Mental Health Thread

Awesome to hear. Always remember a brief period of poor mental health is no less surprising than getting a cold or flu. It’s also no more of a stigma. People are too hard on themselves when they have a bad day or period of feeling bad.

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No, I just know it’s annoying when you’re feeling shitty when someone comes in and says how great they’re doing.

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Interesting! FWIW, whether I feel good or bad, I feel encouraged by good news from other people.

Feeling shitty when others share good news sounds like a hard experience <3

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I must be back in a depressed state because I’m off in a couple of those areas. It’s funny because I don’t really feel depressed but I am showing the signs. A clear sign is when showering becomes exhausting and I make deals with myself to not have to do it everyday.
*I’m saving water
*It’s bad for your skin to shower everyday
*It’s been a cold summer
*As long as you shower every other day it’s ok
*As long as you have a washup with a flannel it’s ok

The thing is, it’s exhausting having a shower. Think back to when you’ve been physically sick and how exhausted you’d be after having a shower, that’s what it is like. I go shower and if I have to wash my hair(it’s long) I have a long conversation with myself about how I’d be better off with short hair because washing it is such a pain and I love my long hair! I need to lie down for 5 minutes after having a shower to recover. I plan my showers at least 2 hours before work to give myself time to recover from them. It sounds utterly daft and ridiculous I’m sure to people who haven’t experienced it.

I sometimes wonder if it’s not depression but chronic fatigue or something because I do get so many signs of fatigue. Guess it’s time to get back on the meds.

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I feel you Rexxy. It’s tough when I feel so tired that even seemingly basic behaviors feel like too much. But sometimes they are :frowning:

How long has this been going on?

Have you found anything that helps you feel refreshed? What are you doing for self care? I would do something with that long hair to refresh myself, but it sounds like you want to be as far away from the shower as possible :stuck_out_tongue:

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Thanks Risky. It’s funny I do usually feel better after a shower, once the exhaustion passes. I’d say it probably has been about 6-8 weeks I have been feeling like this. I feel like I am doing well keeping up with work, the house and just day to day life but it is a struggle. Self care hasn’t been as high up on my list. My bf realises I have not been totally myself and has promised me a massage tomorrow which will be nice.

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I’m the same but with taking out the trash for some reason. I like my showers.

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Gogogogogogo!

I pretty much never let anyone touch me but had a massage from my partner a couple of days ago and WOW. Something I’ve been missing and didn’t realize it. There’s a huge value imo in sustained platonic physical intimacy within guidelines that ensure that situation could never morph into something else.

I hope your bfs massage helps you too :birthday:

Any other plans for the weekend??

I have to work on Sunday and today I’m hoping to convince myself to go do some stuff in the garden. Another sign of depression is that I’m not caring for it so vigilantly.

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It was a mostly anxiety-free week. This is because I did next to nothing during my vacation. Unfortunately, work is here and it’s time to pump up the anxiety.

One would think that working slowly over a short period of time would lead to less anxiety but it really doesn’t for me. It would just mean that I would be anxious all of the time.

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Interesting sport in the age of Google maps. Assume all digital support is banned?

Right - the rule is you can take your phone on course (to record route on Runkeeper/Strava/etc and for emergencies) but it has to be sealed in a provided opaque bag which is inspected at the end to see if it’s still sealed. But enforcement of this is lax - the photos above were taken from my gfs phone, out on course in defiance of this. Technically that would get us disqualified, but if you arent in the running to win, which we definitely are not, nobody really cares.

Makes me remember the time I won $100 bucks off a friend who swore reconnoiter wasn’t a real word.

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I don’t know if anyone else has struggled with insomnia, but for me it’s been somewhat of a lifelong battle (hence the username). In addition to good sleep hygiene/routines, the thing that finally worked for me is to reframe any time spent awake in bed as “thinking time” instead of just thinking oh fuck, I can’t sleep. I embrace it, put my focus on something productive but not stressful (e.g., planning my permaculture garden), and pretty consistently fall asleep. Because I’m forcing myself to view this time as an opportunity (hey, I guess my body is giving me time to think about stuff!), I don’t have an activating stress response that keeps me awake for longer.

Hope it’s helpful for others, but it’s been legitimately magical for me.

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I definitely will try this. Has to be better than ruminating on the fact I can’t sleep!

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Love it. I started doing something similar this week. I’ve been going to sleep like half an hour before I really wish I was asleep. I know my mind needs that dark quiet time to wander and calm down, so I’ve just started doing it deliberately.

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I only got 3-4 hours sleep last night and feel like I have been running on empty today. Good timing with the advice!

Were you able to do any gardening?

I hope you get some good thinking time and a little sleep!

I did a vision board today as homework from my therapist. Fun creative exercise.

I did a little gardening, mainly watering and a little weeding. I prepped one bed for some parsnips but I haven’t planted the seeds yet. Need to get that done asap.

I should do a vision board. I think I get lost sometimes in regards to goals and such. Need some inspiration.

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