Last month I had a rare experience. I was not interested in doing anything. This feeling dragged on for several days.
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Have you ever felt this way? Can you relate to my mild case of depression?
Anyone who knows me understands how unusual that is. I am normally the person some will compare to Pollyanna. Happy & Enthusiastic- always with several projects and events in motion. Finding myself in this situation was not fun. Furthermore I had no reason to feel this way. Life in general was and is good!
During this week, I watched endless episodes of Midsomer Murders on Netflix, (and there are NINETEEN seasons) worked hundreds of online puzzles, ate bowls of popcorn and slept a lot.
Pretty boring, right? Nothing at all seemed to hold my interest or pique my enthusiasm. My social media presence was non existent. I did not spend any time at the jewelry bench either. No new creative ideas were forthcoming.
The good news is: I REALIZED I was not myself and realized I did NOT want to be this slug of a person anymore.
[tweet_box design=”box_02″ float=”none”]The Struggle we are in today is developing the strength we need for tomorrow. Alene Geed[/tweet_box]
Writing down ways to bring myself back out of the funk seemed like a good first step.
Once I had the list, I chose ONE thing and FORCED myself to accomplish it. It helped to know that the task was all I had to do that day. After that Netflix and popcorn awaited me. This first day was agony. I did NOT want to be hurled out of my funk at all.
Day two was a little better. my task for that day seemed surmountable. Which was great news, right? My preference was still to veg out. Each day it became easier to accomplish something. My eagerness, while not fully at full force, was inching it’s way into my existence. By the end of the week, this process edged into my life and brought me back into the human race again. Ideas started to flow again. I had managed to release the funk.
Please understand that this was a mild case of depression that I experienced. One week was enough time to make a difference. In cases where we have let the depression get worse and last longer, of course more time and professional help is recommended.
[tweet_box design=”box_03″ float=”none”]”Human bodies are designed for regular physical activity. Many studies show that depressed patients who stick to a regiment of aerobic exercise improve as much as those treated with medication.” Andrew Weil[/tweet_box]
Here’s my list
Meditate. This was the first task I chose to do. Calming my mind and letting my body relax worked wonders. Two meditations in particular that I like are Getting Into the Vortex – Abraham-Hicks and Grounding Earth Energy – Candess Campbell
Go for a walk. It felt so good to get my body moving again. Once I made the decision to walk, I was all in.
Make a salad.. eat the salad. chopping up veggies and preparing the salad was very calming. The repetitive chopping took my mind off my lack of enthusiasm.
Work out with weights. stretching and toning my muscles was enlivening. I could feel myself coming out of the funk.
Get a massage. OK. this is something I do for myself on a regular basis.
Write in my journal. Journal writing had become a ritual that I abandoned over the last couple of years. Getting my thoughts in writing put many issues in perspective.
What other suggestions work for you. I would love to hear about them.
Here I am at the jewelry bench again. Happily designing new collections! You can check out and purchase my designs here.
Alene, my only other idea would be to Give Yourself Permission to have your experience. Thanks so much for sharing my Grounding Meditation. It is my daily practice and my Go-To when I get hit energetically. I also love to have my name in the same sentence with Abraham-Hicks whom I listen to near daily! Love your tips and your creativity (beautiful jewelry!)
most welcome Candess. And yes I agree about giving yourself permission to feel less than normal.
Great suggestions for pulling yourself out of a depressive mood! A walk in the woods always does the trick for me.
Love the walk in the woods idea! Here in Arizona it would be a hike in the Mountains!
Glad you’re back in the saddle, Alene! And the blahs hit all of us at times, no? Love how you handled it.
And I love Abraham too 🙂
thanks Susan.
Like you, I usually am all on fire, so when I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck, I try to allow that to be my experience and withdraw and nurture myself. I applaud you, though, to still ask of yourself that you do things that you know to be good for you, rather than adopt all sorts of habits that will take the spiral further down.
Ah – one important tip to share: love and thank the experience: thank whatever it is for coming up to be felt, healed and processed. Really appreciate that growth, for that is what it is.
Thanking and appreciating the experience is a great tip. Thanks Reba
We humans are interesting in that we reject feeling a certain way that we don’t like or that we don’t want to feel. It’s important to allow ourselves to have times when “we aren’t ourselves” and to see what is has to tell us.
I can relate to what you were feeling. I often have periods where I feel unproductive and don’t feel creative and don’t feel motivated. Maybe that is actually the polarity (which is a good thing) of the always on and always busy persona many of us adopt in our lives.
It sounds like a week was enough for you and you found ways that would work for you to step out of it in a gentle and nurturing way. For me, I connect with people or read about new initiatives or more simply just get out in nature, walk and connect with the natural world around me. I also listen to a subliminal recording “Transitioning back to the writer within” and find that gets my creative juices flowing. I am also a person who feels better when I am active and find it challenging to accept a down period in my life as part of the bigger, more holistic human picture. Funny how we ‘judge’ how we are feeling as okay or not okay, isn’t it? Thanks for sharing your experience, Alene!
Thanks Susan. Yes I agree that we tend to look at these periods as a negative when actually it is just a time of rebalancing
This is a great list of tips! If I remember correctly, you are based in AZ….my business partner is there too and said the heat was relentless!! Heat like that will do that to anyone, in my opinion. 🙂 I am glad you are back!
thanks Anne
yes I am sure the heat has something to do with it. We are all waiting for the break in temperatures here!
I can relate since this has happened to me! Although our society doesn’t accept ‘down’ times as normal, they are a part of how our bodies and minds deal with things. Down times mean different things to different people. Like you said, a brief down time is manageable but too long and it’s time for help. Usually I need a down period if I’m overwhelmed and need a break from everything. I can binge watch Netflix for only about a day until I’m bored! Walking and forcing myself out of the house helps. The longer I stay physically inactive, the worse it gets. (By the way, if you like Midsomer Murders, you’ll love Father Brown!)
I can relate to being overwhelmed. This tends to happen to me. usually a day away is enough to get me back in the swing! I’ll try Father Brown if i ever finish Midsomer Murders. They go on forever it seems
I have felt similar to you before and usually that has been a signal that my mind and body needs a break., so I move heaven and earth to make sure that I have them one. When I relax and have a break from whatever it is I am required to do, my mind and body can feel rejuvenated and much more motivated.
i completely agree Rachel. the relaxation and time away rejuvenates me too
I do believe we go through cycles! For me, meditating, walking in nature, and laughing, whether I want to or not, help! Changing scenery and shaking things up somehow can help, too. Feeling light and not pressuring myself to be creative, but letting myself just be.
This sounds like a great formula Kimberly. I love the part about not pressuring yourself to be creative.
I think it is sometimes good to be in that position and give yourself the time you really want. You must probably have been working hard such that your body was calling you to chill. Usually, when you give yourself a break, you will have more ideas to create afterwards.
Yes that makes sense Lorii. My body wanted me to take a break
Glad you’re feeling better! I think many of us experience this to some degree from time to time. It’s not fun, but oddly enough, when I get my groove back, I feel rejuvenated. It’s like I needed to just not be on for a while.
Yes I do feel rejuvenated afterwards Jennifer. It was a needed break from life I expect.