Depression = Lack of motivation

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone else is in the same slippery slope as I am. I have previously lost 29lbs, but gradually put it back on. I've known there's been something wrong for some time but I finally built up the courage to go and speak with my doctor just over a month ago and he diagnosed me with depression.

I have been putting on weight due to overeating and lack of exercise, and I know this, and I want to stop it, but I don't have any motivation to. I know all I need is to change my eating habits slightly, and go for a run once a day - that's all I did last time. But everyday I just think, I'll do it tomorrow, and then tomorrow I think the same thing.

It's difficult to explain to those who have never suffered depression, but to those who have - how did you overcome it?

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I know the ups and downs. Feel free to ad me for support!

The best way might be to find a friend/co-worker/family member to encourage you and do it with you. Once you get in a routine of this you will enjoy it and start looking forward to it. Even talking to a friend might help. Good luck!

pearson114 wrote: »

It's difficult to explain to those who have never suffered depression, but to those who have - how did you overcome it?

The most useful points really depend on what your Dr has diagnosed in terms of supporting your management of the depression.

For me, it became a question of recognising that I had to put in place the right habits, and the way to do that was to force myself to do something towards it. So in this case:

Set up MFP to give you the calorie goal
Record your intake and aim to land at, or a little below, your goal each day
If you do want to exercise then give yourself some structure, a plan of some kind. A plan gives you goals.
Reward yourself for hitting goals

A goal might be completing your logging every day for a week, or completing your planned training sessions every day for a week.

Small steps, then keep challenging yourself to make each step a little longer

I've been through similar slumps and I have found that if i can just force myself to do it once, the next day is much easier to keep going. Something about those endorphins will help your depression if you can just take that first step.

I also find that not putting too much pressure on myself helps too, I allow myself to walk instead of run while I rebuild my endurance. That keeps me from getting discouraged. Good luck!

Stop thinking that you "should" go for a run. Too many "shoulds" = feelings of failure and that just maintains the vicious cycle.

Make your goals smaller, much smaller. Make them daily goals, heck, even hourly goals if you need to. There is no "tomorrow", live for now. Do what you can, now, and give yourself credit for the small goals you achieve.

Exercise *will* make you feel better. I know it's hard to get to that point, but it really does help. But make those exercise goals small to begin with. Try to turn them in to habits and take it from there. Start with simple things like walking to the shop instead of driving etc. Don't give yourself a chance to think about it or talk yourself out of it. Shoes on and go. If even that feels like too much, perhaps look into something like mindfulness meditation and start with committing to that, then work from there.

Food, break it down a bit. Don't go for massive all out changes. Choose one thing to do and stick to it for a week. Next week add another thing etc etc.

Most importantly, if it all goes wrong, accept it and start again. Don't hold on to the self-blame, don't hold on to the negative thoughts. Just move on.

It can be done, it is possible.

You can do it

In the times you are feeling less overwhelmed then you need a simple plan of small steps to improve your daily habits and do things which will isolate you less and make you happier. the weight gain ccould just be symtomayic of everything else that has led to the depression.

Some good advice above like going for a walk, cooking a meal, just doingg things which enhance your life a little bit. Exercise cna be highly effective is helping lift mild depression.
If its deeper, then id not hesitate to get some medication.

All good advice, thank you - especially Monsoon Storm. I'll do it! I'll get there

I have suffered for depression for 10+ years and I know how hard it is to motivate yourself. Can you start with the exercise? I know people probably say it to you all the time and exercise isn't a miracle cure, but it does make you feel better and then you might be able to face eating less. Exercise has worked wonders for my anxiety and depression - of course it doesn't happen over night but it really does help once you're into it. Set yourself mini goals and take it slow, don't be too hard on yourself x

First of all, you do not have to exercise to lose weight.. with this said and if you want to ease in exercise or a walk or a run do this on the days when you feel more upbeat or energetic...

Did the doctor give you medication? If so has it been enough time for the medication to be repeatedly administered and have an effect?

It's tough because exercise can help with the depression, but motivating yourself to exercise seems almost impossible when you are depressed.

Schedule your exercise time, just like you would a meeting for work. Sometimes that makes it harder to skip. Find someone to meet you and walk with your or workout with.

I also find that when I am feeling really down, I write in a journal. It has helped me more than I ever thought it would with depression.

