Why is everyday a struggle

I have joined different groups and clubs, attend Church and joined the local volunteer fire fighting brigade. I know people, but don't feel real close to many of them. Part of that may be my own issues, finding it difficult to feel self acceptance in a different environment.

I try to be friendly with the people I am in contact with but don't expect too much from others. I try to make my own happiness and pleasure. Not always an easy thing to do when hit with depression, but makes me feel better about life.

Do you have hobbies and interests you can expand on, groups you could join to meet new people? I found a craft group in a library. You never know where groups are going to pop up. Thank you. I will try harder though. I have spent a lot of my time this year volunteering for a youth program, which has been a wonderful and rewarding experience, however now that program has now come to an end I will investigate if there are any local groups that i can participate in.

Do you have any tips for overcoming the anxiety for putting yourself out there? Often I will talk myself out of new opportunities because of my lack of self confidence. Thank you Croix, I appreciate your reply. When I expressed how I felt, my feelings were not acknowledged and now neither are speaking to me.

I wish I could find a way to silence the negative thoughts in my head and regain control of my emotions and to simply feel happy and positive and not like the world is against me.

Thank you again for your advice. Uncontrollable crying and feelings of sadness and loneliness have all arisen once more. I had been doing so well to shift into a more positive mindset and I feel like being happy is yet again an unachievable dream.

I really need a distraction and to get out of my own head. It is really tough when these feelings of sadness and loneliness hit so hard. At the moment I am staying at a friend's place house sitting for a week. After the first night I was ready to pack up and return home as I felt so lonely, out of my comfort zone and miserable. As I am looking after a cat, I really couldn't leave. So I have ad to make myself feel better and distract myself.

Thankfully I brought along a book to read and also a work book to read through entitled "Be a better you" or something similar. I brought along some crocheting as well and have been watching T. This place is close to the beach, so I have been forcing myself out the door to drive to the beach. Once I am there, I enjoy it, the effort is just required to get motivated. There is a lake here to go walking around as well. I smile and say hello to the people I meet while walking around.

This morning I had a chat with the lady at the check out in the supermarket. These are just very brief moments of contact with other people, it does help me to feel connected though. Can you write out how you r feeling then write down things you might be able to do to counteract these negatives? Do you have the opportunity to go to a movie, to a shopping centre to just walk around and be with people or go for a walk somewhere for exercise.

I really hope you are able to find some distraction. Even taking yourself out for lunch can make a difference to how you feel. I'm presently using a library computer, seems there is a children's activity happening in the adjacent area I do journal every day to write out my feelings but have never taken the approach of coming up with ideas to counteract them. I think that will be helpful. I will try to reintroduce this into my life. My alarm is still set early, but every day I talk myself out of it.

It is a really daunting feeling as I come from a family where we pretend everything is okay and never talk about our feelings. I am also not used to putting myself or my needs first. It often comes as a shock just when you feel ok for a while then suddenly you plummet down and the feelings of loneliness and sadness feel almost overwhelming. When I have these feelings My first reaction is to hide from people but I know I need to get outside even if it is a walk across the road into the bush.

I find the sounds, smells and sights of the book distract me. I also write even though it is hard. I make myself write for ten min sometimes it will be the same word over and over but I just let my emotions flow into the page- nothing great, but I usually feel better to write it down.

The most alone I have ever felt when I lived with someone who was never there for me emotionally. Thank you for your reply Quirky. I live alone and whilst I used to be so comfortable living by myself, I now find it quite isolating. It was a good distraction but now as I head home to an empty house I feel sad and alone again.

I will practice some meditation and might try and force myself to go for a walk. I also hope you have been able to chat with your family. Sometimes I just blurt out how I am feeling and decide that people will either accept that or they won't. One time out of total desperation and feeling incredibly depressed and out of control, I walked out to the front of the Church and told everyone that I was so depressed I had been feeling suicidal.

