*Content Warning: Mentions of suicide, suicide ideation, and depression.
*Disclaimer: This post was first published on chronicillnessbloggers.com, and is being republished here with permission from the editors. This article is meant for educational purposes, and is based on my personal experiences as a patient. I am not a doctor, and nothing in this article should be substituted for medical advice. Please consult your own doctor before changing or adding any new treatment protocols. This post may also contain affiliate links. It will cost you nothing to click on them. I will get a small referral fee from purchases you make, which helps with the maintenance of this blog. Read our Privacy Policy page for more information. Thank you!
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This is Just One of Many Methods I Use to Cope When I'm Feeling Depressed
I'd like to preface this piece by saying that this is just one of the many methods I employ to cope when I'm feeling depressed, and the lack of motivation that comes with it. I do have days where I just let myself be and lie in bed all day, which isn't a bad thing either. Sometimes that's necessary.
I wrote “7 Reminders For Those Bad Days to Keep You Going”, which is pretty much the opposite school of thought from this piece. But I do believe that both ways of thinking are equally as important to have in my mental arsenal.
An Aimless Cruise Through Life
For the longest time, I had been trying to motivate myself to no avail, and started to wonder if I had simply grown tired of life. I had reached a stage where, if given a choice, would pick a painless death over the fulfilment of my happiest dreams. What’s the point to life, when you need to deal with pain on a daily basis anyway?
Knowing That I’m Not Alone Out There
To my surprise, I realised that many others with chronic illnesses also struggle with this issue, and that there was a term for it - passive suicidal, or suicide ideation. People like me aren’t actively thinking of ways to end our lives, but wouldn’t mind if we were to drop dead this very moment. You don’t have to worry about coming home to find me in the tub with slit wrists, yet I endure rather than enjoy my days.
Medications for Motivation? Seriously?
My psychiatrist believed that my lack of motivation stemmed from depression; in fact, it’s one of the main symptoms. Yet somehow I didn’t believe that medications could fix it. I mean, it isn’t a feeling like happiness, sadness or anxiety, and is more of a catalyst to action, right?
Well, after a year or two of trying various medications, a new drug, vortioxetine, became available at my hospital. She gave me a special slip of paper to collect them, and when my motivation climbed upwards over the next few weeks, I was astonished. Vortioxetine 1, my ignorance 0.
Thoughts that Emerged from My Dull Routine Whilst Feeling Depressed
Whilst this unmotivated period in my personal history wasn’t exactly a bad one, it sure wasn’t great either. ‘Meh’ would be a fitting description. No matter the activity, I got through each day without much aim or desire. It wasn’t that goals weren’t attainable, but they either didn’t exist, or I wasn't fussed about reaching them.
This gave me a lot of time to think about motivation and all its connotations, and my personal conclusion is that it’s overrated. Sure, it’s a powerful catalyst that keeps you going, but you can still get there without it, albeit with less enthusiasm.
What Motivation Means to Me at Present
My current take on motivation and life is to ‘just do it’, no matter how I feel. Purpose can come later, but regret is always too late. It’s an investment in myself, in hope that one day I’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of my efforts and patience. I'm sure the vortioxetine helps a great deal, but it's also a thought I hold dear regardless.
Feelings do influence our actions a great deal, but they’re not always real or right. How I cope now is to set my emotions aside, and focus on getting things done.
Deep within us all there lies a compass which always points in the direction of life. It’s what we’re drawn to by instinct; even a baby gravitates towards it without thought. Our passions are the lighthouses which signal the way, even on the darkest days. They may be a little dim in the depressive fog, but keep your eyes peeled, for they are there.
When I was Feeling Depressed, Meaning Failed Me
I used to believe that having a reason to live is what keeps a person going, but this perspective failed me once severe depression entered the picture. When it did, everything that once brought me joy seemed meaningless, even frivolous.
Now I just get up and write that blog post, finish my work, do the laundry. I try not to overthink them. I don’t need motivation to clean the house — I still have the capacity to complete this task even without it.
Of course I do get bad days where I’m in a pain flare, and I do stop to rest, then. There is a difference between getting things done, and not being able to do so due to the reality of certain situations. It’s important not to get them mixed up!
When Dark Thoughts Resurface in the Throes of Depression
Whilst thoughts such as “I just don’t feel like doing anything at all” still surface, I’ve decided that I’ve given them too much of my precious time and consideration.
I try not to struggle against the feelings of hopelessness. They can follow me around in sulky silence like a fly at the border of my brain, whilst I get my tasks done. I may be moving at a crawl, but I know that I must keep going, even if I think there’s no point to it.
Having said that, feeling aimless in life for too long is never a good thing, and you need to work with your therapist in times like these. They are there to guide you back onto the right path, because sometimes our brain gets confused, and our perceptions become distorted.
Live Life to the Fullest, Even When Feeling Depressed
We’re supposed to gain clarity and wisdom with age, so perhaps one day we’ll understand what it all means. How satisfied will we be if we looked back upon our lives, then?
But if we keep working on ourselves as human beings right in this very moment, we can still end our journey on a good note. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say, “he lived a great life” or “she was an amazing person”, after they have passed away. Even in the midst of my depression, I was able to recognise such facts.
So live your life to the fullest, no matter how you feel. It isn’t so much about conquering physical mountains, as overcoming the ones within us that block out the light. Travel at your own pace and time, but move forward anyway. Deep down in our hearts, we’ll know that we lived a good life, despite how we feel or think.
What other methods do you use to motivate yourself when feeling depressed and defeated? I would love to learn some of your coping strategies, too!
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill
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Carrie Kellenberger
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Sheryl Chan
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Sheryl Chan
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Sheryl Chan
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Katie Clark
Start a new conversation in the Member Comments below!This post should have more comments, Sheryl! I really resonated with so much of what you said here, and I compeletely agree that with motivation, the point for me is to just do it, no matter how I’m feeling. I go up and down, but pushing through sometimes gets me over those humps. I really enjoyed this article! Shared and wondering how I missed it in 2018.
Aww thanks Carrie! Glad we’re on the same wavelength here! Glad you enjoyed the article and I really need to start writing more of such posts again…I enjoy them the most 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I remember it was rejected by a website once because they wanted a more positive message, but when they read it after I had published it here, they agreed that my perspective was important, too. I truly do believe we can have two different tools and opposing thoughts in our toolbox. Each to use whenever we need them most!
That’s a beautiful mantra, and one I try to abide too as well. I may be heavily brain fogged and in pain today, but tomorrow is a fresh start, again and again. I am glad your family keeps you going. Sending love to you and yours!
For me, my family are my motivation even more than myself. They give me a purpose to get up each day and try my best. I’m fortunate that when I can’t even muster that, they are understanding and that helps me try again the next day. Every day is a new start has been my ongoing mantra.