For me it was anti-depressants and therapy, they helped me tremendously and gave me some stability that I needed to make changes. It wasn't until after I was on them for a while that I realized just how bad it was because when you're in the midst of it it is so difficult to have perspective. I was on a prescription for about a year, and have been off for the last 2+ and now that I better understand how depression works I'm better able to recognize and be proactive when it starts creeping back.

I was really hesitant to try it, but I would encourage you to have a conversation with your doctor and see a therapist.

1Foot2Foot wrote: »

For me it was anti-depressants and therapy, they helped me tremendously and gave me some stability that I needed to make changes. It wasn't until after I was on them for a while that I realized just how bad it was because when you're in the midst of it it is so difficult to have perspective. I was on a prescription for about a year, and have been off for the last 2+ and now that I better understand how depression works I'm better able to recognize and be proactive when it starts creeping back.

I was really hesitant to try it, but I would encourage you to have a conversation with your doctor and see a therapist.

I agree with you on this. Also,my best friends are also very helpful when I finally talked to them about what was going on with me. Now when I tell them I am in a "funk", they understand when I pull away and they do what they can to help me from going to a darker place. I don't let it go and get even worse like a did several years ago.

I can't help with getting over depression. Mine is here to stay (23 years since diagnosed), meds and therapy didn't help, so I deal along as best I can.

ReynaDay01 wrote: »

The best way might be to find a friend/co-worker/family member to encourage you and do it with you. Once you get in a routine of this you will enjoy it and start looking forward to it. Even talking to a friend might help. Good luck!

I agree with this totally. I suffer from depression and anxiety both, so I am too depressed to get out of bed, but then I get anxious about not getting up, lol. I go walking in the park with my Granny (she is 62) and it helps a lot! In fact, eating well and exorcising may alleviate some of the depression.

gia - I have been prescribed Citalopram, and CB Therapy, although this doesn't begin until June. I have felt a difference in terms of being able to control my emotions better, however it hasn't helped me feel motivated in anything - from walking the dog to going to work, everything is still a chore and I'd rather stay in bed all day. And that's not usually me.

I'm in this same boat. While I haven't been diagnosed with depression recently, I have suffered with it before. Feel free to add me for support if needed.

you can do it!

I find that focusing on one small accomplishment helps me feel good about my capability and motivates me to do more.

But the focus really needs to be on the one small accomplishment, and not on the next step. Otherwise, I might feel overwhelmed.

The focus also needs to involve the question: If I do this, am I taking care of myself?

What's an example of one small accomplishment?

Eating a healthy breakfast and logging it right away.

When I plan, prepare, and eat a healthy breakfast and then see it on the MFP screen, I feel good that I followed through with a planned action. I feel good that I have given myself good nourishment. And then I feel motivated to do the same for lunch.

Support of understanding friends and a routine workout that makes you feel rejuvenated... Add me if you want...

pearson114 wrote: »

gia - I have been prescribed Citalopram, and CB Therapy, although this doesn't begin until June.

The crux of CBT is just what you're asking about. How can you force change in your behaviour to help you with the health related issues.

Personally I found talking therapies more useful to me than CBT per se, but what I've described above is one of the tools that you'll get from it.

Personally I'm not particularly receptive to uncritical cheerleading, so for me things need to be a bit crunchier and outcome focussed. There is a need to understand yoruself, and how you respond. Are you carrot or stick driven? What results do you want and how can you express those in a meaningful way.

Two years ago, when I started to lose weight and train more seriously, I very quickly discovered that I'm not driven by weight, but by running performance. So the latter is what I track and train towards. I'm a little carrot oriented, but more so stick and I'm my own biggest critic, so it's working within that to mitigate how I engage with myself.

As an example, I was in a 10K race yesterday. Beat my previous PB for the course by three minutes, but within an hour was planning how to iprove on that time again next time. The CBT should help you understand yourself and give you some tools to work with that.

gia07 wrote: »

First of all, you do not have to exercise to lose weight..

Gia, I think your point is important.

I have been using MFP to log food since January and it was only two days ago that I finally went to the gym. Before that I mainly did occasional outdoor walks and hid my body under loose sweaters. I dreaded thinking about pulling on my swimsuit to do laps in the gym pool.

Now that I've lost over 15 pounds, I feel more confident and I actually look forward to going to the gym. I feel like I can be a "swimmer" again!

Note that I intentionally took things slowly. I probably could have lost more weight, but I didn't want to torture my mind or my body to achieve what I felt was an unreasonable goal.

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