Don't even know

Hi @Shazab,

it sounds like you are going through a time of questioning and searching. It can be a struggle, especially when It's difficult to put things into words.

One thing I can say is that you are not unworthy. You deserve every happiness, you have worth and you deserve to be heard.

I think going to a support group is a good idea. Sometimes just sharing your feelings can be enough. You don't have to find all the answers straight away. Do something to nurture yourself today.

And let us know how you are going.

For me, being mentally ill makes me TIRED. I don't actually feel deeply depressed so much as dog tired of putting one foot in front of the other day after day. I'd just like to stop sometimes and sleep for a week. This is NOT suicidal ideation in my case so much as a very rational reaction all to the constant struggle.

My advice? Prescribe yourself a little beauty each day in a conscious way. Listen to a Beatles song, walk to a bakery and smell it, go out into nature and watch a spider spin a web, go into a fabric shop and casually feel different textures, buy one piece of gourmet chocolate and eat it fully consciously. Become a hunter of great beauty and you'll start to find it everywhere.

It's funny how we readily compare ourselves to others when we're feeling down with comments like this one "my life should be a walk in the park". Yet those moments when we are happy we don't compare our happiness to others to invalidate it - it's like we feel as though we have no "right" to be down about stuff but everyone has something that they're struggling to deal with in their own way and it's not about comparing struggles to see who has more ownership of it than another.

It's tiring enough struggling through mental health issues without adding a considerable helping of guilt to yourself by telling yourself you shouldn't be feeling this way because there's others doing worse than you. You just need to learn how to ride the waves of your emotions the best way you can and like others have suggested finding something that involves your senses can sometimes be the simplest yet most effective way to do this.

And connecting with people that "get" what you are talking about without judging is almost like striking gold. It doesn't necessarily fix anything but it makes you feel less like you don't really belong anywhere or fit in with others.

Hello @Shazab and all others wonderful supporters. Having mental illness is tiring to start with. Trying to deal with it makes you even more tired. Then working and dealing with house hold and family stuff makes you even more tired.

Take time out for you.

Smell the roses, have a mindful look around you, hear the birds, see the sunset, feel the texture of different things, breath in the fresh air, go for a walk, have a nap if needed, feel (what I call numb: not happy, not sad, can't quite work it out).

Just be aware of what or how you are feeling and seek help/support where needed or if unsure (as you did).

We are all normal and unique within ourselves and in our own way.

Take care of you:)