Inbetween

Please, if anyone has any advice, good or bad, I really need it. I feel like I'm sinking further and further.

Hi anxiety,

I've had terrible anxiety (and have been depressed) in the past, and I know how difficult it can be to be logical when you're in that position. BUT the logical thing to do is to force yourself to get out and do fun stuff. I know it takes a lot of energy, but reality is all the work will have to come from within us. It will be tough and it's definitely a process, so take baby steps and be kind to yourself. Maybe you can start by just going outside to get sunlight.. take a walk.. even just by yourself if you find out that hanging out with people is too much for you -- that's how I did it. I didn't even shower when I was depressed and slept a lot. So for example, I forced myself to shower even if that means I will go back to bed again cuz I didn't have the energy. Then I moved on to cleaning up my place, going outside.... It took a long time before I had the energy to even hang out with friends. You can do it, just put your mind to it and don't put any unnecessary pressure on yourself.

Thank you hopeful,

Thank you for your kind and wise words. I am incredibly impatient with myself - I keep hoping that I will just find the answer and things will click back to normal, but I need to accept that this is a process.

Right now I'm doing a lot of work on past pain, and I guess this is what's making me feel depressed. Reliving it all is painful (so much so that I have to keep stopping yo do something else, like write this post) but it has to come out, otherwise I'm not going to feel better, I will just feel temporarily relieved.

Your advice is sound though - when this all started I made a real go of keeping busy, and it did make me feel better, but I have let that slip for a couple of reasons, and the the effect that has had is very telling.

This morning I went out in the car with my partner, and for about ten minutes I felt better and more like myself - should I just be accepting that ten minutes is all I can manage at the moment and be grateful for it?

I agree a lot with hopeful.

I also have anxiety and I've found that finding small things I like to do and that I'm not bad at help. For example, I like making comics (they're often stupid or nonsensical but that doesn't matter) and it makes me feel better about myself like "wow, I can do something". I suggest finding something that gives you a sense of accomplishment if you haven't found one yet. And yes, I do think you should be grateful for every minute that you can feel good about yourself. Looking at good times and looking forward to more good times helps me a lot. If I know that something bad is gonna pass it often makes it go by faster and is just easier to get through.

Yea if 10 minutes is all you can give that's ok. Eventually you'll get used to it and feel better then you can take it one step further.