I am 41yrs old. Have feeling depressed for a long time. I dont work. I dont have friends who can help me. I have to struggle to get out of bed every day. I am not being able to do housework or go out of the house much. Not finding enough energy to exercise too. I am seeing a psychiatrist, but the meds are not helping. I think my depression is purely of neurological origin.

I have talked about my problems with little turtle, fuzzy, budfox, marilyn and others here on this depression forum. Hope you all and others on this forum can help.

[little turtle]

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

I am 41yrs old. Have feeling depressed for a long time. I dont work. I dont have friends who can help me. I have to struggle to get out of bed every day. I am not being able to do housework or go out of the house much. Not finding enough energy to exercise too. I am seeing a psychiatrist, but the meds are not helping. I think my depression is purely of neurological origin.

I have talked about my problems with little turtle, fuzzy, budfox, marilyn and others here on this depression forum. Hope you all and others on this forum can help.

we are here desiree2006....we can help each other...I am sorry that you feel so bad....is there anything that is helping you..

[Fuzzybear]

(((((((( Desiree )))))))))

Originally Posted by little turtle

we are here desiree2006....we can help each other...I am sorry that you feel so bad....is there anything that is helping you..

Only when someone asks for my help, then I feel that (mostly my Mom asks help with a little housework)I have to get up and help him/her even if I have to drag myself out of bed to do so. In my Mom's case, I feel that she is growing old and it's difficult for her to take care of the entire house including me. Also with my neighbourhood kittens. When they cry out of hunger, I have to get up and feed them.
But then all this is very difficult for me coz I always feel a lack of energy and cant walk athletically like I used to. At times I limp and at times I feel one of my legs is numb as I am trying to walk. Only 20-30% of the times I can walk straight.
Dont know when I will regain my health. I feel very frustrated.

[RandolphCarter1919]

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

I am 41yrs old. Have feeling depressed for a long time. I dont work. I dont have friends who can help me. I have to struggle to get out of bed every day. I am not being able to do housework or go out of the house much. Not finding enough energy to exercise too. I am seeing a psychiatrist, but the meds are not helping. I think my depression is purely of neurological origin.

I have talked about my problems with little turtle, fuzzy, budfox, marilyn and others here on this depression forum. Hope you all and others on this forum can help.

You are not alone. The inexplicable bouts of exhaustion are very familiar to me. Even simple things seem like momentous tasks. I end up "hurting" myself by not exercising and being sedentary.

Just know, you have pals on here to help you in anyway we can. I hope you can find something that works between your psychiatrist and medication.

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

Only when someone asks for my help, then I feel that (mostly my Mom asks help with a little housework)I have to get up and help him/her even if I have to drag myself out of bed to do so. In my Mom's case, I feel that she is growing old and it's difficult for her to take care of the entire house including me. Also with my neighbourhood kittens. When they cry out of hunger, I have to get up and feed them.
But then all this is very difficult for me coz I always feel a lack of energy and cant walk athletically like I used to. At times I limp and at times I feel one of my legs is numb as I am trying to walk. Only 20-30% of the times I can walk straight.
Dont know when I will regain my health. I feel very frustrated.

Little turtle, can you suggest anything to improve my depression? As you know my medical reports are all fine.

[little turtle]

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

Little turtle, can you suggest anything to improve my depression? As you know my medical reports are all fine.

what are your friends like...can you talk with them honestly....

I dont have any friends here. Most of my friends are abroad and those who are here are too busy with their families. They would only say that they feel sorry and that they hope that I get well soon. My relatives are also too busy with their own lives. And my parents are a little frustrated with my condition, I guess. So I dont have anyone to talk to, except you all in this forum. Even my psychiatrist doesnt talk much, though he talks more than the other psychiatrists available here.

[little turtle]

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

I dont have any friends here. Most of my friends are abroad and those who are here are too busy with their families. They would only say that they feel sorry and that they hope that I get well soon. My relatives are also too busy with their own lives. And my parents are a little frustrated with my condition, I guess. So I dont have anyone to talk to, except you all in this forum. Even my psychiatrist doesnt talk much, though he talks more than the other psychiatrists available here.

what do you need right now....

[elevatedsoul]

a nice, good therapist might be helpful..
i dont have any friends either because of my problems so seeing a therapist is almost like having a friend that you can look forward to seeing if nothing else..

they are suposed to be able to help us figure out our problems as well.. it just sucks that it takes so much time, but i try to tell myself that im not gonna do anything else with the time anyway so might as well be trying to do something proactive like therapy..
its different talking to a real person atleast, gotta get used to that... rather than talking to people inside my head

wish i had good advice.. i dont really know what to do about these things

Originally Posted by little turtle

what do you need right now....

Friends, more physical energy and less sleepiness.

[mr.nobody]

Me too. I don't have much to add but you're not alone. I'm in my mid 30's and I feel like only my body is here most of the time, I don't know where my brain goes. The time keeps on passing and it feels like there's not much I can do. The only people I know are my mom and sister. It's a strange, surreal way to live life and there's always that fear of life after loved ones leave somewhere in there. Building up contingencies for the future eases a lot of anxiety and gives you something to do re: depression but it's hard to get going.

Have you heard of goal attainment scaling? I've been using that at my doctors suggestion for developing small routines and healthier habits. It helps me a little but everyone's different. There are forms online to give an idea what it's about.

