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Feeling low?

furious

furious

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 7, 2006
1,044
60
Australia
For the past 6 weeks I have had this heavy feeling. I find it hard to get up and socialise with my friends, study for my exams, go to work. I am fine on my own until I know I will need to ask someone something/go places with people etc. I find myself unable to pull myself away from the comuter when such a stituation arises.I am going through some family related trouble (one of my parents is sick).


I was wondering if anybody has any tips of rising out of this hole I have found myself in? :confused:
 
Stress can be a huge factor in depleted energy and sociability. It effects you ways you would never even think of.

I might suggest also looking at diet? The thing isn't necessarily lack of energy, I realize, but what you eat greatly effects which hormones, etc, your body produces and such like that.

Just m2c.
 
melrose said:
I might suggest also looking at diet?
Click to expand...

Not only diet, but exercise and rest... the big 3
If it is a recent thing, I wouldn't worry too much, it will probably pass
If it lingers on, then you may want to take a closer look

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
MacDawg said:
Not only diet, but exercise and rest... the big 3
Click to expand...

I stand corrected, thank you. There's an article in Time that I found that has a simple steps to help if you're dealing with stress.

I agree exercise is very important to mental and emotional strength - it's been proven to build stamina all the way around; that is, if you stick a routine and take it seriously. I know it's helped me quite a bit..

EDIT: I wish you lived in NY. I could give the number of really good therapist/alternative medicine doctor. I've seen him a bit and you always leave feeling sooo much 'lighter' somehow.
 
There are some relaxation therapy 'tapes' that are available.

If you have trouble shutting your mind off for sleep, and go more than 3 nights without same, a Dr. can give you something for that.

Are you uncomfortable hearing concerns of sympathy from your friends? You needn't be.

:D
 
Thanks for the help.

My diet and exercise have not changed. I don't really feel comfortable sharing things with my friends. Why? I don't know.

It is not like i am lacking energy it is more motivation I lack. It could be stress.
 
If you are shying away from friends and social outings that is a sign of not only stress but possibly depression. I would seriously consider talking to someone, wether it be a very close friend or possibly a counselor.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking to a therapist/counselor regardless of what society thinks. They can help before it gets out of control.

Take care of yourself. And I wish the best for you.

Peace:cool:
 
Eat good and exercise. Also, hang out with your friends. I've found a lot of the time I'm just too lazy to go out. It's easy to just stay at home and park yourself in front of the computer. But then later on you regret it. If you actually went out and did something, you'd be glad you did it.
 
Just another one here saying that stress can have a major impact on your body. Stress and worry gave me some serious physical problems not too long ago, I was surprised at how dangerous is can be.

It'll pass in time. I had a similar moment at school (about 7 years ago now). For only a few months I used to come home from school and have an hour long nap to supplement my 8 hours sleep. Caffeine did nothing to help, neither did exercise. It's just a moment that passed.
 
An example of my behaviour is today I sat in front of my text books without the motivation to open them. It was so frustrating. Every time I opened one an excuse was made to leave and run an errand. :( My exam is Wednesday.

Tomorrow I have made the decision to go to the library. Hopefully that will be enough.
 
Try not to sit inside too much, I go utterly mentals if I stop going outside for any length of time.

As mentioned earlier 5-htp can help but don't take too much, no more than 50mg a day. Taking too much causes your serotonin receptors to down-regulate so you become insensitive.
 
I would no take any dietary supplement without researching it first. I'm highly skeptical about pill or supplement as a solution for a psychological problem.
 
furious said:
An example of my behaviour is today I sat in front of my text books without the motivation to open them. It was so frustrating. Every time I opened one an excuse was made to leave and run an errand. :( My exam is Wednesday.

Tomorrow I have made the decision to go to the library. Hopefully that will be enough.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to be too personal here, but it sounds like you may be dealing with a mild form of acute depression. I really feel like a fish out of water here because I've never had that to that degree - perhaps the best thing would be to go and talk to a therapist just for one or two visits - not necessarily a psychiatrist - but just someone who can give you a perspective and help you feel better. You'd be surprised how much better you can feel just talking about something that bothers you.

I'm sorry you're feeling badly. It would be so cool if there were magic words that someone could say to you to make it go away; Some people have to try lots of different things to find relief, some can handle it successfully by just putting more structure in their life.
 
melrose said:
I don't mean to be too personal here, but it sounds like you may be dealing with a mild form of acute depression.
Click to expand...

*This is not my official advice as a professional warning*

Six weeks of what you're describing is more than acute. I would also recommend, in addition to the many excellent suggestions above, looking at working with professionals. Both psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral or acceptance/commitment therapy and medications are very helpful for depression, if that's indeed what's going on with you. And depression is a systemic disease of the brain -- it's not just a choice you make or a thought you think, even though behavioral changes such as those involved in psychotherapy can be used to combat depression.

Rather, depression has a profound impact on your body's immunological functioning and other functions. My unofficial advice again is to not take depression any less seriously, because people mistakenly think of it as just a choice or a series of thoughts, than you would take hypertension, hyperlipidemia, anemia, or other diseases.

It's more than worth getting treatment.
 
Today I feel better than I was feeling yesterday.

Would depression make your body feel heavy? For example my arms and legs feel heavy. To move my arms take more effort than what it was before.

I have exams for the rest of the week. I will talk to my doctor on Monday.
 
I don't know about depression but stress and anxiety can definitely do that. Sometimes it felt like my legs would be able to carry me. Them above 3 are all linked together so it wouldn't surprise me.
 
Personally I'm of the 'avoid the shrink and do something about it yourself' attitude. This is despite a spell in a funny farm of sorts.

And I'm not a scientologist :p

If you're aware of the problem, you can take action. The more you're by yourself, the more you overanalyse whatever circumstances you're in. And despite being able to ask others for advice if you're online, you *are* still by youself. Exercise some discipline in your computer use, go out, try and avoid thinking about the situation. Hit the gym a little more, etc - Anything aside from doing what you were doing when you typed the original post. It's so easy to sit at the PC and procrastinate than unless you have to be in front of it for a specific reason (Unless I'm travelling, making something or drawing I'm usually in front of a screen of some description for example), I'd personally avoid it if you're feeling down for any reason.
 
These things might sound insignificant, but I promise you that they will have a HUGE effect on your mood. Studies show that regular exercise is just as effective as antidepressant medicines are at treating mild to moderate depression! Do these things and I can almost promise that you will see a big improvement in your mood.

Exercise

Eat less

Drink lots of water

Floss your teeth

Socialize
 
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