Dealing with the leftover effects of my depression

[Cabbage_Patch_Kid]

After 3 years I feel like I have almost got a handle on managing my depression which saw me hospitalised for 3 weeks in 2012.

However I struggle every day with tiredness, lethargy and a lack of motivation which has a real impact on my ability to work, get out of bed and fully lead my life. 

Does anyone have any tips on how I can deal with these issues? 

[White_Rose]

Hello CP Kid

Welcomt to Beyond Blue. Yes I understand what is happening to you. I feel exactly the same. It feels as though I have spent so long struggling with depression and now I am managing I don't know what to do with myself. I also believe there is a physical reaction. Your body has been through a great deal with your fight and most likely used up your physical resouces. You have only noticed now because the pressure is off.

After a while I went to my GP because I cannot seem to find the energy or motivation to do anything. So it may be worthwhile to have a chat top your GP. I have been tested for various illnesses such as Ross River Fever because of the associated aches but the results have all been negative, which is great. Recently had thyroid tests and it seems my matabolism is a bit slow. Just waiting to see if it picks up on its own which is quite likely.

My opinion is that because of all the energy spent on finding a way to manage depression the body is exhausted. I think I need a period of rest and recuperation. Plenty of 'proper' food, I'm not good giving myself a healthy diet. And lots of rest.

It's not the answer you want I suspect. We have given our bodies a hard time and it's time to be gentle with ourselves and give ourselves a bit of TLC. The hardest part is accepting that this is OK and reasonable when, if you are anything like me, you feel guilty about sitting down, feet up, drinking coffee etc.

Can you have a few days or week or so off work? Perhaps even have a bit of a holiday with partner, friend, family member, and just vege out. If you are not working then go gently and give yourself permission to ease up on your chores. It's sad, but they will always be there. Try not to be superwoman and I believe your energy, health and motivation will gradually re-appear.

I would love to hear what you think about this.

Mary

[TheSteve]

Hi CPK,

Thanks for sharing, and congrats on making a grand comeback from the difficult days of 2012. That, in itself, is an amazing accomplishment and something which you should be most proud of.

Mary has given some great advice, definitely re-read her post.

It is possible that the difficult times took a physical toll on you, however, the human body has an amazing capacity for reviving itself (brain included), rebuilding, recovering, and relearning. You do however need to create the right conditions in which your body can optimally heal. Here is my advice:

- As Mary said, ensure you get a good amount of rest every week

- During your rest time, you should learn/study deep breathing techniques that oxygenate your body/brain, and allow for short-term mood enhancement and long term healing. Get a copy of "The Tao of Natural Breathing", it is excellent and will serve you well.

- See a dietician, and get your diet optimized. It could be certain foods/drinks that are holding you down (gluten, sugar, processed foods etc.), and you may need a complete overhaul. Do this asap.

- Exercise, but don't overdo it. Perhaps some gentle yoga, walks outdoors, light jogs etc. to revive and oxygenate your body. Don't exert yourself when tired however.

- Sleep. Study up on it, and ensure you are getting deep, restorative sleep nightly

- When you see your dietician, ask if you are lacking any specific vitamins/minerals. These can be simply replaced, if so.

- Learn to meditate, and fully rest your mind.

- Have faith in the body. It knows better than your mind, and it will heal, if you provide it with the right conditions.

All my best to you, come back and chat anytime.

Steve

[Neil_1]

Hi there CPK

Welcome to Beyond Blue and thank you so much for coming here and providing your post.

May I firstly say, “Good on you” for opening sentence you wrote which says that you almost have a handle on managing your depression.  This is always brilliant stuff to read and is always heaps positive to hear about.

It’s always a difficult process – being able to handle the tiredness, the lethargy and lack of motivation.

To break it down, we need to try and help ourselves in the most general of ways.  To get adequate sleep;   to be hydrated appropriately (because dehydration is a solid link with mental health issues – depression);  to have a good diet, eating clean and healthy foods.  Making time in your day for exercise and that can be whatever form you wish, but it is so important.

And you see all of the things just mentioned do tie in together.  If you’re eating healthy and drinking adequate amounts of water, this then is fuelling the body to help with any physical activity that you wish to partake in;  and hopefully the end result of all that is that it makes the body tired enough, so you can then obtain an effective amount of sleep (just so you can DO IT ALL AGAIN).

Just some options for you CPK;  but I’m sure you’ll receive others posts on this;  or you could type into the search engine above things like:   dealing with tiredness, or lethargy or lack of motivation:   and that should then result in getting you some threads on those subjects, that have already been discussed here.

