Comments on: Learning To Live With Depression - Breaking It Down

By: Emma Cookers

Emma Cookers — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:55:25 +0000

I don’t know if I believe depression ever really leaves. I went through a phase where there was no trigger, it just happened. I didn’t get help that time and was just lucky to ‘get better’ so to speak. Later on, my circumstances have been the new trigger. Living on my own with depression, I have a lot of things frozen that I use for meals. My family helped prepare meals (they don’t live nearby) and now when I’m at a low point (most of the time) I don’t have to worry so much about trying to prepare food. Different with a family I know, but things like that make it easier I guess.

By: Lynette

Lynette — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:02:55 +0000

Interesting thoughts you shared…. no wonder we feel overloaded….. our brain must have to go through trillions of steps each day… but thats it.. baby step after baby step…. I too find that my day goes smoother once I know whats for tea…. strange but true.. sometimes I cut up the veggies in the morning and soak in water.. and the day flows so smoothly after that huge hurdle is out of the way until 5pm…

THanks for sharing …. inspires me to understand even more… even the way our kids have to learn… life is like a recipe… step 1, 2…..

I also think its good to have something good to look forward to…that you like… makes the day lighter for some reason…..

By: river

river — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:42:56 +0000

This is awful! And it explains why my hubby, (now ex), goes into a familiar store, straight to the baked beans because he knows exactly where they are, buys two cans, then at home eats them cold from the can. Simplified steps.

at step one, knowing what food you have on hand, would it help to have a list on the fridge where things in the fridge/freezer get crossed off as they are used?
I used to do this and just added the crossed off items to my weekly shopping list.

I thought I was beginning to understand depression a bit, but now I see I really don’t have a clue.

By: Kath Lockett

Kath Lockett — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:19:29 +0000

Thanks for sharing this with us. With my own depression that, yes, I realise will come and go whenever it damn well feels like it, I often see long long lists of things I have to do. When things are really dark, even my loved ones feel like chores on that long long list.

All I suggest is what my father suggested to me - he too suffered depression when I was in my early twenties. He says that the depression is the gaps between the stepping stones and that each stone is something to look forward to. It doesn’t matter if it’s as minor as your next cup of coffee or a pat of the dog but it’s something good, something lovely to look forward to and appreciate. A bit like the mindfulness of meditation - focus on it and enjoy it when it happens; every last sip of the cup.

And keep on doing it. Eventually the gaps between the stepping stones get smaller and smaller and your capacity to appreciate the tinier things in life gets a helluva lot bigger. Trust me, it works (shuffles off to make her second coffee of the day)