Hi everyone, this is my first post. I've often spent time reading through other peoples chats when I have had a hard time and found it really nice to see people with similar experiences and mostly how weveryone is so kind and supportive on here. I've decided to dive in and start a chat too in the hopes of meeting (virtualy of course) some nice people here.
I've had episodes of depression since I was an early teen (now in mmy late 20s) and have been in this one for a few years now. Sometimes I feel beter for a while and then at other times things go off track. I think winter makes things worse, i'm in Aus. so we are coming into the nice weather now which i'm so looking forward to. I'm doing ok at the moment where i'm in a stable place living back with my dad and trying desperately to finish my grad research so I can move on to better things. As i'm sure most people can relate to here, depression is so exhausting. I've abused alchohol and probably some low level drugs in the past at times to just get some relief. How did people on here get back on track with their lives (or start to) and what trategies did you find particularly helpful? I'm on medication and have seen therapists at different times so try my best to make CBT charts and practice mindfulness and all that jaz. The thing I would like to get on top of is a healthy routine. It's so embarrassing but I've really had to build myself up again as a person from scratch it seems. I hid how bad I was for a very long time from friends and family. I can get up eventually, shower, get dressed and am trying to eat healthy regularly, see friends (that's a hard one as I get super exhausted from socialising and often distance myself). But I am getting there and trying to stay positive. One thing that I really want to work on is getting out of bed at a reasonable time. I wake up at maybe 8am and many mornings feel a strong sense of dread and dissapointment that I woke up and struggle to get out of bed for hours so i'm up around 10-10:30am. I'm then sluggish for hours and waste most of the day. BTW getting myself out of bed before midday has been something that i've worked towards, so small wins so far. I've been prescribed anti anxiety stuff to help battle the horrible tight chest i'm going to die feeling that can happen some mornings. I would love to be able to open my eyes at a reasonable time and not have bad things pop into my head and look forward to the day. CBT practicing people, what do you say to yourself in your head to fight back and how do you deal with the physical symptoms if you get them when you feel down or anxious? I try breathing techniques and repeatedly telling myself that it's going to be ok and it can be a good productive day. I'm looking at mood tracking apps to get a bit more awareness of exactly what's happening with my moods to see if there are any patterns or triggers, but if anyone has other helful tips on beating the morning blues I would appreciate it soooo much. I feel that if I can get myself going in the morning to a good start, the rest of my day is more likely to be better. Keep on fighting people!
