[badmouse]

It's going to cost several hundred dollars, which I do not have.

How to not be depressed about this.

[manwithnofriends]

I guess you can take out a loan and pay it back after your next pay day (if you have a job, that is... but if you have a history of financial problems then a loan will be impossible whether or not you have a job.) Is it possible to talk to someone about this?

[Little Lulu]

I don't think it is possible not to feel depressed, worried, anxious whatever over a situation that seems so bad. But life is full of these challenges and I can take them to the extreme ... it goes like this in my head ...oh no, this is it, I will never have a car or drive again, I am stuck, I am a such a bad person for letting this terrible thing happen, blah, blah, blah. I've done it repeatedly and it never helps me or my situation.

When I get a grip I can do it differently and say something like ... I've been here before and I've always found a way to handle things, I can calm down and start talking about it and answers will come, I am a creative and competent person, this is just another one of life's glitches and I capable of handling things, this too will pass, etc. I can't always get to this saner type of thinking without some help from someone I can trust to talk to.

Beating myself up never works but self-compassion does.