Sad and depressed

I can identify, I have been particularly sad and depressed during this extended Sydney lockdown....no work, social groups, no mental health support groups, no churches, no nothing.

Hi @MDT ,

I've had similar anxieties around re entering society and interacting with people too, including my own friends. Despite how much I miss them, there is something safe about being in lockdown and having no expectations to watch out for anyone besides yourself. It is also reassuring that in lockdown, everyone may be just as stuck and lost as we are.

But feeling stuck and lost does not make you failure, and not everyone else we see are doing as well as they appear! I also think it's important to consider our strides in mental health as a way of progressing in life, which I have seen you take many times in the forums inspite of how challenging lockdown has been. That is admirable and worthy of acknowledgement too.

I can see you have the strength it takes to go where ever you want to go @MDT, take it one small step at a time and you'll get there

from cloudcore

@MDT

How do I just you on your life? What are the metrics you would like me to use?

Is it money, fame, the stuff you have? Or is it the people you have helped, your ability to inspire others and acts to lift others up even when you are feeling down?

Please let me know the metrics you are using so i can use them too 🙂

Edit..

A couple of years ago, I felt a bit like the way you are talking.. actually, a lot like you were talking. In the end, it was about finding people who shared my values. Sex, family and all that stuff is great, but finding people that talk your language, want to talk about the things your feeling and not just a football game, they are like diamonds.. rare and worth keeping close. I have spent years wondering, why don't I get the joy out of the voice, the masked singer, the nrl, insert Aussie cultural thing that does not matter. It took ages to find people who don't care for this stuff either.. a lot of them are in here thankfully, that's why I keep returning but you need non digital people in your life as well.

@MDT

- I feel constricted by societal norms but also want to break free in my own way - What does this look like? Can you elaborate as i would be keen to understand what Break Free means? ( for instance, 2 years ago i sold everything and travelled Australia with the goal of starting again, but with all of my financial knowledge about bad debt being used to lead a better life debt free)
- I am struggling to find motivation.. Motivation towards??
- I am struggling to find direction because I know things can change so quickly and having such a rigid direction for life can throw you into chaos if it doesn't go well or according to plan - Do you have a destination you are talking about?
- I am annoyed that my uni course tis year taught me very little and I really wanted to learn a heap of new things and was keen to do it. What is it you wanted to learn? I have found tafe only goes so far, I honestly need to engage in podcasts, youtube videos and industry-specific discussions groups to keep me motivated. For instance, recently I have been listening to the podcast the trap about family and domestic violence. It has been massively powerful in motivating me towards my studies because tafe never touched on the subject of coercive control in regards to AOD or MH issues but it's definitely a big influencer.