Mental Health

Down Daze

Some days I just feel down.

It’s part of who I am, part of the depression I suffer. I can’t get motivated, it’s difficult to think straight, everything just seems too hard. It’s as if the weight of gravity has increased and I’m just too weak to get up.

There’s no particular reason for why it happens. It can be triggered by a bad night’s sleep, the weather, a sad song, thinking about my non-existent love life. Sometimes, nothing at all.

It’s like my brain wants to stifle me. If it could, that gelatinous mass of neural tissue would creep out of my skull, grab a pillow and start smothering. “And that’s for all those times you subjected me to King of Queens,” it would scream.

Today is one of those days. I’m trying to catch up on my Uni readings, and I just don’t have the motivation or care factor. Part of my brain is saying “I need to do this, now”, and the other part is saying “wouldn’t you rather just sleep? Life is a pain anyway.” I need to post some discussion threads as part of my unit, but I can’t do it. I feel exhausted, even though today is no more strenuous than yesterday.

It would be nice if I could pop a happy pill and everything would be fixed, but I’m already on medication and I don’t do recreational drugs.

So what’s the fix? Sometimes I try to read, and if that doesn’t work, I watch a movie or a comedy series to get my mind off…well, me. Sometimes I try to write. Like this post. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

I need to ring up and book an earlier psychologist appointment (my next one is in March), but I can’t pick up the phone. It’s just too hard. And I don’t want to experience the receptionist’s rejection: “I’m sorry, but there are no earlier appointments, she’s all booked up. And even if we did have an opening you’re the last person we would give it to.”

Maybe I should go out, but what would that achieve? I’d be surrounded by people who don’t know me, don’t care if I live or die. I’d just get more down.

I know it will pass, eventually. I wouldn’t be alive if it didn’t.

Suddenly, the phone rings, and it’s my psychologist’s receptionist, advising that there have been cancellations on Friday, and asking would I like an appointment! God continues to smile on me. I take the appointment. I’m feeling a little better. I’m realising that sometimes, no matter how down you are, some things just happen (I’m thanking the good Lord as I type this).

If only that were the case every time I was having a down day.

Beyond Blue – About depression

Mindspot – Online depression testing

Sane – What is depression?

MindHealthConnect – Depression – symptoms and treatment

5 thoughts on “Down Daze”

  1. I have been writing about these days too. You are right, its just a daze – I love the title. The brain does seem to want to stifle. Nothing really comes out and nothing really goes in. I hope the appointment goes well.

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    1. Thanks, I hope so too. I hate how these days just sneak up on you. Not much we can do about it, just get through. I might have to talk to the doc about my meds, but prefer not to up them anymore. 🙂

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      1. Yeah it would be ideal if you didnt have to up any medication. You can get through it, as you say sometimes you just have to dig in and wait it out. But you will come out the other side.

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  2. I have been finding study harder this week or so. I knew studying in SP4 would be harder. Today I got a reflection done, not sure if it is good enough, but it will do. Sometimes I pick up the book for the assessment 3 and then 2 minutes later put it down. Like you say then move onto something else and keep going round like that. I don’t think of depression as feeling like if I was like “normal” people I would be able to do this or that and people would say bad things about how I don’t wash dishes by hand or sweep floors. Too complicated to understand why I used to do it and at the moment I don’t. Some people use it as a put down.

    I have been finding organising hard, one year I was really behind in it. But lately I have organised my daughter’s bus ticket to see her Nana and then a drive to the station to pick her up then put her back on to go back to the city, 3 hour round trips to the station and the money involved. Hard to believe and always there are more things, tricky things or organise. I like the line upon line precept do a little and it mounts up.

    Wow, that was a miracle, and something cheerful. Yes God can make things like appointments easier, there was one like that for me recently, can’t remember the details atm.

    I am reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. It is about writing down the blessings like the receptionist ringing.

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