From 1995-1998, depression (especially depression with psychosis) took away everything that I loved – everything- my health, my relationships with friends and loved ones, my ability to work.
It still tries to do this today, but now it only gets a small section of my life instead of years. I hate depression so much that even a few hours of depression are too much for me now.
When I get depressed, I go into fight mode and I simply don’t stop working on it until the depression is gone. (I use the tips in my book ‘Get it Done When You’re Depressed’ daily.)
Depression doesn’t even get one minute of my life without a huge fight. At first it took months to get better, then weeks then days – now I can get better in one day if I really work hard.
I have an interesting story to tell. Here is a blog from a few months ago. As you may know, my depression can get pretty darn severe- and I often think it will never end. I then have a story at the end that is very hopeful.
Will This Depression Ever End and Can Anyone Help Me?
When I’m seriously depressed every single minute feels like I’m living in hell and I am just closer and closer to death.
I sometimes get so depressed that I can’t move my head or have a conversation. I still make myself get out and do things. I cry and I feel I can’t go on, but I do. I feel better for having done something. Every minute when I’m well is filled with possibility because I can choose what to feel and what to do. People take this for granted. They take for granted that they can [ Read More ]
Lyn just wrote a great comment about how the ideas in Get it Done When You’re Depressed can help you get off the couch (or out of bed) when you’re depressed. You can do it. Lisa offers some support.
Can you get up off the couch?
Yes you can. Here is a comment from Lyn:
Hi Julie,
Yesterday I was in a deep fog of depression and had your book out on the table. I reached over not expecting anything to really help, and the next chapter was called FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS. Seeing that saying it out loud is different than thinking it, I said it out loud, a few times, and each time I felt more focused! I ended up getting off the sofa and started to work on a sewing project I had out but had no energy or desire to work on. Thank you Julie.
Liz Brody wrote an excellent article for Yahoo Shine on the six surprising signs of depression- I know I have experienced all of them! Here is the beginning of Liz Brody’s article and a link below.
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Six Surprising Signs of Depression by Liz Brody
Here’s a “what-if” scenario: Your husband starts working late every night, you forget the last time you were physically intimate, and he seems to have lost interest in you. Shall we cut to the chase? The guy’s having an affair. Slam dunk, change your Facebook status.
Maybe not. These signs are some of the lesser-known symptoms of depression. which affects nearly 1 out of 10 Americans, according to CDC figures released just in time for National Depression Screening Day. Throughout the country today, October 7, you can get a free, anonymous mental health evaluation at one of 1,500 facilities or by taking a three-minute test online. “You can do the screening for yourself, or for a [ Read More ]
Here is something that is very true and can help a lot for those of us with bipolar disorder:
You do not have to feel good about something in order to do it well.
I really believe that we keep ourselves from many projects simply because we expect a mood to be there that will help us along. The facts are that when y0u’re depressed- the mood is not going to be there. It’s not going to be there when you are anxious either! So, you just have to dig in your heels and do something anyway.
You will be shocked to see that the outcome is almost always just as good as if you wanted to do the project in the first place.
So, never forget- how you feel about doing something is not always the best indication of how something will turn out. Go ahead and do your best no matter what [ Read More ]
Actually, depression never says knocks. It’s not that polite. It actually just comes in without knocking. When I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder I tried to draw pictures of what it felt like to have this illness. I drew a picture of a hotel- naturally called the Julie Hotel! There was a door to the hotel and outside I drew a huge monster with big teeth- it was much larger than the hotel itself. The caption was..
When bipolar comes knocking- don’t let it in!
Maybe that was a bit naïve. You don’t have to even open the door sometimes. It comes in anyway. Most of my books are about prevention- including recognizing triggers, keeping your relationships stable, knowing your first signs of mania, limiting the alcohol and partying, etc. etc. But I also write a lot about how you can keep going even when you’re depressed.
The health information contained herein is provided for general education purposes only. This site should not be seen as a substitute for an official diagnosis or for professional health care.
Yikes!!!
