So another day of work.
I'm struggling at the moment. I'm in a job that I like, with people that I like, yet I'm finding it very difficult to get the motivation to do anything other than call in sick and sit around in my pants all day. I'm not sleeping properly and due to the nature of my commute, I rarely have enough time to do any clearing up in the house I've just moved into so I'm surrounded by mess, which is kind of depressing.

It's weird, I'm not actually down or anything, I just seem to be suffering from a bout of apathy. Anyone else just finding it all so insufferably dull?

I think I need a holiday.
( Kroney, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 8:06, 12 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

You have my sympathies
I felt the same a couple of years ago, I enjoyed the job, but had an hour and a half commute each way so by the time I finished work I was knackered before I even got on the train home. My house was a constant mess as I was too tired to do regular housework and I was living in a state of get up, go to work, get home, eat, sleep. Managed it for two months before I cracked and moved home.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 8:27, Reply)

get a cleaner
it's cheap enough, and even if she/he comes once a fortnight, it makes all the difference in the world.

mine comes weekly and it's the best money i spend all month, seriously. if you work long hours and have a long commute, you don't want to be spending your weekends or an hour a night scrubbing...
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 9:58, Reply)

@al
Well, if you won't, I will.

scrubbing fellating David Tennant's brother's cousin's twin's neighbour's Guinea Pig
( Bert Monkeysex is waiting for the mods to delete him, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 12:56, Reply)

ha
i hadn't thought about anything other than calling kroney a scrubber. but yours is better. both of you. filthy animals.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 13:20, Reply)

hire a cleaner
is typical rswipe; most people would tell me to stop being so damned self-pitying.
( Kroney, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 13:33, Reply)

Hmmm...
You ain't gonna wanna hear this and I'm no shrink but I do know and recognise the classic symptoms of clinical depression and what you've outlined here add up to just that.
I say this as I've been unable to work for the past year due to this and those symptoms are real indicators.
I hope that's not the case but if you find yourself in a GP's office asking for help, for fuck's sake don't take Citalopram. I was prescribed this last year and it made me want to kill everyone I encountered.
(Joe Strummer's Telecaster in tune with the world, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 13:47, Reply)

@Joe Strummer's Telecaster
True but remember there is a reason we are not all qualified to be shrinks.

It's perfectly possible to display all the DSM criteria for any disorder and yet absolutely definately not have it.

That said, it sounds like Kroney needs a holiday, hobby or torrid love affair. Nothing gets me cleaning and motivated like the promise of another's affections.

Medication won't help this sort of thing in a good way unless it's caused by a chemical imbalance. There is so much that can be achieved on one's own that is ignored in the current climate of overmedication.
Kroney, what are you INTO? Interests wise.
(Edktstsss, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 15:14, Reply)

A holiday sounds fab
Not wanting to trample on what you've said Ed9489, cause I do mostly agree emphatically, but it's important to remember there has never been any scientific evidence that any depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. Mental health diagnoses (like depression) aren't concrete entities in the way that physical health diagnoses tend to be, but are constructs. Therefore, if you have the symptoms of depression, you can be said to have depression - as all(!) depression is, is the experience of the symptoms of depression (there is no underlying 'thing' be it biochemical, psychological, or social which underpins all depression).

It certainly seems, Kroney, that what you're experiencing could be described as depression (loss of motivation, difficulty sleeping, apathy, loss of enjoyment - otherwise known as anhedonia, perhaps a bit of fatigue, maybe changes in appetite?) you certainly don't have to feel down, tearful etc. for this to be the case.

Yeah, you can go to your GP if you want to try antidepressants, or if you need a sick note for work - I always say people should definitely go if theyfind themselves having any thoughts about harming themself, although that doesn't sound the case for you at all. But Ed9489 has a really good point, there are loads of other things you can do, which are proven to be highly effective for people who are feeling like you have described - I would particularly recommend:
Excercise
Lots of sex
Seeing friends as much as possible - both to talk lots, and to do fun stuff
Not drinking too much (it will intensify how you're feeling)

Sorry for the seriousness, I hope it makes sense and doesn't seem too preachy. I think I need a holiday too...
(cherrynicola, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 17:34, Reply)

Thanks for the concern
but I'm just a bit worn down at the moment. Not everyone who has a mild period of apathy has depression. I'm certainly not in need of anyone's sympathy.

Just need a bit of a change from routine, that's all.
( Kroney, Tue 15 Jul 2008, 21:06, Reply)

@cherrynicola
There is good evidence regarding the effects of serotonin levels on happiness. I've seen many people who enjoy munching too many recreational drugs lapse into depression through serotonin exhaustion, and be helped by SSRIs.

The point I was trying to make though, is that there is a big gap between apathy for a reason, and clinical depression, even if the symptoms point to a diagnosis. I've been asked by someone (who happened to be a psychotherapist) if I was going through some depression because all I wanted to do was sit on the couch in my underwear, drink beer and play playstation.

The fact that that is perfectly normal holiday behaviour for me overrides any clinical diagnoses. So no, Kroney, I wasn't suggesting you are depressed or need help but rather that you're probably on the verge of really getting 'into' something, and a little inspiration is all that is needed.
(Edktstsss, Wed 16 Jul 2008, 11:28, Reply)

Hi Kroney,
I can relate to your symptons pretty well, though the presence of Mrs G in the house means that I always manage to drag my sorry bones to work, and also the house is usually pretty clean if not tidy. If she ever left me, that state of affairs would change within hours.

I've run out of advice since posting the other week except for my parting words: "And this above all else - when things seem really black, go for a walk in the countryside if at all possible, or better still, run or cycle. Look at the beauty of the world and remember that no matter how black things seem, there are others who would love to be in your place. And things will get better. If that doesn't help - let us know about it on the QOTW and we'll cheer you up and provide support."

I hope just sharing on b3ta and getting some helpful/useful/supportive words from some folks that have been around the block a couple of times can let you know you're neither alone, nor hopeless.

My analogy for the day: you're at the bottom of the swimming pool and this post and its answers are the 'kick off the bottom'. Keep kicking and although you're not out yet, you'll soon break water and be splashing on the surface in the sunshine. When that happens, take time to float on your back a bit and get your breath back before you climb out of the pool.

Does any of that make any kind of sense?
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Wed 16 Jul 2008, 15:26, Reply)

@Ed9489
I agree with you much more than my post seems, I'm not all that articulate at the moment, off work with concussion, and my thoughts aren't coming out quite right! But what I was meaning is that as far as most Psychologists and Psychotherapists are concerned, Depression is a normal experience on a continuum, and always DOES have a reason, and that people with clinical depression aren't somehow 'ill'.

Yes, there is some evidence on the effects of serotonin levels on happiness, but what often isn't talked about is how poorly controlled this research has been (someone like Joanna Moncrieff writes interesting critiques), and correllation and cause have often been confused, not to mention the interaction effects with environment.

But, what you say is spot on, if it's normal for you and you're happy with it, then there's no-one in the world with the right to question it ... unless you're like raping their children or something.
(cherrynicola, Thu 17 Jul 2008, 13:42, Reply)