The minister said a prayer for me, and that was that basically. People kept their distance for a while in-case what I had was contagious perhaps! The thing is with depression and mental health issues, some people just don't understand and I've learnt that is okay. Regarding the feelings of loneliness at home, do you have some favourite music you could put on when you get home from work?

I have a husband here at home but can still feel very lonely. Reading a book helps me. Sometimes I just randomly talk to other people in a shop, an art gallery or where ever so I have a conversation with someone.

I did have the conversation with my parents and I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. We were going down the path of having a disagreement standard and I cut it off and said there was something I really needed to talk about. They were so incredibly loving, caring and understanding. Going so far back to actually acknowledge and apologise for and discuss a really horrible time in my childhood caused by their issues that lasted a number of years.

I feel this is the beginning of the healing process. It is also an example of putting my needs first, which I have never known how to do. They called again tonight to check in on me and again I was able to tell them what I need from them to support me. Love and empowerment rather than worry and stress. There will be ups and downs, but this has been the biggest step forward for me.

I have a few things set up to help distract me when I get to those really low points and now I know I can always pick up the phone and talk to my parents. Thank you for your support and checking in with me, it means so much to me. I hope you have both had a wonderful long weekend :. Finding this website has been such a wonderful thing for me and having caring people such as yourself to share the journey and talk about what we are all going through.

It has made such a difference in my progress and life in general. Have a fabulous week lovely :. How wonderful to read you were able to have such an amazing discussion with your parents! That is so excellent. Hopefully now, even though like you mentioned, there will be ups and downs, you will no longer feel so lonely!

Communication is so very important. I wish I had the guts to chat openly to my parents as I have felt estranged from them my whole life. I love them regardless as they are my parents after all. They have no idea how I feel towards them as I always put on a smile when I am with them.

All the best with refreshing your journey through life. You have the opportunity now to take your life and your relationship with your parents to new and different places!

Thank you Dools. He has explained that his departure is down to creative direction. Thank you to our fans and for all the support. In other news, is The Undoing season 2 confirmed? Skip to content. Is Ella Mai pregnant? Professional help is required. See your doctor and explain what you are feeling and the history. You may be prescribed meds.

If there is no relief in weeks, they may need to be tweaked in dosage, or changed altogether. It's important you get a referral to a psychologist where you will be guided to unveil the deep issues that haunt you in a safe and understanding environment. This process will take as long as it takes. There is no one-size-fits-all remedy for depression, it's as unique as the person themselves.

The important thing is that you build a support structure to help you through to a more stable future where you have a deeper understanding of yourself. This needs action. I can't take most meds because they contain animal products and it's completely against my ethics personally I just couldn't give up that part of my ethics for any form of self-help.

I have seen consellors before but I always find myself recoiling and pretending that things aren't as bad as they usually are. Mostly because the situation is awkward and I want to get out asap which I know is bad but also my experience with counsellors has always just been negative.

They've been condescending and patronising mostly school counsellors although some have been lovely and have really made me feel important. I'll book an appointment with my GP soon and see if I can get any referrals for counselling. It's just such a big scary road and I have no idea how it will go but I'm willing to try. Hi again Annie - thanks for your response.

Good on you for taking action. As for the meds, there are herbal remedies like St Johns Wort and Camomile tea that might help. I'm sure there are many others which can be googled. Sorry that you have had negative responses from some of your counsellors - I think that is a problem many of us have endured. It's frustrating and can leave one feeling hopeless and helpless. Hang in there and however scary the road, this is for your wellbeing and your future. You are strong - you've made it this far - and you are intelligent, demonstrated by the fact that you have explored this illness and are reaching out to understand it and solve it.

Whatever happens, we are always here to talk to. Join this discussion or start a new one? We want the forums to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the forums are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters.

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New discussion Reply. HI Annie, You are not alone. Thank you for your response, I'm wishing you the best with your problems I think you are being rather hard on yourself. We all worry and get morbidly anxious about the silliest things but we have to try and divert our thoughts as best as we can to something that makes us happy.