wait for a manic week!!

Hoping for a stable week would be better, since after mania comes the crash and then you're in the same boat again. Just a thought.

Melissa, I can relate. I have so much that I should be doing, but just feel that I can't do. Studying is one of them...though I had a dream (nightmare?) last night that I had missed two exams each in two of my classes, in fact I hadn't even shown up for a single lecture for either class all semester! I awoke in a sweat, and felt much better about my academic neglect. It could be worse, lol.

I wish I had real advice to give you. It's a difficult problem.

I'm so sorry for all of you. It is one kind of depression I get from time to time too. It is debilitating. I find that the hardest part is to get into first gear - but once you are up, things get easier. E.g. force yourself to meet a friend for coffee and while you are there, you will be surprised how good it is for you.

If it lasts too long, you need to discuss this with your pdoc, as I'd guess your meds are not being effective enough

Sometimes one just has to push themself. Damage control is important. As much as it may seem you may need a "break" now and then, are few weeks off really worth a lost academic year?

Been there, done that, they aren't.

Priotize and need what needs to be done and postpone what can be postponed... but giving in to the depression is not a wise option. Sometimes it is hard, trying to write a paper when mind is blank blank blank... or trying take in some dense text... I get it.
Feeling of "i have not done anything, I am worthless..." will send you spinning even further down. Do something easier if you cannot turn your mind fully on.

Get everything organized to do what needs to be done. Then find a ragin' rock playlist and crank it up. Snaps me right out of it and I go to town on the task at hand

When I read your post I thought I had written it! I'm right there with you and I HATE it so you are not alone. I have a lot of guilt over what I should be doing and don't do. I have run out of excuses and quite frankly I am tired of making excuses. It IS the mental health issues but it's rather difficult to try to begin to explain that to others. Lately I have tried to do "a little" of what needs to be done, and once I start I usually accomplish more than I set out to do. Of course it takes me a day to recover after I do anything! It's a constant battle that's for sure. I wish it didn't have to be this way...

I have been off work since 9/13/11. I haven't gotten much done. I have put on makeup a couple times, cooked some dinners, that's about it. This thread makes me want to cry because I'm so there with you all. I can't wait til i pull through this.

Now that I am medicated, the hypo mania's rarely come, and when they do i usually spend money buying things on the internet late at night. I am just like what you have described, I am able to cook my meals and do the dishes, fairly consistant, but as for the rest of it I just feel totally overwhelmed by it all. The clutter, the cleaning, My mind seems to not have the capacity to organize even the space in my mobile. It is impossible to explain to somebody, but then again so were my Mania's and at least with this there is no collateral damage.

Same here!!!