Feeling paralysed by depression

Hello @bluesandyellows and welcome to the forum.

It sounds as if you are having a really rough time right now but you have shown a lot of courage by sharing here.

Do you have any supports? Maybe an understanding GP or psych?

Please know there are lots of helpful people on here with lived experience who will be willing to share with you.

I have severe depression and often find it hard to leave my home. Today I managed a walk in the park and made some blueberry muffins. Is there anything you like to do at times such as this?

I’ll tag a few people on here for you to meet @Bow @outlander @tyme @Jynx @Snowie @Emelia8 @Shaz51

Hi Eve

How are you feeling now, do you have someone with you?

Hi @lumiere1 ,

Great to see you here.

Feel free to visit: Welcome! Introduce yourself here 🙂 We'd love to get to know you.

Thank you, will do.

Thanks for asking @lumiere1 @I am home with family.

How are you going?

Hi Eve,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It sucks that you can relate but I felt slightly less alone after hearing a bit of your experience. I'm so pleased to hear that you managed to leave the house for a walk and made muffins despite feeling really depressed. It encouraged me to try and take the dog for a walk. I wish I was able to enjoy it but I'm sure it did a bit of good anyway. Usually I do a lot of swimming, rock climbing and painting but I've hardly been able to do any of these things at all lately because I've just been so exhausted.

In all honesty, I don't feel like I have many supports at the moment. Nearly all my friends have relocated and it's very difficult to stay in touch. I've also had to cut back on how often I see my psych because I've used all my Medicare sessions and it's way too expensive even at a discounted rate. I do at least have a good rapport with my GP and she's been fantastic with my mental health so I could probably reach out to her for some help.

Thanks again for your thoughtful response and for linking some other profiles to check out. I hope I can connect with a few people on here and eventually get to a stage where I can use my experience to support others having a rough time.

Welcome, @bluesandyellows , it's good you've joined 🙂

I also have depression and OCD...what form does your OCD take? Mine is germophobia, and it tends to rule my life.

I'm sorry you are so depressed at the moment 😢 Hoping it lifts very soon...

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@Eve7 wrote:

I have severe depression and often find it hard to leave my home.

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@Eve7 I didn't know that you often find it hard to leave home 😢 You do amazingly, with all you do and achieve!

Hello and welcome @bluesandyellows 😄🌷

I too experience bouts of depression, though severe anxiety is my biggest bugbear. I suffer from PTSD. I also have OCD, which tends to vary in its severity, depending where my head is at. I am socially isolated too, with few friends and family a long way away. So I expect I can relate to much of what you are going through.

Pets are great for our mental health, especially dogs. What breed of dog do you have?

I am not on the forums all that much, but am happy to respond whenever you tag me. I generally check in most mornings.

I am sure you will find members here to be very kind, understanding and supportive. I hope it proves to be a beneficial experience for you. Talk again soon @bluesandyellows

Thanks to the lovely @Eve7 for tagging me here. ♥ Thinking of you today Eve and hope you get the answers and support you need and deserve today. Stay strong.

Emelia 🌷

Hi @bluesandyellows welcome, and sorry to hear you’re weighed down by these feelings at the moment.

I feel somewhat similar from an anxiety standpoint, the indecisiveness and self-doubt can get so bad I’ll struggle to type and then read and re-read what I’ve written. Withdrawing and feeling guilty about the situation is also a familiar feeling, but ruminating is a downward spiral and it’s best to replace that activity with things that will be upwards spirals.

One of the techniques for dealing with anxiety is to sit and watch the feelings, not fighting them just observing, and knowing that they are feelings and will eventually pass. By practicing self-compassion, kindness, forgiving yourself for having a low point and being patient, your mood will improve. Fighting on the other hand is exhausting, so avoid forcing things. It’s OK to do nothing if you’re exhausted but your goal should be to rest and then do something small. Setting realistic goals and ticking them off is also an upwards spiral.

When you can, do some self-care activities like walking, getting some sunlight each day, and being in nature.

For me, a bushwalk is really grounding… just seeing the bush and knowing it has existed for thousands of years and just patiently sits there doing its thing each day.

I usually pressure myself for not achieving enough things fast enough and the “rat race” mentality gets knocked down a few pegs when I see the success of unlimited patience in nature. The trees are not expecting to be fully grown by tomorrow, the birds are not expecting to raise their babies by this afternoon, etc. Likewise, we can work on ourselves over a longer timescale and our patience will be rewarded.