Self-care and Depression

FairBreez

Hey guys. When I feel blue (extra depressed/sad) I lose my ability to care about myself - ie, not logging food, not eating as well, not going for a walk or doing my PT exercises. My usual Christian practices lapse too & when I do pray it doesn’t help.
Any thoughts on how to overcome this cr*p??

Adventurista

Do or do not is always an active or passive/procrastination type of choice. The active choice or habit happens when we just always do.... might be brushing teeth or hair.. or going to a job.

The passive choice such as ignoring alarm and rolling over to go back to sleep is really easy to do when all snuggly.... procrastinate starting unfun things.

But on 1st day of travel vacation or holiday, we hop right up... excited....

There is an inbetween... where we choose to get up and start the day... even if it is as simple as something like 1 goal.... if i only do 1 thing today.... i will get up, shower and dress, put a smile on. It can feel easier then to do the next thing.

If you need something more, schedule something out of the house, like an exercise class at the gym or a quick trip to the store for fresh fruit for the day - something for you, that helps you. After, probably easier to do the next thing then., and then, keep making the next thing to do choices...

You are worth it. You do matter, and taking care of your own essential needs is not selfish, it is necessary.... as you keep doing, the sad will lift, sunshine and smiles and a spring in your step will return, hopefully, soonest!

jess2023mac

It's a vicious cycle. You don't feel great emotionally or you feel badly about yourself, you tend to stop all the positive activities in your life. Then the less you do those things, the worse you feel and it gets harder to re-establish them.
I've been going through one of those slumps in my own life, very depressed, just can't seem to see that glass as half-full. Trying to find motivation anywhere I can. It doesn't work for me.
I think my best advice is to don't think of the all or nothing picture. Stop listening to all your excuses why you can't/won't/don't want to do these things you seem to be stuck on. If you can get out of the house and do a 5 minute walk, do that. Don't even think about all the whys you don't want to. Just do it. (Nike has something in that mantra )
Start small, focus on small steps and soon your mindset will change from 'I don't want to' to 'Yay! I'm back!'
I've looked at my lonely dusty treadmill for the last 6 months. I'm talking myself into simply walking on it for 5 minutes today, no matter what.

Good luck with your day!! Small steps forward and you will get there!!

Lietchi

I don't use it for depression, but I think you might find the app Finch helpful. It 'gamifies' building (self care) habits - your companion is a little bird that, if you collect enough energy (by reaching goals), goes on adventures. You can also write reflections, do breathing exercises, do quizzes (about depression, stress etc.). And there are some 'first aid' tools in case of anxiety, grief,... There are some paying features, but a lot of it is free.

jeri30

Make yourself get outside and sit in the sunlight for a while. Make yourself stand up straight instead of hunched over. Make yourself smile even if you don't feel it. I'd gotten so used to not smiling that it kind of actually hurt to smile so I made and make myself smile. Fake smiling might release endorphins. Looking at pictures of people smiling can make people feel happier.

Monitor your self-talk. If you wouldn't say it to your best friend, don't say it to yourself. Don't name call yourself out loud or in your mind. Be kind to yourself, not harsh or mean. Start with being neutral if you need to, then work your way into kindness towards yourself.

Start listening to podcasts/videos (Youtube has many) like Mel Robbins or Mindset Mentor. Tony Robbins.

Stand up and just shake your body and think about releasing all that negative energy. Just shake it out.

Make sure you're getting enough Vit D.

Make sure your thyroid is functioning correctly as depression is a symptom of hypothyroidism (I'm hypothyroid too).

I have rules for myself now. Like, I have to leave the house everyday. If I don't leave the house, I can't plug in my cellphone to recharge until I have done so. I now walk to the library and plug in there to (start to) recharge the phone while I'm on the computer, which is what I'm doing right now.

Drink your water so you don't become dehydrated. Just have it near you. I'm looking at my water bottle right now. Have 2-3 1-L bottles sitting next you if you need to. I tend to reuse the plastic Club Soda bottles a few times before I recycle them. They help me monitor how much I'm drinking by having them all full at the same time to start and by having 2-3 next to me I don't have to get up to get the next bottle when I'm out of water. If I'm out, I might not get up to refill it.

MaggieGirl135

@FairBreez I don’t know what you mean by ‘blue’ or ‘extra depressed/sad’. And maybe you don’t realize the level of depression that you may have. If you haven’t seen your doctor or a therapist, I would strongly recommend it. Stopping or reducing self-care activities can be a symptom of depression. Sometimes when people are depressed, they don’t realize just how down they are. There is help.

avatiach

Lietchi wrote: »

I don't use it for depression, but I think you might find the app Finch helpful. It 'gamifies' building (self care) habits - your companion is a little bird that, if you collect enough energy (by reaching goals), goes on adventures. You can also write reflections, do breathing exercises, do quizzes (about depression, stress etc.). And there are some 'first aid' tools in case of anxiety, grief,... There are some paying features, but a lot of it is free.

@Lietchi I am interested in learning more about this. I do like games and I was thinking of setting up some kind of "chart" for myself where I get stars if I do certain activities (e.g., if I walk 10,000 steps, if I log, if I get at least 5 fruits/veggies, etc.) and then if I get 100 stars I can go buy myself something nice, or take an afternoon off work, or...you get the idea. It hadn't occurred to me that there are apps out there that someone else has created, I was thinking I would need to create it myself.

Corina1143

avatiach wrote: »

Lietchi wrote: »

I don't use it for depression, but I think you might find the app Finch helpful. It 'gamifies' building (self care) habits - your companion is a little bird that, if you collect enough energy (by reaching goals), goes on adventures. You can also write reflections, do breathing exercises, do quizzes (about depression, stress etc.). And there are some 'first aid' tools in case of anxiety, grief,... There are some paying features, but a lot of it is free.

@Lietchi I am interested in learning more about this. I do like games and I was thinking of setting up some kind of "chart" for myself where I get stars if I do certain activities (e.g., if I walk 10,000 steps, if I log, if I get at least 5 fruits/veggies, etc.) and then if I get 100 stars I can go buy myself something nice, or take an afternoon off work, or...you get the idea. It hadn't occurred to me that there are apps out there that someone else has created, I was thinking I would need to create it myself.

I've been doing Finch for 9 days.
You definitely should try it @Avatiach. You've just described it very well.

Rachellekennedy2

Check out also doing a daily planner/calendar/journal. I picked up a beautiful planner on sale and a couple of sticker sheets. Kind of like a Happy Planner. I use it for tracking appointments, quotes I like, books to read, things I want to do, simple budget tracking like paydays and due dates. I check it daily. Getting my brain to write on paper and not just on a screen. The stickers are for a little creativity and fun! It is my happy place!