I am struggling with severe depression and anxiety. I have no motivation to get out of bed. Normally I am extremely active and optimistic but now I just want to stay in bed all day and think only about bad things that I’ve done and have been done to me. I have been unable to work due to my inability to concentrate on conversations, memory problems and unable to think of a response. I just want to curl up in a ball and make the world leave me alone till I heal.
I am currently on medications for these problems and am told it takes awhile for it to work which I know since this isn’t my first battle with depression and anxiety.
I just want to be my old optimistic, fun, carefree, hard working self.
Written by
Molly_love
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I'm where you are now and it's not nice at all ,I have stayed in bed for 3 wks and cannot stop crying, I suffer with bipolar and severe depression and I'm now menopausal yet the doctor seems to think it's my bi polar that's making my mood low , yet I have 7 symptoms of the menopause I'm 57, and feel like no one's listening .they just say increase your Anti depressants ?? I to have a Grandson , 2 great kids, husband no understanding what so ever ,!! I just want my old self back , this truly isn't nice at all. I do understand , and get what soon xx
I am 45..I guess in perimenopause.. My gyn Dr rushed out of the room last time before I could even ask. I have one friend off this site who truly understands.. My friends try.. This, is the one place beside my now therapist I feel safe.
Thankyou , I just find it so hard to get through to GP I don't antidepressants , just let HRT I've been on antidepressants for 20 yrs I no the difference in menopause
I could have written this myself. I am bipolar and I go through cycles of severe depression and then feeling “normal”. It’s no fun. You should feel better once your medication kicks in. For me, the depression is like someone flipped a switch and everything is dark. It even appears darker in my vision. It’s weird. But when the medication kicks in and I start to feel better- it’s like someone flipped the switch back on. Just know that you are not alone. I’m trying to motivate myself to go swimming for some exercise because I am so weak from laying around all the time. I also deal with severe pain in my back and sciatica that is not responding to any treatment. Do you get distracted at all when you are engrossed in something? I started doing puzzles and building miniature houses and it helps me to focus on something other than myself.
Thankyou for reply, I just feel so confused with them telling me to up my anti depressants, when I'm already on 300 mg , plus lithium and I'm going through the menopause, why won't they let me try patches . Yes I help volunteering , and I love reading books , gardening , my husband and daughter just shout in bed again it's so cruel
Be careful with hormone patches. I was on an estrogen patch for a couple months. They told me to go off of it for an upcoming surgery. A week later I had a SCAD heart attack (sudden cardiac artery dissection) that the cardiologist said was most likely due to the estrogen. Thankfully, all I needed was 2 stents. It was scary.
My heart and prayers go out to you.💗🙏I lived that way for many years.😪 The ruminating on past failures and any unforgiveness you hold against yourself and others will keep you depressed. You are a good person, we all make mistakes, forgive yourself. Your family needs you. There is power in gratitude. Instead of thinking bad thoughts start thanking God for all of the good in your life. Even if you have to start with small things ie; your pillow🙂I hope you start feeling better soon and can get out and play with your children.🥰Much love ❤
I'm sorry for what you are going through.. I am similar but I am not on medication.. I don't even know where to start.. I know certain situations in my life trigger my depression and anxiety more... Sending big virtual hugs xoxo
This sounds like me. I dont want to get out bed every morning . Just want to be curl up and let time pass until I heal. Sorry you are going through this. Sending you wishes of healing.
Here's something I wrote a few months back in response to another poster in here that seems to have helped some folks. Depending on your diagnosis, some of it may not apply to you but you can sift that out.
One other thing I would add is that giving in to the temptation to stay in bed all day is flat-out treacherous. Being alone with your thoughts and thought patterns all day is a recipe for circling into a feedback loop that you might not be able to pull out of and -- I'll be blunt -- you may die by your own hand. It almost happened to me. You need other voices and stimuli to knock these negative thought patterns out of your head, even if only for a little while. (More on that below.)
Give the meds some time to work and help. In the meantime, I hope and pray the following helps:
***
THE DEPRESSIVE MANIFESTO
Some pretty solid advice I've seen in here so far. The most critical thing is to never, ever give in to the idea that your mental illness is anything like a reliable indicator of the truth about the world outside your head. Once you understand that it's a lie, it becomes far less powerful because you become much less afraid of it. Fear that it will come again will often make it come again.
In my view, the people at greatest risk of suicide are the ones who start to believe that the whole world is hopeless and pointless, not just their own situation, meaning that in their minds, there is nowhere for them to escape the rising floodwaters even if they can get out of their heads for a moment. At that point, you're in a tailspin that's hard to pull out of. I almost ate a pistol in '94 because of it.