Kind regards

Neil

[Cabbage_Patch_Kid]

Hi

Thank you for your responses. Mary you made some good suggestions and I am actually having 2 weeks off starting next week.

i think I also need to focus my efforts on my physical body at present. It has suffered through the past three years and it needs to be cared for. I will make an effort to ensure it is hydrated and feed with good food. I have a tendency to eat what is convenient and not necessarily healthy, 

I also saw my counsellor and we discussed this issue at length. 

Thanks again

CPK

[Neil_1]

Hi there CPK

Thank you for your latest response.

Having 2 weeks off from next week sounds awesome.  Even just knowing that now can be a lift for the soul.  Are you planning on anything – going away anywhere or will you be trying to sort things out?   Some healthy choices and getting better at doing things like that.

The thing with this is, don’t try to make huge wholesale changes first up – because it all becomes too much and too hard and it generally doesn’t work.  Try doing only a couple of things at once;  and do them over and over again;  making them become habit forming – but obviously becoming a ‘good habit’.  Then once that has settled into place, then try another thing.

If you feel like you want to keep on here and posting, I can let you know that we’re here all the time;  well pretty much;  so if you’d like to keep us informed with how you’re going, we’d LOVE to keep hearing from you.

Also, if there’s other things that you’d like to raise, please please do so.  🙂

Kind regards

Neil

[White_Rose]

Dear CP Kid

So fantastic you are taking time off. Glad you found my response useful. Neil and Steve have also provided great information and suggestions. The psychologist I talk to used to tell me to "Listen to your body" after I had been through a particularly torrid time. And it's good advice. When your body says rest, then do that.

I've been taking my own advice for the past couple of days and eating more healthy food. Christmas is a great time to indulge in sweet stuff anf I find it hard to resist and the same happened at my granddaughter's birthday party. Too much sugar equals headaches and tiredness swiftly followed by remorse. Does the phrase "Do as I say, not as I do" ring any bells. So I'm back on the traight and narrow and feeling much better.

Just a quick post. I hope you have great plans for your holiday, but not too strenuous. Have fun.

Mary

[Cabbage_Patch_Kid]

Thanks Mary and Neil 🙂

I have had a successful few days. Seeing my counsellor helped me identify an issue that I have had for awhile but have never put my finger on before. It has helped me immensely, especially going to work. We have agreed on fortnightly appointments going forward. I also see another counsellor who I have seen for about 8 years.

I am going away and will be surrounded by people who love me so that will be amazing. I am excited as this is the first time in over a year where I have had time off uni and work!

I have also made an effort to cook a few times, drink a lot of water and even exercise. However my body was telling me today that I was exhausted so I spent my day off relaxing and sleeping. So I feel quite positive overall 🙂

 Thanks again 🙂

[Neil_1]

Dear CPK

Thank you again for your latest response.  Great to hear back from you;  and awesome to hear of your recent efforts of cooking a few times, and exercising as well.  Water is always awesome.

And yes, after you've done some exercise and if (a) it was the first for a long time or (b) simply, that the session was an intense one;  then yes, your body will tell you both during and especially after, that it needs a bit of a break.  And that's fine;  if you felt tired the next day;  then do as you did;  take a break and rest up.

But then, hopefully you can get back into it again, either the next day or the day after.  I think for all intents and purposes our bodies are generally lazy.  They'll do as minimal work as need be to get through the day.  That's where motivation, enthusiasm and commitment all come to the fore;   because our bodies WILL do hard yakka, we just need to have the mind set to do it.

The result out of doing that hard yakka;  the physical fitness side of things, are benefits to the body and mind are HUGE.  A fit and healthy body really does have a huge and positive impact on the mind.

I also must say that your upcoming holiday away sounds awesome for you.  I hope you have a really fun, happy and relaxed time away.  Not fully sure when you're actually going, but I hope it's an awesome time for you.

I do hope you can post again when you're back to let us know how you've been going.

Kind regards

Neil

[White_Rose]

Dear CP Kid

Glad to hear from you and that you are feeling so much more positive. Sorry I have not posted recently. I too have been away, with not a computer in sight.  That's probably the best part although there were 50 emails waiting for me when I returned.

Yes I know all about the exercising part. Having motivated myself to do it I get a bit annoyed that I ache or am tired afterwards. Don't really know what I expected. Maybe I thought I would get time off for good behaviour. i.e. no aches as a reward for exercise. Whatever, it didn't work. I need to continue working at it.

It's great that you have settled on regular appointments with your psych. That way, when you think of something you want to discuss you can make a note ready for the next meeting. Sometimes it is very comforting to know these meetings are coming up where worrying matters can be discussed. Great stuff.

So thrilled for you that you are going to see people who you love and who love you. So often we forget we are loved and try to struggle on by ourselves when being cared for and cared about by someone can be so wonderful. I think it is one of the most healing things in our lives.

I think you are on holiday at the moment. Write in again when you return. We would all like to hear about the good time you had.

Keep on improving

Regards

Mary