life help: how do you get motivated in life while depressed? - Help.com

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It can be really difficult. Sometimes it can help to stop thinking about your problems for a while. Instead, think about what you would like your life to be like. What sort of person do you want to be, ideally? What could you do, over the next year, to get closer to a life that you’d really enjoy?

Sometimes, depression can change the chemicals in your brain, making it nearly impossible to get motivated. In those cases, taking medication for a little while can straighten things out.

anon666 wrote:
my killing urself

that’s is just rude, if you don’t have good advice, shut up.
as for you proudparron, if you are depressed to get motivated is really hard, i know.
so it depends what you want to get motivated with
for a job, think about how you would feel later on if you quit or got fired

What mango says sums up the rest really.

Actually, some people think that a lack of ambition can be a step towards a better life. Buddhists and, to some extent, Taoists think that if you lack ambition, you can be content with what you already have, which can be a pretty great thing. Of course, I don’t know what your life is like, right now, but here’s a thought… instead of trying to get motivated and ambitious, you could just meditate, read, and work on feeling peaceful with who you are and where you’re at, right now. Maybe you don’t need to be ambitious, right now.

I really don’t know if this is good advice, but I hope it gives you a new perspective to think about. Sometimes, we try so hard to change ourselves, when it might make us happier to learn to appreciate the great qualities we already have.

Hi Jen… do you have an exercise pattern? Exercise can be very beneficial in helping to create the needed chemicals to promote motivation. Not to mention, Endorphine’s are the original, natural happy drug! You will notice, that when you are pushing yourself to the limit physically, you cannot be depressed.
Bright blessings ~ Richard
http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/hrp/I…

Have you been to the doctor? Hypo-thyroidism is very common, and it’s symptoms are a sharp decline of motivation, decreased metabolism causing marked weight gain, and of course depression ensues.

lol…was just looking at yours too… that is an ingenious idea!

lol… well it’s good you have your sense of humor! You can’t be all THAT depressed :) Seriously though… I know it seems young, but 44 is not too young for the “M” word. :( My girlfriend was being checked for menopause at the age of 33. Not saying that’s the problem but a trip to the doc is always good when motivation becomes an issue. If it is from the depression you might look into meds for a short time… just something to help get you up and moving. Once you get back into a routine, I’d bet you could drop the meds pretty easily.

I understand completely… when the doc’s start making “educated guesses” it’s time to think about a new doc. the ol’, “let’s try this just to rule it out” has been WAYYYYY over used.

Here’s an experiment… become a fictional character. Tomorrow when you wake up… pretend for the first 4 hours you are..hmmmmmm…. let’s say a robot. Of course in science fiction lingo, I think that would be more like Cyborg (I dunno). The point is, when we step outside of ourself to be something we “normally” are not… to be fictional for a while, we can be truly amazed at the results. I am extremely curious, but that is not why I’m here :)
And now… I must be off to bed… sweet dreams all.
Bright blessings ~ Richard

lol… of course… how about a Tasmanian Devil… they seem pretty motivated :)

hey you!! let me know when you got it figured out…share?

You know, I was depressed for about 10 yrs. I tried meditation, changing things in my life (new job, new university, new city, new boyfriend, etc), exercise, therapy, more therapy, etc. Nothing helped. I finally ended up in a hospital. I tried an anti-depressant, then a different anti-depressant, then a different dose. I got to the point where I really didn’t expect to ever feel better. But then, I hit on the right anti-depressant at the right dose and it was like magic. It didn’t get rid of the problems in my life, but it gave me the energy and confidence to deal with things myself. It was so cool, being able to get out of bed in the morning. Just being able to laugh at a movie seemed like a new thing. The doctors said that, in my case, my brain just wasn’t working right and needed a bit of a jump start. After two years, the pills stopped working, I stopped taking them, and my life has been so much better, ever since.

I’m just sharing because it sounds like you might be in a similar situation. I don’t believe that drugs can actually “cure” depression, but I think that for some people, the right drug can help get them moving again. It sounds like you’ve already tried a few (and I know the side effects can be pretty grim), but maybe there’s something out there that can help you. I hope so.

By the way, I love animals - especially parrots. I think it’s so great that you run a bird rescue. Do you have a website or anything?

Well, it seems like which antidepressant will work is a pretty random thing for each individual person. Prozac worked for me, once the dose was high enough, although I tried Lexapro first, which just made me feel terrible. However, I have a close relative who felt awful on Prozac and did well on Lexapro. I think that’s why it seems like psychiatrists are just guessing… sometimes they are. :)

hey, clutterbug… I just wanted to drop a note to say that you’re not alone. I’m sorry that you’re going through this and I hope the meds work. Even if they don’t, keep trying new things. I really hope you feel better soon!