[kittyfaye]

Hey guys. I'm really struggling here. There has been a LOT that has gone on in my life in the last five years, especially this past year. I can't even begin to tell you everything that has happened to me.

I was diagnosed with depression and social anxiety five years ago, even though I believe I was dealing with it as a teenager. I have not found a way to be able to bounce back when I have a depressive episode. The past month has been super crazy and hard, dealing with my apartment being damaged by smoke from a fire that destroyed an apartment directly behind mine. I have come to the realization that I can't keep living in my depression. I need a schedule and less clutter in my life. I have no motivation to do anything. I never clean and I really need to organize things. I don't know what I'm saying anymore. I just want to be a normal functioning person. I guess my question to y'all would be how do you recover from an episode? How do you get back to things like getting the motivation to clean and take care of necessary things around the house? How do you get things done?

[LucyG]

I'm sorry you're going through this.

Sometimes you just force yourself to do something whether you want to or not, especially when it comes to housework.

My son is a mountain bike racer and competed in the top race in the country this year. The man who started this race which is the hardest race in the country has a couple of sayings that have inspired me to force myself to do things when I don't feel like it as I have some chronic health issues. The saying are 'you're better than you think you are,' 'you can do more than you think you can' and 'dig deep.' If I don't feel like doing something I know I need to do, I 'dig deep' and force myself to do it. And believe it or not, most of the time I feel better once I get started.

Here's a clip about the race:

[bugbear83]

Lists. Lists lists lists. You've probably heard it before but let say it again, louder for the people in the back:

LISTS.

When I'm recovering from a depressive episode there seem to be so many pieces left on the ground to pick up that sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much I have to fix it triggers ANOTHER episode. That's why whenever I get the energy to do so I make lists of what I need to do that day. Try to leave myself reminders on my phone for the doc appointments and any future engagement, and narrow my focus down to what I need to do just that day.

And sometimes that list is only "get out of bed" and "take a shower".

And sometimes, even when I'm on the tail end of an episode, I don't get to check both of those off.

But it gives me short term, realistic goals to accomplish daily that I can feel good about checking off. Might work for you too? Tell me your thoughts, either way.

[Skeezyks]

The Skeezyks simply does what has to be done. I've always been a person who could manage to keep up with the basics no matter how bad I felt. I often didn't do it well. But I did it.

Growing up, many years ago, my father used to say: "You're not required to like it. You're just required to do it." I guess a variation on that theme stuck with me. I might feel so low I just want to end it all (I most of the time do.) But I still do the things that have to be done.

[Fuzzybear]

I have no answer.. but I'm sending hugs

[kittyfaye]

Originally Posted by bugbear83

Lists. Lists lists lists. You've probably heard it before but let say it again, louder for the people in the back:


LISTS.


When I'm recovering from a depressive episode there seem to be so many pieces left on the ground to pick up that sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much I have to fix it triggers ANOTHER episode. That's why whenever I get the energy to do so I make lists of what I need to do that day. Try to leave myself reminders on my phone for the doc appointments and any future engagement, and narrow my focus down to what I need to do just that day.


And sometimes that list is only "get out of bed" and "take a shower".


And sometimes, even when I'm on the tail end of an episode, I don't get to check both of those off.


But it gives me short term, realistic goals to accomplish daily that I can feel good about checking off. Might work for you too? Tell me your thoughts, either way.

I like the idea of lists. I make them sometimes, I just need to do it more often. It would help me tremendously.

[bugbear83]

Originally Posted by kittyfaye

I like the idea of lists. I make them sometimes, I just need to do it more often. It would help me tremendously.

Yay! Please keep up hope. Episodes are so hard to recover from but it's possible to find a way out of the valley eventually.

[Unrigged64072835]

One thing that helps me is breaking things down to small increments of time, like around 5 minutes or so. I can do anything for 5 minutes. If I can do it longer that is a bonus.

[Rohag]

I'm minimally productive.
I surf the short waves of focus and energy when they arrive.
I forget about trying to be efficient and just do what comes to mind.

Wishing you success!

[crazykarmatalk]

Lists definitely. Reminders on your phone/calendar work wonders so you don't have to try to remember things. I have somehow managed to focus on what I am doing right that minute and don't think of what needs to be done or what I have to do that I don't want to. It makes it more difficult. If my mind starts to wander, I focus just on getting through what I am doing right now. It's not easy to do, but like I said, I've just figured this out as a survival mechanism. I'm in the middle of a depressive episode and it's the only thing keeping me a little sane. Good luck to you!!!

[Delicious]

I suck at sticking to my lists. So I use a series of alarms and "games" to get me somewhat motivated to do things.

For example, I dread waking up in the morning, I just want to lay there and bask in my own misery in bed. But I think to myself "I wonder how fast I can get dressed today," I guess it triggers some lingering competitiveness in my brain which makes me get up and do things as fast as I can. Current record: 2 minutes.

I also try and turn my phone and other electronics off for an hour, since I get bored, I start doing things, even if its just taking a shower or walking around.

Playing music helps too! It's fun to try and clean following a beat.

I really hope you can get through this, keep fighting