Tasks that seem simple but aren't

Mailing things. I am almost incapable of mailing the simplest things, no idea why. Maybe it's because there are multiple steps involved - procure paper - find envelope - insert paper - find stamp - affix stamp - write address - write return address - put in mailbox. Again, every step is simple, no idea why I suck so bad at doing it.

mine are

changing the cd in my sterrio (I can actually listen to the same one for weeks on end)

cooking breakfast. (I know it's rooteen, but still)

admitting that you are feeling okay (when you're feeling okay). I really struggle with that one

buying only stuff that you need (give me amazon and i'll order the entire shop)

checking the mail (maybe because most of the time it's just junk/bills)

showering (even when you know that you really need to)

drinking enough!

Tasks that seem simple are definitely a struggle for me. Although my place isn't a wreck, I hate cleaning/house chores. My attention span is not there, so I dread cooking. Most of the time, I just eat take out on my way home. I hate checking my banking and my mail, although I force myself to do it. I am slow at addressing these things though. I feel no one will want to live with me because of these things, which is why I never took it a step further in my relationships.

I can relate...I've got my time up to at least ten minutes

Omg I just sucked it up called my grandma... mind you it's about money...I let it ring twice and hung up. I can't even do this.

I need to learn how to shower in 10-15 minutes! Part of the problem is I have an entire step by step ritual I go through. I'm lucky if I get out in under an hour. Forget it if I have to shave.

Sorry for hijacking the post.

Showering, going to Target (specifically that store - it's so overwhelming to me), filing paperwork, watering plants, tying shoes with laces

Checking the mail. Laundry. Phone calls.

I usually go over a little. 1 min to get wet, 1 min to soap up, 1min rinse down!

Normal household chores, showering and washing / drying my daughter's hair.


These things have reduced me to tears on more than one occasion


Also I've grown to mostly, usually hate going out. Like out out, to a nice place or dancing or whatever.


I cried the entire time I was getting ready to go and celebrate my nieces 21st.


I don't mind leaving the house or just hanging out though. No problem with it.


Maybe getting dolled up is a stressor and not being able to leave when I went?


Idk


But those are my ones.

Going to the grocery store is the big one. I cant deal with it. First there's the anxiety of going there and being around all those people, then there's the fact I cant seem to find anything that I am allowed to eat that I actually would want to eat. These things work together to make trips to the grocery store **** for me. There's lots of stuff I would want to eat but I cant have any of it. Mostly I just wonder around clueless and upset trying to plan meals for us to eat.

The pharmacy isn't much better for different reasons. I have to pick up so many meds I am afraid they think I am some sort of drug seeker and they just got to put them all in a bunch of different bags which makes it look like even more than it is. Keeping track of all of these pills is stressful too. Last time I had to return the pills that put me in the hospital which made it more stressful.

Taking a shower sucks too because I don't want to comb out my hair. It tangles so bad that even with a detangler its always a chore. I feel like I am going to go bald one of these days over these tangles.

Asking for help in a store. I'd rather wonder around the entire store trying to find what I am looking for than ask for help. Especially when I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone.

Same for me.

DevaCurl conditioner solves this problem for me. And no, you won't go bald - that your hair gets tangled means it is high quality hair, so you won't lose it.

It is better not to comb out the hair at all, but just use a lot of DevaCurl every time you shower.

It is such a relief for me now that I have found a solution to this problem. I get a 32 oz bottle, which lasts for a long time. I do not use a detangler.

I'm like many other who struggle with making phone calls.

Also basic car maintenance and paying bills. Both also cause me anxiety.

I think many of the listed tasks aren't simple because they involve many subtasks, and a bipolar person cannot breeze through them on autopilot. If you think through what is involved in taking a shower or paying bills, you will see many steps - e.g. you need to gather everything that is required to carry out the activity. And that just isn't simple.

Going shopping includes making decisions, and when you are severely depressed, you are not up to it. When I had my worst depression, I could not order a cell phone for months. I could not follow a simple instruction.

I work in a call center. So I have gotten better with talking on the phone. I still have difficulty calling people for my own personal issues. It has improved though.

Eating is very difficult for me at times. I go days without eating because everything seems gross, contaminated, genetically modified, etc. I'm worried I have some form of eating disorder but as my main motivation isn't to lose weight that seems unlikely. I also have very bad IBS and sometimes can't eat due to pain. I feel better when I don't eat so maybe my mind makes food "gross" to avoid pain? I don't know for sure but I think not eating for periods of time is really not helping me in the long run. I just don't know how to fix the problem.

I had a problem with eating. Food seemed off-putting to me and I had no appetite, but did feel hunger pains, so I literally fed myself.

I am OK now.

My thinking is that it is essentially a mild form of suicidality, because normal appetite is needed for survival. When we feel like that, one of the most essential instincts is being shut off.

I also think that it is a form of depressive anhedonia, because food is associated with pleasure for a normal person.

I might be taking it too far by claiming that this is suicidality in disguise, but I think that most people would agree with me on anhedonia.

You could very well be onto something there. It seems rather simple now that you mention it. That makes me very sad but I'm glad you put it that way. It's probably something I should mention to my doctor.

IMO, and mine only, I look at the food thing more like SH than suicidality.


Just my 00.02c

Well I cleaned up over the last two days. I do not mind doing the whole kitchen everyday for the most part maybe skip a day here or there. I vacuum regularly and do laundry plus empty all trash and lightly touch up two restrooms. I think that's pretty good. My apartments have inspections which was today. They are "very knit picky". Well over the last two days I deep cleaned both restrooms, re-organized my room closet and helped my daughter with her restroom. Then I had a mountain of "mail". One had on the envelope "important documents please return ". I just stacked all the mail up neatly and put a reminder on my phone to go through some of it tomorrow. I had to go get my oil changed today. My mom cleans her house from top to bottom "every" weekend. I do not have the energy to do all that. That's just too much work. Now I remember when I was accidentally put on an antidepressant because they thought I suffered from depression. It made me manic....I loved to clean then. I had so much energy. I went to Target and bought double cleaning supplies for my old apartment. I loved couponing back then that was my hobby. I used my coupons too lol. I'm not a fan of the grocery store either. I go early when it's less crowded. I have went to checkout and the lines be extra lone. I actually just walked out the store....so I started going early.

I have random temporary difficulty with whatever I am trying to do when it happens, I know what I want to do, but can't seem to do it until I return to normal. I had trouble making my lunch today. This evening I was trying to get ready to take a shower and gather what I needed. I kept walking around in my room looking for something that was missing, but my everything I needed was on my bed. When I got irritated about it taking so long, i reached down and picked up my pillow, but knew that isn't what I needed. I walked around a bit more before finally gathering the right items to head for the bathroom. It's usually stupid things like feeding the dogs, or making a glass of ice water, or doing laundry when my brain pops out of gear for a few minutes.

I can relate to feeling enraged grocery-shopping! Large crowds cause me unimaginable irritation.
Something "simple" I find difficult is personal grooming-especially if the goal is to not knock everything off the counters and look like a kid whose just finger-painted. Makeup, I can somewhat do. It may take a long time and more makeup may end up upon my appendages than my face, but it turns out alright. Hair, however, is impossible. My fumbley-fingers simply won't cooperate. I am practicing using a straightener and so far, it is rather difficult. I think being able to do things like that would make me feel more adult.