Archive for the ‘Get It Done When You're Depressed’ Category
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
I just read the following article on Yahoo.
Unhappy People Watch Lots More TV
by Jeanna Bryner
Unhappy people glue themselves to the television 30 percent more than happy people.
The finding, announced on Thursday, comes from a survey of nearly 30,000 American adults conducted between 1975 and 2006 as part of the General Social Survey.
While happy people reported watching an average of 19 hours of television per week, unhappy people reported 25 hours a week. The results held even after taking into account education, income, age and marital status.
In addition, happy individuals were more socially active, attended more religious services, voted more and read a newspaper more often than their less-chipper counterparts.
The researchers are not sure, though, whether unhappiness leads to more television-watching or more viewing leads to unhappiness.
**
I can actually answer the last question- depression leads to more television watching which then leads to guilt that nothing gets done. I hear this over and over again. I stopped watching television for a few years after I was diagnosed. I just couldn’t turn it off and so much of it was depressing!
I now love to watch TV- I’ve learned to only watch certain programs to make sure I don’t waste my time and then feel like crud for going back to old ways. I watch three shows American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars. My other viewing is FOOTBALL! as many of you who read this blog know. I do my email during the commercials. Getting the NFL channel has really helped!
My point is that we can watch way too much television when we get depressed- in fact, do you EVER watch television when you’re manic? That’s a great question!
Julie
Tags: Bipolar, bipolar depression, Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Treatment Tips, depression, depression help books, depression treatment, depressoin books, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast books, julie fast depression, julie fast depressoin, Julie Fast Radio Show, manic depression
Posted in Get It Done When You're Depressed | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
I always feel better when I accomplish something. I’m writing a new book right now and it’s a tough one as it involves some research. I put off the writing because I’m a dodo bird, but it’s going well now. What I always notice when I finally do start writing is that projects take way, way less time to complete than I think they will. I just finished a part of the book I was sure would take about three hours- it took half that!
Remember:
You can unload a dishwasher in three minutes
Clean your room or vacuum your house in 20 minutes
Make five sales calls in 30 minutes
Get rid of a lot of email in one hour
Think of it in terms of watching television. It’s so easy to sit in front of the TV for hours getting nothing done. I used to do that when I was depressed. Now I know that getting up and doing something for just 20 minutes can make a huge difference in my mood.
Julie
Tags: bipolar blog, Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, bipolarhappens.com, can I work if I have bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast, julie fast blog, juliefast.com, manic depression work, Work, work issues bipolar, work problems bipolar disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
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Thursday, October 16th, 2008
I just did an interview with a writer from Self Magazine on the topic of the January blues. She asked some excellent questions- and one of my ideas that she really liked was the concept that we can’t WAIT to want to do something- we have to just do something. That’s my first strategy in Get it Done When You’re Depressed. Depression never wants to do anything! I can sit until I’m frozen solid before I’ll want to get out and get on with my life if I’m depressed.
I think- where’s my motivation? Well, depression is eating it like candy! I want to be motivated, so I create it using the stuff I talk about in my books:
Set up a time to work with a friend- tomorrow I will meet my friend Karen to work together from 1-4PM. I will work on my book that’s due and she is going to work on her novel. Just having her there means I will stay and actually work.
This is just one idea I use to create motivation. I always feel better after I do something- even if it took me hours to get out the door!
Julie
Tags: animals and depression, anmimals and depression, Bipolar, bipolar blog, bipolar depression, bipolar depression advice, Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Treatment Tips, bipolarhappens blog, depression, depression and dogs, depression help books, depression treatment, depressoin books, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast blog, julie fast books, julie fast depression, julie fast depressoin, Julie Fast Radio Show, manic depression, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
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Monday, October 13th, 2008
Hi Julie,
You’ve mentioned taking Lamictal at 500mg a day a couple of times in your blog. Recently my psychiatrist has increase my dosage of Lamictal from 200mg to 300 mg and lately 400mg.The depression and anxiety are still taking a toll. I was wondering what type of relief you get from your dosage of Lamictal.
