Posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 10:09:11
In reply to How to get motivated when you're already depressed, posted by rainyday on February 11, 2004, at 9:33:21
Boy - I wish I could tell you!!! In fact, my favorite piece of advice is "You know, exercise helps - increases serotonin! It will make you feel better!" My GP was quite unhappy with my weight the last few times I've seen her, and I got the exercise lecture - and that's easy for someone to say when they don't understand the amount of effort it takes to get out of bed, much less to do anything else!!! Some days, I figure the docs should be happy that I'm not sleeping my life away.
Anyway, my therapist, bless her, told me to not worry so much about motivating myself to do big things (like start a regular exercise routine or change my diet) when I was seriously depressed - instead, to focus on getting on the proper meds and surviving day to day, and, if I happen to get a surge of motivation, then use that, but don't push myself too much. Once I was feeling better, it was much easier to do something. I still have no motivation to exercise, but I'm much closer now that my meds are working better, sans side effects, and I'm feeling better in general.
In other words, you have to crawl before you can walk - so focus as best you can on doing what you need to do to keep going day-to-day, use the occasional bursts of motivation if/when they come, and worry about the rest of it when you get out of this depression. You can't take on the world when you're not functioning at your best.
P
poster:Penny
thread:311997
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20040102/msgs/312005.html