Accomplishing tasks when in a state of depression can be a real chore. So often, people may find themselves in an utter state of immobility. Sure we can still move about but what I’m referring to is immobility to get things done. When we are depressed we often psych ourselves out so much with even the simplest tasks, we have difficulty accomplishing much. Things continue to pile up and we feel even more overwhelmed. Inevitably it begins to feel like no matter what we do we are running faster toward certain doom.
One problematic source of depression is external (environmental) factors. These are often circumstances you cannot control but can adapt yourself to. Because we cannot remove this factor, this stimuli and it presents a negative effect into our lives we naturally consider this a negative factor. Naturally we would remove the circumstance but cannot so we must try to “deal with it.” By not accepting a negative circumstance for what it is- something we have chosen to view as negative, it is easy to get angry and frustrated because we have now found a source of blame for the negative feeling. Certainly not ourselves (I mean why would we ever put responsibility on our own shoulders?) so this thing we view as negative is causing feelings of negativity. We are now no longer responsible for making a situation the best we can, we are now “victims.”
But what if that wasn’t really true? What if negative circumstances weren’t the only deciding factors in how we feel? According to Julie A. Fast and Dr. John Preston, authors of: Get It Done When You’re Depressed: 50 Strategies for Keeping Your Life On Track, when getting things done, Fast and Preston emphasize the importance of not waiting for motivation. Don’t wait until you feel like doing something because that feeling will probably never come.
In fact, they say that waiting for your motivation to return is the biggest mistake you can make when you’re depressed and need to perform. I can attest to this as I realized I was facing a second medical board to examine me for medical retirement. I was told the med board was going to happen and I was free to participate in the proceedings as little or as much as I like. No one was going to provide me with my input, “my argument” on what the results should be once my medical board was complete. It was up to me. If I sat there and waited for a miracle (like I originally intended to do) I believe I would have been much more disappointed with my fate than I was when I did the work and provided as much documentation in regard to my case as I could. I ensured myself I would receive as appropriate a response as I should expect based on the amount of work I put in. I was finding my execution after I lost it.
I know you can too.
You’re Welcome. Internet.
