finding it hard to enjoy my free time

[Bennybsting]

i have a history of mental illness which has had it highs and very lows, but as of the last couple of years im finding it realy hard to enjoy my free time. in order to keep my sanity in check ive minimised my drinking and started to take care of my health in general, but its all come at a cost of having a reduced social life. now on the weekends i cant alow myself to sit and watch movies play video games or do anything that doesnt serve some sort of benifit or productive outcome... and this is starting to have a detrimental effect on me mentally. is this normal? how do i just switch off like so many others seem to able to? 

[Neil_1]

Hi Benny

Firstly, welcome to Beyond Blue and well done on finding this site and then being able to provide us with your post.  I say “us” as in all the other fellow sufferers who frequent this site on a daily basis.  All fellow sufferers, but absolutely salt of the earth people, with major personal experience of mental illnesses of vast degrees and as such can provide care advice and support to all who come here.

Benny, I’ve gotta say, that yes this IS normal.  We do things to try to keep our ‘sanity’ in check – like seeking professional help (although this is something I must raise with you as you didn’t comment about it in your post – do you have a GP that you see, psyches potentially and any meds that you’re one?);   but yes, back to the sanity in check – and you’ve mentioned that you’ve reduced your drinking and have started to take better care of yourself – probably by eating more healthy and also with some kind of exercise regime.  Which is all very good stuff. 

But yes, your mind still continues to play nasty with you – and it makes things so much worse when you find yourself not being able to enjoy things that you did once before. To me, that speaks a lot that perhaps you haven’t had any professional support for sometime – and if you have, then perhaps a med review is needed. 

I would be keen to have you reply to some of what I’ve posted. You asked a question:  how do I just switch off like so many others seem to be able to?   That’s a very, um, full on question and perhaps assuming quite a lot.  In that, how do we know that others are able to switch off? 

Are you referring to depression sufferers with this – in that some of us battling mental illnesses are able to switch off at times?   Or are you referring to the, I was going to say the ‘general population’ who don’t suffer from mental health issues and I guess that’s about the best way to describe them – but anyway, I’ve digressed – if you are referring to the general population, then they don’t have to switch off, because they don’t have mental health issues that are affecting them each and every day.  Excellent question though Benny.

Kind regards

Neil