[little turtle]

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

Friends, more physical energy and less sleepiness.

friends yes...

Originally Posted by little turtle

friends yes...

Not only friends, all 3 of the following:
1)friends
2)more physical energy
3)less sleepiness

[elevatedsoul]

what can you do to achieve those 3 things?

2 and 3 are kind of one in the same right? and maybe having some friends you enjoy being around would give you energy so perhaps they are all just the same thing?

you need a friend you can spend time with and enjoy being around to have some human connection

sadly i am horrible with that... i make friends easy, but meeting friends/people is my problem because im agoraphobic and avoidant

any social gatherings or things near you that you are interested in and maybe could try to attend?

Originally Posted by elevatedsoul

what can you do to achieve those 3 things?

2 and 3 are kind of one in the same right? and maybe having some friends you enjoy being around would give you energy so perhaps they are all just the same thing?

you need a friend you can spend time with and enjoy being around to have some human connection

sadly i am horrible with that... i make friends easy, but meeting friends/people is my problem because im agoraphobic and avoidant

any social gatherings or things near you that you are interested in and maybe could try to attend?

Social gatherings dont happen so frequently here. I have one coming up in Oct and maybe one in Dec. I plan to go on a brief vacation to a nearby sea-side end of the year.

Here the voluntary organisations are not properly functional and I have my problems too. So I cant join them.

BTW you wouldnt have been able to meet me anyway; I live in India and you in the USA.

I dont know how to make friends. However, I do realise what you have indicated is true; if I interact more with people, I will get more energy, and feel less sleepy and depressed.

[elevatedsoul]

i know what you mean... seems the solutions are suposed to be the easy answers.. but the easy answers are more complicated than the difficult answers, so how do you make it?

just have to not give up... hard is easy, easy is hard, easy is easy, hard is hard, words words words... no matter what we call it, gonna suck anyway.. so just fight for the smile we can have when its over

[Always Hurting]

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

I am 41yrs old. Have feeling depressed for a long time. I dont work. I dont have friends who can help me. I have to struggle to get out of bed every day. I am not being able to do housework or go out of the house much. Not finding enough energy to exercise too. I am seeing a psychiatrist, but the meds are not helping. I think my depression is purely of neurological origin.

I have talked about my problems with little turtle, fuzzy, budfox, marilyn and others here on this depression forum. Hope you all and others on this forum can help.

I'm sorry you are experiencing this. I can totally relate to you. I'm new here and have come for support, resources, and knowledge to figure this mess out. Hang in there and just know I'm fighting the fight right there with you.

Any more suggestions anyone? please. If I dont have friends and also dont have the opportunity to make friends how can I rid myself off depression?

[little turtle]

Originally Posted by Desiree2006

Any more suggestions anyone? please. If I dont have friends and also dont have the opportunity to make friends how can I rid myself off depression?

it may help you to be talking with a counselor every week...

Originally Posted by little turtle

it may help you to be talking with a counselor every week...

Yes I think that may be the only solution

[BadMojo47]

Remember, by virtue of the fact that you are here posting your feelings means you are a fighter. Even when you are in a weakened state, you feel the need to fight. That's worth a lot and it means you have hope. This is a support network loaded with people with whom you share a kinship. Take advantage of it and fight to get to a better place always. Best wishes.

[elevatedsoul]

i think that it helps to have a profesional that we can talk with to explore what is bringing up these depressive feelings / episodes..
i say a professional because they are trained for the type of intervention that we need when in these positions... friends are nice to have for support but they few times that i tried to talk about things with people that are suposed to be close to me they have just been at a loss for words.. not able to really say much and not knowing what to say or do to help.. and even most of the time making it worse for me by saying the wrong things like i just need to try harder or change the way things are and stuff..

the pro can help us figure out whats fueling these problems and hopefully help us discover ways to fix the issues so that we can learn to live in a way that wont involve the fueling of depression instead live in a way that will deplete the depressions fuel so that we will be better equipped to deal with these things on a day to day basis..

like for me we haven't been able to really figure things out yet but i already know some of what causes me to be in this continuous loop of recurrent depressive episodes and dysphoric mood state..

since im trapped in my life situation and am unable to be independent its one of the things that blocks me from getting rid of my depression, so its important for me to explore ways that i can become more independent and explore the possibilities of getting myself out of this situation so that i wont be trapped...

of course that may make it sound simple but it is never as simple as it sounds so its something we have to work on with a therapist to hopefully resolve.. there are many more aspects to my situation but that is just a mild example of something that may can be addressed with a therapist... ?

its a process and sometimes it can be a fast one and sometimes its a slow one, but better to start now rather than suffer longer and still have to take the time needed to start making progress

[Always Hurting]

Today I feel hopeful. I pushed myself to start work today. I think I did pretty good. Baby steps in the right direction.

Originally Posted by BadMojo47

Remember, by virtue of the fact that you are here posting your feelings means you are a fighter. Even when you are in a weakened state, you feel the need to fight. That's worth a lot and it means you have hope. This is a support network loaded with people with whom you share a kinship. Take advantage of it and fight to get to a better place always. Best wishes.

Do you also feel that I need to see a therapist? Btw I am seeing a psychiatrist presently.