Does it take away the depression and anxiety or does it just keep it at a manageable level? I’ve been on the 400mg for a week now and the depression and anxiety are worse than ever. I’m facing going out on disability for awhile and I’m hoping its only going to be a couple weeks until we can get this under control with the new medication levels.
Thanks for your time.
R.
Hi R., Here is some good news! – You haven’t been on the new dose of Lamictal nearly long enough to get full relief from your symptoms. It took me three months to see a lot of changes and it has gotten much better over the years. A friend of mine has a psychiatrist who says that Lamictal actually works better and better for years after the first dose. There is no question that 3 ½ years into my treatment the Lamictal is going strong. You have to give this a lot of time. It’s not a fast acting drug at all.
The dose is also all over the charts for people- I have friends who take less than 100mg and as you know, I’m at 500mg. I’m glad your doctor is working with you on this. Regarding symptom relief, when combined with my Health Cards, Lamictal reduces my depression, anxiety, psychosis, OCD and rapid cycling. It’s amazing.
Meds take time to work. Now is the time to focus 100% on treatments you can do on your own. Get it Done When You’re Depressed can help a lot as it’s all about doing things when you don’t feel you can do things! The whole goal is to have your personal treatments meet your medication treatments to create stability. It is 100% possible to do this. I’m proof. My depression is still quite bad, but I’ve learned to live life to the best of my ability. Life gets better every day and it can be the same for you. Julie
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Posted in Get It Done When You're Depressed, Lamictal, Medications, Reader Questions | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
I have an column due for BP Magazine today. All I have to do is edit it and yet you’d think I had 20 hours of work left to do. I put it off all day yesterday. I wrote my editor and said I would have it in today just to make sure I had a deadline I couldn’t miss. I woke up worried about getting it done. What is my point! It would have taken me maybe two hours to polish the article. It’s already written and looks good. It just needs a darn final edit! I’ve probably worried about it for triple the time it would have taken to do the final work.
Why do we do this! I wrote Get it Done When You’re Depressed to keep myself focused and productive! So, I’m doing the edit now and will have the column in on time!
I love BP Magazine. If you don’t have a subscription, you can visit www.bphope.com
You can read this column in the winter! It’s on dating… woo that is a tough one!
Julie
Tags: bipolar blog, Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, bipolarhappens.com, can I work if I have bipolar disorder, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast, julie fast blog, juliefast.com, manic depression work, Work, work issues bipolar, work problems bipolar disorder, www.bipolarhappens.com, www.juliefast.com
Posted in Get It Done When You're Depressed, Work | 2 Comments »
Thursday, September 18th, 2008
When I get overwhelmed I can actually feel my brain shut down. It just seems to stop. I can intellectually know what I have to do. I can even write it on a list, but when it feels like too much, my engine stops running. You’ve probably experienced this!
I am taking care of this in the following ways:
- I have a coach who sits with me to make sure I do my work in a timely manner. Yes, this may sound odd to many, but without this, I can spin in circles all day.
- When I’m depressed, I set up appointments to meet friends in the afternoon and then go there early and do my work. If I am going to Starbucks at three and I get there at one with my computer, I will work.
- I meet a friend and we work together on our computers.
I write about all of this in Get it Done When You’re Depressed, but I still have to remind myself to use the strategies.
Right now, I am sitting here looking at my messy desk. I am so thankful I’m meeting a friend to work in just a few hours!
Julie
Tags: Bipolar Disorder, bipolar work, depression work, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast, manic depression, work and bipolar
Posted in Get It Done When You're Depressed, Work | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
Actually, I find books by athletes to be inspiration for anyone who needs it! I stared using sports analogies in my treatment plans a long time ago. Get it Done When You’re Depressed has a strategy called Think Like an Athlete.
Have you ever noticed that almost all top level athletes rarely take a sick day? They rarely complain about their health. They push forward even when things are difficult. This is what it takes to play in the big leagues- and I find it inspirational.
Julie
Tags: Bipolar, bipolar depression, Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Treatment Tips, depression, depression help books, depression treatment, depressoin books, Get It Done When You're Depressed, julie fast books, julie fast depression, julie fast depressoin, Julie Fast Radio Show, manic depression
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