DEPRESSION AND OUR DAILY ROUTINE. WE NEED TO BRING IT BACK.

[Ggrand]

Hello,

A lot of us (me included). take to our bed for days on end when we are depressed.

This is unhealthy for us...We need to look after us as best we can, I feel we should try as hard as we possibly can to make up a routine to keep us healthy and get us out of bed.

I believe we need structure in our lives more so when we are depressed,

A sense of structure is important to provide goal to your day, it gives a pattern to your day which supports your body's natural health structure.

• I think it's important to try to go to bed each night around the same time. Put away your phones,I pads etc, put on some soft music and drift away to sleep.
• Set the alarm to get up the same time each day, but don't just wake up, get up out of bed, open blinds, curtains the doors, let some sunlight into your home.
• Try having a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, keeping roughly the same times to eat and enjoy the meals, we need to eat healthy meals daily to fuel our bodies for healing.
• Try having a morning and afternoon cup of tea or coffee, maybe a couple of bickies as well, or my favourite cake.

• Try some light excersises throughout the day, or go for a short walk daily. even walking around your yard, just doing something will give our mind a rest.

A daily bath or shower either morning, night or both, a bath or shower late at night might releases some stress and many relaxe us a little for sleeping.

1. House work, not fun but necessary to keep our environment clean and healthy, set a day for washing, another day for ironing, try washing the dishes daily.

Even if we just set a few of these goals to start with, it will still give us a purpose for the day, a purpose to get out of bed.

Once we get into a routine we can then slowly add to our days activities to maybe add some social events, hobbies, things we like to do, things we enjoy doing.

Recovery has to come from us, we can't give up on us. We have to try to help ourselves to mend our broken minds.

All these activities will be doing mindfulness, getting our mind away from our dark thoughts while we are carrying out these simple but necessary tasks.

All thoughts are welcome.

Kindness only ,

Karen..(GG).

[Ggrand]

Hello Shelly,

Thank you for calling in and reading...I really hope you get even a little help from here in setting up a daily routine...I can relate to our routines going on hold a little when we get into a deep depression... I have walking as an exercising in my routine but have changed it when I can’t get out I do a bit of aerobics....

I try really hard to stay in a routine I set up for myself..I have written out a morning routine and placed on my fridge door...and an Night routine next to it...I find for me...that my night time routine needs doing so it flows over to my Morning routine...ie:-...if I wake up to a clean sink, I seem to be better able to stick to and do my morning routine...if I wake up to dirty dishes etc..ugh I just look at them, then if I’m depressed they stay their and I go back to bed.....It’s working one out that works for you....what works for one doesn’t mean it works for all....

Shelly...maybe when you start to write out a routine list...just start of with basics then add to it as you go...trying to keep the routine daily until it becomes the normal to do daily....I hope that you can read through and tailor a routine that your able to do..

Looking forward to hearing how you get on....

Grandy...

[Guest_1055]

Hope you are okay Karen. And Thankyou for your reply.

The thing with me is I find my brain is scattered a lot. It’s a challenge to think in an ordered way. And emotional stuff over powers all logic. And I am lazy. I need to confess the lazy as I want it gone from within me.

The having a clean sink you suggested sounds good. I would like that.

I think I will need to think of the reasons why having a routine is personally good. Just like I did with exercise. The “whys”

[Guest_1055]

And Karen please don’t feel pressured to reply to me. You are free. Just reading this thread you started has given me a little hope, has given me some kind of thought about what I can do and inspired me. So Thankyou again

[Elizabeth CP]

Hi Shell, I'm sorry I haven't been doing much on the forums. I have been busy & struggling to keep up with demands on me. I need to be careful how much time I spend on the computer to prevent further problems. Despite that I often think of you Shell, & Karen Both of you are lovely caring people going through difficult times.

I saw your comments Shell about being lazy!!!

I don't believe you are lazy & I don't think it is helpful to think this way. From what I remember you have been unwell & have been trying to exercise & eat healthy to improve your health This is not being lazy. I imagine you have been tired & struggled to keep up with the housework. My psych often tells me off when I say I've been lazy. He encourages me to accept that if I'm not feeling like doing much it is a sign that I'm tired either physically or mentally & need to allow myself time to rest & recover. I try to work out what is most important at the time & prioritise this. For example getting healthy meals during the day to allow you body to recover. Perhaps focus on one part of the house eg where you sit to rest & tidy that or put some flowers from your garden or whatever you think will be easy to do but help you feel better. Hopefully this will help you move forward until you can do more. Look after yourself

[Paw Prints]

Hello Grandy,

Thank you for pointing me to this thread... I've read it through twice now...

You so hit the nail on the head where you have said we need to keep trying until things are more routine than chore... I also feel Shell's comment "I think I will need to think of the reasons why having a routine is personally good." applies to me... having a clear reason/goal might help me push through when things seem impossible to do

I really like your idea of writing down a simple routine to start & end each day with... I'm going to use that & try to write down one I think would work for me to begin with.

Paws

[Paw Prints]

Hello again everyone,

I felt the need to read through this thread again as it is such a helpful thread. 

Grandy thank you for creating wonderful threads like this.  I hope by bumping it up it may help others as well

Paws

[mmMekitty]

Hello Grandy,

This is a GOOD thread. I haven't read through all the posts here, but I'm taking note of this thread to return here again.

Hugzies

mmMekitty