Dwelling on the past

I was diagnosed with depression 3 months ago. The medication seems to work sometimes. Throughout my entire life, I have always dwelled on the past. It seems to be getting worse now. I always find myself thinking if I had only done this thoughts. Has anyone ever had similar problems?

Luke,

Good to see you here. This is a really helpful place, as I can say from experience.

Dwelling on the past is a prime symptom in depression, especially dwelling on what has hurt us.

One way of escaping this pain is to come to realise that we are hurting ourselves in the here and now. So we've had some bad experiences, made some wrong decisions, and now we are reliving them.

A good therapist will help you to see what's happening and stop you doing it to yourself. I would advise starting as soon as possible to clear out all this 'unfinished business' and reclaim your life. It can be done.

Cheers, M

Hi Luke and welcome to the forums.

hey luke, i hear ya man thats one o my main problems too so you aint alone. all i can say is keep as busy as possible, it takes the off of it. welcome to forums this place can really help.

Hi Luke and welcome to PC.

I totally understand where you are coming from. The first step to stop living in the past is to come to terms with it, accept it, forgive yourself for anything you feel that you may have done "wrong". These things are not easy to do. Forgivness is very, very difficult.

Do you currently see a therpaist? I think that they are pretty qualified in helping in this area.

Please be gentle on yourself. I hope things get better for you soon.


Hugs,

Jen

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jmo531 said:
forgive yourself

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Wise words, jmo.

Cheers, M

I started involving myself in Zen meditation to try & stop thinking about the past - and constantly worrying about the future. With a great deal of self-discipline and constant mindfulness, I've actually gotten myself to a point where I don't really do either anymore, I just sort of take each day as it comes.

I'm kind of at this stuck point, though, because I think it's crippled my ability to have hope or make decent plans & follow them out, and I don't know anyone who is having this kind of experience... I've been using meditation as a tool for about 20 years now, but never w/any kind of teaching or guidance other than from books & online resources. Most people I know who would be the type to meditate either tried it & gave up because 'they couldn't meditate', or they're just starting to experiment with it.