Something that really helps me is remembering that the moods do come -- and go. Just remembering that largely de-claws the lacerating despair that may be slicing and dicing me at the moment because I know from long experience that it will go. Yes, in the moment it feels like I have been in this nightmarish mood from eternity past and will be in it forever, but it will go. In remembering that I immediately feel significantly better. But again it is absolutely critical that you believe that there is goodness and worthwhile-ness in the world outside your head. Because it really is there.
Another thing that may sound stupid but really works for me is that just scrunching up my shoulders or allowing my face to sink into a grimace is a trigger. I start to get anxious and my stomach starts to boil. (Your physical posture really does make a big difference in your mental state.) But if I force myself to relax my face and shoulders, the anxiety will go away almost every time. Subconsciously I'll start to scrunch and grimace again and the anxiety returns, but again I force my face and shoulders to relax.
You may have to repeat this process about 50 or 100 times until it goes away for an extended period, so DO NOT be discouraged if it doesn't work right away. After a while this and other 'tricks' become second nature and you're able to judo this thing almost absently, like flipping a light switch or flushing the can. There will still be bad days but there will be fewer of them and on average, they will be less severe.
Some have said to focus on things that produce good feelings in you to push out the bad. You have probably heard this a lot but again, this is solid advice. Different things work for different people but I love looking at pictures of fall foliage, just hypnotizes me. In person is ideal but you can do that any time of year on line, lots of great fall picture sites. Maybe a favorite restaurant or some happy memories. Or going to the hardware store and feeling the constructive atmosphere -- positive things you can do with tools and parts and nails etc to fix something at the house or maybe a hobby or project -- that runs so contrary to the sense of futility this illness stuffs down your throat. Anything that gives you even 5 minutes away from the bad thought patterns is a point gained; it's 5 minutes you weren't feeding this snake. That matters because mood disorders rarely if ever stand still; they are either getting better or worse, depending on your behavior and attitude. Once again, it will be difficult at first, but once again it will become second nature after a while.
Last but not least, these things and all the other solid advice I've seen in here are coping skills -- or more to my point, weapons. DO NOT be passive and hope this illness will go away on its own, it won't. You must stomp the head of this snake day in and day out, because you are in World War (original poster's name), a war for your soul -- and the souls of others (more on that below).
This means you must be willing to fight and fight hard, which means you must believe you have something to fight for. You do. Friends and family and -- get this -- others who are as sick or sicker than you and me, who you don't know yet but who will die by their own hand if you give up now because they will never get encouragement and advice from the voice of experience -- you. God will put you in the path of people new to this illness for this reason, as he has done with me. He will make this illness, yes, worthwhile...
If I sound like Patton in front of that big flag, so be it. When you're up against an enemy as cunning and deadly as mental illness, you need to be a rabid rottweiler with stars on its shoulders. FIGHT!!!
I am so very sorry for what you are going through. I cannot understand why we have to go through so much in this life. Anyway, the reason I am responding to you is because I heard of a new way to treat depression and wish to share. I haven't tried it for insomnia, but am going too. the link is: All – Fisher Wallace. Many blessings to you.
Find ways to literally turn off/quiet down your brain and quit overthinking. Also, remember there is light at the end of the tunnel - and since you’ve already been through the darkness and came through, that means it’s possible to do it again.
Sorry to hear you are struggling most days. I pray for better days ahead. Today is the first day I felt like getting out of bed on my own before noon. I no longer am paralyzed with fear and am actually looking forward to the day. It has been two weeks since I started talking Cymbalta and buspirone. Do you take any medication for depression?
I can completely empathize with what you are going through and my heart breaks for you. I got diagnosed with GAD in January of 2021 but I truly believe I was dealing with anxiety long before then, it just took me a while to reach out to start the healing process. I know when my anxiety gets really bad I am just like you in a sense where I just want to stay home and relax. I used to love being busy and going here and there and running a million miles a minute, now my body can't handle it. I got put on antidepressants and there was definitely some trial and error with my dosage. I found that 75mg of Sertraline has helped and I take 50mg of Hydroxyzine on an as needed basis and that really helps. I recommend trying those if you haven't already, everybody is different but that's just what worked for me. Hydroxyzine makes you a little sleepy but for me it just seems like a mood calming medicine which works well when I get all worked up about useless things. I also do therapy over zoom once a week that helps me as well. My therapist has worked great at giving me good techniques and being that person that can give good advice. I pray that this gets better for you and you are able to find a few things to help you get to feel as if you are normal. I understand that you want to be your old optimistic carefree self, I often think of how I was the same way and where it all goes. Just take it day by day. I am a message away if you need someone to talk to!! 😊
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Severe depression and anxiety
Severe depression episode!
Severely depressed
Severely depressed and beyond rock bottom 
Severe social anxiety and depression...☹️
