If you make an assessment about where you are right now - like, objectively, what am I doing during the day, what did I do yesterday - can you identify small goals you can start to add each day?
Like, when I’m badly depressed, getting out of bed an having a shower is an achievement. Because I stop doing that. So, my long goal might be getting out working and socialising again, but for today, and in order to achieve those long goals, it’s actually an achievement for me to shower. So if I do that? That becomes forward motion. It’s a genuine achievement. I can minimise it all I like, but if I didn’t shower yesterday, then it’s progress to do that today.
Those small things add up. They build critical momentum. And tracking them can be especially helpful. Writing down things you did today (rather than sticking with Depression’s favourite topic - Things I Didn’t Do Today!) and tracking those achievements starts to help rebuild the brain’s perception of what we can achieve.
The helplessness and hopelessness things we get stuck in is phenomenal, but I personally always found that writing those small achievements down, having written goals that I could work towards each day (realistic, achievable stuff!) was really helpful at helping rewire that mindset over time.
. I am in a freeze total shutdown and I am finding it very difficult to defrost and have hope of recovery. Any words of wisdom? Thanks
