Anxiety and Depression

Why does it feel like so much work to just get up and go?

Oh, no… it’s time for the party. I said I would go – and I really want to go but I have no more motivation. Why did I say I would go? I’ll just stay for an hour. Now I’m irritated and feel as though I’m being forced to go to something I don’t want to go to.

Forget it… I’m not going. I’d rather stay and watch the rest of the World Series. I have nothing to talk about, because I can’t seem to finish anything. Now I’m getting mad that I have to go.

What are they going to think when I don’t show up? I’ll know I’ll see them tomorrow. I just want everyone to leave me alone.

I just need to figure out why it’s so hard for me…

And why the thoughts won’t stop – that voice that just keeps telling me how worthless I am.

Now, my heart is beating and I’m short of breath. Is this a panic attack?

I can’t stop thinking of all the things I have to do, and I can’t stop feeling as though there is something taking me over.

I have to present next week at work, and I have done nothing to prepare!

Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand.

Depression can make you feel empty, sad, lost, and unmotivated. In turn, these feelings can create anxiety about all the things you are not doing because of your depression.

The critical thoughts and the lack of motivation can make you feel like you are stuck.

My body feels weighed down, and I keep thinking that there’s no use in trying to get the presentation together, because I didn’t allow enough time.

Maybe I just need to quit right now. I try to put something together. As soon as I think I’ve got something that will work, the thoughts that I can’t do it make their way in, and my body starts to ache.

Depression is painful…

Your body might ache.

You might feel as though you’re “in a shell.”

You might feel as though you don’t exist at all.

Knowing that others are relying on you to perform well feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. You’ve been carrying this weight for a long time, and it’s getting too difficult to manage.

Sometimes thoughts like, “I want to go somewhere else…,” “I want to be someone else…,” or “I don’t want to be here…” can feel as though they’re providing relief from the pain. This feeling might be familiar, and it’s now getting to the point where you are looking for help.

Anxiety can riddle you with constant worry…

About how you feel…

Whether you are going to be able to complete something…

Whether everything is taken care of properly (because if something fails it’s going to be YOUR fault)…

Whether others will talk about you and how you failed…

You try to relieve the pressure by thinking about how you are going to be prepared, and you make sure that you have every tool to get ready.

You get irritated at the people who don’t seem to care and do not prepare.

Now your body is starting to take the burden of your anxiety. Do you have headaches? Do you find it difficult to eat because your stomach is upset all the time? Do you get worried because you are starting to panic more often, and it’s getting to be out of your control?