[puzzclar]

I've been having a hard time getting up to take my meds on time at 8am... I'm in need of some ideas that work to get me out of bed... so If you have them, please share!!!

I know one thing for sure, I hate getting up and feeling alive, so I end up falling back asleep and then I wake up again after a few hours, and hate the fact that I'm still alive.... yikes I hate this realization... What can I do to get away from these feelings???

[Perna]

Is the 8:00 med taking time set in stone? I take some of my meds in the middle of the night, when I get up anyway, to pee. It's not always the exact same time but it is within a 3 hour window or so.

You have to associate something good with taking the meds or getting up (or getting up to take the meds :-) Can you reward yourself for taking your meds on time for a week in a row? Can you make it an "experiment", wonder if you'll be able to tell a positive difference if you take your meds at 8:00 one week in a row? Keep the trial period to a "doable" period and tell yourself you only have to do it for that period, so you can see if it "works". I had a Daily Health Challenge yesterday that asked me not to eat or drink anything sugary this morning to see if I could tell the difference; just to make it interesting, I ate more sugary stuff (3 glazed donuts :-) than usual yesterday to compare with "no" sugar today. Concentrating on the experiment means I didn't mind not having sugar in my coffee as much as I would if I just thought, "Darn, have to cut the sugar out of my coffee!"

I look forward to coming online when I get up in the morning and generate a little interest and excitement about that. What will have changed? Will I have gotten any emails? I would look beyond the time, getting up, and taking your meds to being up and how wonderful :-) that could be?

[depressedalaskan]

To get out of bed??? Very hard for me so I have a way to make me get up. I go into my doctor's office 5 days a week at 8:30 am. It does not cost anything and I don't have to see him just show up at the office and say Hi. I have been doing this for months now and it seem to be working for me. Not sure if you can set up a goal like this but it works for me. This small goal helps me get up, dressed, take my meds and gets me outside. Without this goal I used to stay in bed untill I had to use the can. How sad; that I have to live like this.

[Severijn]

Hi puzzclar. Sorry to hear you're feeling so down lately. I've been there too but I hope you know there is a way out of depression, out of the emptiness, suffering, and numbness. I have this mindset: there is a solution to almost any problem, but you just have to find it.

You sound very depressed and what I noticed in my life is that if I didn't take any action the depression just got worse. In the beginning they are baby-steps; you shouldn't burden yourself too much. But for example, a good idea to start feeling better again is signing up for a gym or doing a sport. Doing this 3 times per week for half an hour or an hour can have a big impact on your mood, and your health and outward looks improve too.

Another way to start feeling a little better is by using visualization exercises, and also changing your Self-Talk to something more constructive. When you're alone, imagine how you want to be in the future. In the beginning it's really hard to see you succeed in what you want. Images of failure creep back into your mind. But you have to be persistent and keep doing it. Imagery or visualization exercises change the structure of your brain. When you imagine yourself being funny and having a good time with people, the social parts of your brain begin the work. By doing this you are preparing yourself for little future successes. I'm not talking about major successes in life, like becoming famous or anything. Just little successes that together add up. Little things count.

Combine this Imagery/visualization with goal-setting. Set little reachable realistic goals in the beginning, you feel confident you can achieve. You can do this when doing exercise. Set little goals for yourself, such as doing cardio for 20 minutes with your heart-rate 140 PBM. Reaching these goals feels good. I think doing exercise is a great way to get out of depression, because it learns you all kind of skills you can use for other parts of your life. And besides, you train your willpower with every meter you progress on a home-trainer or cross-trainer. With this willpower you will become more persistent in reaching what you want.

I belief depression is just an overall problem with the Self-Concept. The self-concept is made up of: self-esteem, self-image, self-worth, self-efficacy, your general daily mood, etc. The self-concept can be changed, but it requires effort. If you improve your self-concept, you will start to feel better: your mood will improve. Reading self-help books can help a lot. Just reading them can get your mind closer to the truth and make you feel better and see the world in a different better way. And even better, putting what you learn from self-help books into practice is even better.

No matter how dark life seems, you must have something to hope for. Hope gives life. Without hope there is not much for human existence. You should try to give yourself hope every day, even if it feels difficult or impossible. If you combine giving yourself hope with setting small goals and reaching them, your mood and outlook in life will change for the better. Again, exercise is great for this.

These are just some ideas. The current situation you are in in life is giving you your depressed feelings and mood. So something has to change. For some people, they have a chemical imbalance in their brain, and need medications. But often medications are not enough to overcome depression; it just makes it more manageable. That's where (CBT) therapy, self-help, and exercise can help. They can lift you out of a depression, or at least make it much more manageable and improve your mood. Finding happiness in life is difficult, but I think you know the saying: Seek and Thou shalt find. You have to become a seeker of happiness and peace of mind. You alone or together with other people have the power to change the course of your life and future.

I hope this helps a bit; it helped me during dark periods. You have to keep fighting depression, hoping that one day you will feel happy. It's possible. Take care.

[puzzclar]

I also had a thought of getting a different alarm clock that could play cd's of good music that makes me want to move... and start to workout ... and thus getting myself to get out of bed.... but it requires money to pay for the said alarm clock.....

Severijn, your right on a lot of it. for me it is a chemical imbalance, and I have been working out 3 times a week. I've wanted to do some visualizations but haven't forced myself to do so... I have to force myself to get out of bed.... and maybe time on facebook if I get up on time could help... instead of buying a new alarm clock... something to try first....

Okay so I have to vent for a minute..... I hate it when lab techs come over in the computer lab and say "get of the phone, I can hear the other side" I tried to turn it down, and she still came back over and said if you don't like it, use a different lab..." WELL EXCUSSE ME... and let me not listen to the call that is oh so important that I need to listen to it right this minute... thanks for not letting me listen to it. And then she does it again to someone else... and in a very RUDE WAY TOO>>>>> GRERRRRRRRR.... If she does that again to me, she may just get hit.. I'm not a violent person but this just ticks me off.

So there, I vented, and I feel a bit better, I have to go to the store, and talk to a manager at a few places that I have put in job applications, I just hope one of them will hire me... Here's for hoping

thanks for responding, It helps a lot!!!