Rebuild life after depression ? isolation ?

[pumpkin_92]

Hi, for those of you who are reading this, did anyone have the experience of recovering from depression?

I had a depression a year ago when i was in university, i made a wrong decision and studying something i don't like and i decided to change to study something that i really enjoying. However i suffer the consequences of depression because i think that i am not worthy due to my failure and wrong decision i made in the past. I began to isolate myself from other people, i thought it was a way of coping with my depression (I am depressed in front of other people and this sort of spoiling the mood of people around me ) . At the end, i realized that avoiding social interaction with other people is a terrible mistake and it only makes the situation worst.

Now i have trouble in controlling my emotion and shy to talk to other people during the social event. I felt very awkward whenever  i  have to interact with other people. Something just feels not right and i think i have to do something to end this cycle, so here i am using my courage to post this thread.

 Does anyone have any ideas or experiences that can share with me on how you overcome self-isolation that cause by depression ? Or any suggestion? Because i am totally lost and don't know what to do at the moment.

Thank you for your time to read this post.

[Innuendo81]

Hi pumpkin 92,

I too tend to isolate myself from friends and acquaintances when going through periods of depression. Have you tried joining any meetup groups in your area (e.g. book clubs, movie groups)? Or if you don't feel up to talking, you could start with a public place like a museum, park, or mall, where you could enjoy being amongst people.

Another suggestion is to join a gym. Even if it's not quite your thing, gyms are good because as well as providing exercise, they enable you to surround yourself with people and not be expected to talk with any of them.

Hope this helps.

[Cymru]

What you describe is kinda normal pumpkin. You mention you're studying. You might chat with one of the counsellors on campus. They could give you some strategies to use at social events. They won't be hard to learn. Good luck.  

[geoff]

dear Pumpkin, thanks for joining the site.

We go through life from being young to when we are ageing that mistakes are made, often or not, we may know that they could happen or are bound to happen or unaware of the circumstances, and if depression then happens, we naturally want to isolate ourselves from other people.

After years and a long time of being depressed I started to resurface, but only began by being on a one to one basis, because by being in a group made me feel very uncomfortable.

The best idea is not to rush or push yourself too much otherwise it may back fire. Geoff.