Negativity

[LHall123]

Does anyone feel that there whole outlook on life has changed and it's really negative, and you keep asking yourself why am I thinking like this but u can't change it and negative thoughts pop in your head all day?

[WeightWarrior]

Yes, some days are still like that for me, although I'm much better than I was. I was always guilt tripping myself for feeling so down because I didn't know why I felt like that. I felt like an unappreciative spoiled brat who had so much and was still not satisfied with her life - "how dare you be unhappy, there are homeless people starving...YOU have a family, roof, food", etc, etc. I still get the occasional down days when I feel like that too...if I'm down, I beat myself up because I have no reason to be down. And so it goes on, and all the positive self talk in the world doesn't seem to pull me out of it on those days. Thankfully they are not so frequent these days.

I tend to listen to a lot of music, obviously it has to be more upbeat, not sad songs. It's like it blocks my brain from being able to think of negative stuff because it's listening to the music instead, if that makes any sense? I can't concentrate on lots of things all at the same time, so I think that's why it works for me. Some days when an album finishes, the silence is deafening and I can't stand to hear nothing as it allows me to start thinking and over-thinking things again, so I just play another album straight away. On the better days I can actually stand the quiet for a while, and even enjoy it a bit...

[Hidden]

I get a voice in my head saying.OI WHY ARE YOU SAD YOU HAVE ALL THIS BUT YET YOU STILL WANT MORE.I TOLD A FRIEND BUT I FELT LIKE IT TORE OUR FRIENSHIP APART*SOBS*

[WeightWarrior in reply to Hidden]

Yep, same...guilt trip myself for not being appreciative enough of what I have! I don't necessarily think that I want "more", it's just that I feel guilty for feeling so down when I have everything I need. I don't think you can help the feeling, I'm sure it's chemical in the brain. I saw a documentary by the BBC once where they scanned brains of depressed people and non-depressed people and there was an actual physical difference, can't remember the name of the part atm, but a part of the depressed people's brains was actually smaller than a "normal" (whatever normal is!!) brain.

Are you sure you genuinely want more, or is it just that you are in that depressed state of despair about life in general. and so everything seems negative? There is a real difference, I think. Try not to beat yourself up too much. Is is possible you could talk to your friend again? I will try to find that documentary, it was very helpful to me in justifying to my family why I felt the way I did, it showed successful people who were hit by depression and shows that depression doesn't care how successful, wealthy, etc you are, it can hit anybody. Maybe it could help you explain the illness better to your friend - maybe they don't quite understand how it all works? Just brainstorming, I hope you can get things back on track with your friend. xx

[WeightWarrior in reply to WeightWarrior]

Got it... youtu.be/F5YubjEqbZ8(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden]

Sometimes as we get older we will sit back and wonder where am I going to, generally a feeling of flustration comes about as you understand life needs to change and another pathway needs to open. At that time we can suffer anxiety and worry when things and life needs to progress

Over the previous weeks I have noticed that you have been on site several times.

How can I help ?

BOB

[Findingme]

Yes, that describes my thoughts quite well. I used to be a regular Pollyanna, you know the girl who always saw the positive side of everything. Then I went through a really bad time myself, and lost my way.

Maybe this is what happens when your happy view of the world is shattered, and you lose your naievity. Maybe having a negative view of the world is our way of protecting ourselves from disappointment. If so I think it is a shame, as it takes away motivation.

In the book Pollyanna, she lost her mojo after a bad accident, and it took her quite a long time to recover any positivity. However she did in the end and they all lived happily ever after. Lets hope the same can happen to us all.