Depression or exhaustion? Who cares?

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
So, last night I slept 11 hrs.
I did that same thing about a week ago.
Part of it was jet lag, but difficult child, husband and easy child didn't sleep that much after our trip to Calif.
It felt good. But now I'm kind of blah. I should be painting or something.
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
I am in one of those stages right now as well. I slept 4 hours on Sunday in the middle of the day and I wasn't sick. I was just downright tired. Of course living in the Pacific Northwest I also suffer from the lovely seasonal depression that is so common here. I started taking Vitamin D3 this weekend to help combat the lack of sun but I am sure that will take a while to kick in.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
You've been away. It's tough to come back and pick up the front lines of the battle again. You're neither exhausted nor depressed. You're battle weary.

Be balanced in your rest - get an extra hour a night, rather than a major catch-up in one go. It keeps your body from getting out of sync.

Be active in things that nourish and support you. Exercise, art, music, friendships, whatever it takes.

And then... remember we're all here too, pretty much in the same boat.
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Could be both or neither. If the blah feeling continues maybe it could be depression. I know for me this time of the year I do tend to get more depressed with the little sunlight. by the way, my sister bought one of those lamps and loves it!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
So, now I have to have a root canal. On Friday.

Lots of pain in Lucky # 13 on the top left.

But maybe, just maybe ... I've had an underlying infection and that's wearing me down. And antibiotics with the root canal can solve the problem. Could be.

Just trying to look on the bright side.
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Infections can do that Terry, I hope that's what it is. Have you tried upping your exercise? There are many theories that exercise and good healthy doses of a good quality Omega 3 work quite well for depression. It takes a little time, but there are studies that indicate it's effectiveness. You may already know that, I know you lean towards holistic stuff...........Or if you ate a lot of sugar over the holidays (like I did, man those cookies were yummy!) sugar can cause me to feel depressed.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I have been horrible about my exercise. I'm only going to the gym on Sundays, and walking on Thursdays. I used to walk every day. But moving my cousin out of her assisted living apartment seemed to be the last straw for me, physically at least.
husband gave me a leg and food massage the other day and even noticed that I'd lost muscle mass and weight in my legs. :(
And yes, I am going overboard with sugar.
I've got to get a handle on it.
 

kattriss

Odds are forever in my favor...
My sleep patterns have always been very strange, but I've led a stressful life so it's not surprising. My days are typically chaotic with my difficult child and easy child/difficult child, my job does not have normal set hours, and I've been in college for the last 10 years on and off. Since I rarely get a break during the day (I cyber my kids among everything else), I don't have a lot of ME time during normal waking hours. So my brain tends to stay on all night. When I do sleep, it's often in small chunks. Eventually it catches up with me and I go days hibernating.

I should also mention that I have battled depression and anxiety most of my life and deal with seasonal affective disorder (grew up in FL, now live in PA...my body does not like this). So I've come to terms with my wacky sleep patterns.

The best advice I can provide is to enjoy whatever rest you can get, even if you sleep for 11 hours straight. It's your body's way of recharging and repairing the damage from the stress you endure.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
I care! I care an awful lot. I can't tell you how terrible it is to have an untreatable incurable muscle disease that causes chronic pain and to be told by an idiot MD or Neurologist "You don't have any pain, you're depressed. Get into therapy, get out and do something. I'm not going to prescribe anything for you. You should get a job."

If they will realize that pain causes depression instead of insisting that depression causes pain, they'll start treating pain at full medical coverage rates and stop denying treatment to people and/or forcing people into mental health care that they don't need, can make things worse if the pain goes untreated, and which is minimally covered with a high deductible by insurance.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Yes, it can work both ways. (And do MDs really tell you that you really don't have any pain and you're "just" depressed when you've got an MD diagnosis???)

by the way, I'm better today. :)
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
It seems to me that we work through things we cannot look at while we are awake (denial kinds of things) while we are sleeping. For me, it happens that everything gets all clangy, I don't sleep well, I can't see beyond whatever is so hard for me that minute.

I become so frustrated!

Then, I will sleep and sleep...and in my sleep, whether I am aware of it or not, I am working through things I need to work through and come into balance around. Once that happens, once there is some sense to be made of whatever it is that has been banging around down there in my subconscious, my dreams become profoundly memorable.

I have a new perspective on an old situation.

Perhaps that is what is happening for you, too?

Cedar
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
Yes, it can work both ways. (And do MDs really tell you that you really don't have any pain and you're "just" depressed when you've got an MD diagnosis???)

by the way, I'm better today. :)

I'm glad that you're feeling better. Yes, they can be real morons. The thing is that the wasting of muscle itself doesn't cause pain. It's the using all the other muscles to make up for the ones that don't work that cause pain. Still, there's pain.
 

Confused

Well-Known Member
Terry, Im glad your feeling better :) Those are so exhausting those root canals! Your still doing good by still exercising even if its not the amount you want. AND your sugar, no worries! You will cut down. Im learning the only thing I can cut out is the fast food part cold turkey( had some today but its not the same "thrill" anymore! ) So just every week or more often, lesson your intake little by little. How sweet of your hubby to give you a foot massage! :)
 
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