Getting Back Into Life & One-Year Giveaway!

Hey everyone, happy Friday! Guess what else? Today marks the one-year anniversary of this blog – to celebrate I will be doing a giveaway!  The info for that is at the bottom of the post and hopefully you’ll like the prize packs.  There’s a feminine and masculine option and you get to choose for which you want to enter! (I’m not sure how to describe them other than that way, so please let me know if there are better terms I should use.) But before we get to that, I want to talk about re-emerging from a down period and getting back into life.

A Depressive Episode

In my last post, I mentioned that I had recently gone through a depressive episode. In regards to that, today I’m going to delve into what it was like getting back into life.  I have been cursed with depression since my early teens, but I am learning all the time better ways to cope with it.

Depression

First let’s touch lightly on how depression manifests itself. An article posted by The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) discusses a few things about depression that I want to share here.

The type of depression one exhibits can vary from person to person. There are multiple types of depression, various risk factors, and it can manifest differently in everyone. I personally suffer from depression due to my bipolar disorder. There are also different forms of treatment and suggestions on ways for getting back into life. Figuring out what works for you can be done in various ways. My plan for working through my depression involves psychiatry, therapy, and working to develop better coping skills.

Symptoms

The main section I want to highlight from that article are some of the symptoms of depression. The reason I want to list these is because they pertain to what I was going through for a little bit. It’s good to be aware of them because they might help one recognize what’s going on. Some symptoms of depression may include the following (taken from the above NIMH article):

  • Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
  • Feelings of hopelessness, or pessimism
  • Irritability
  • Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities
  • Decreased energy or fatigue
  • Moving or talking more slowly
  • Feeling restless or having trouble sitting still
  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
  • Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
  • Appetite and/or weight changes
  • Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
  • Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause and/or that do not ease even with treatment

How It Played Out

Now I want to outline how the process played out for me and how I worked on getting back into life. Once I realized what was going on, I set out with a goal to just focus on what I am able to do without putting extra unneeded expectations* on myself and not give myself a hard time – to just be gentle with me – but also focus on doing everything I could to get myself out of the funk. (*While it is good to hold expectations for yourself, at times they may need to be adjusted and there’s nothing wrong with that.)

Some Steps I Took

Some of the steps I took to work through this included:

  1. Acknowledging that I was in a state where I was not doing well and that I needed to put in some effort to get back on track.
  2. That being said, I told myself I needed to be mindful and acknowledge what I did accomplish, rather than what I did not.
  3. Cutting out all the disruptive things I was doing which were negatively affecting my mental health.
  4. Continuing to see my therapist even if I wasn’t feeling that up to it. We meet online, so I didn’t even need to get up for it, therefore I had no excuse not to. I also contacted my psychiatrist and followed my psychiatric care routine, especially taking my medicines.
  5. Practicing other ways of self-care, no matter how difficult they seemed at the time, such as:
    • Start eating regularly/healthily again. One big struggle for me was just getting myself to eat. One week I didn’t eat anything for three days straight.  Just seltzer water and soda – that’s super unhealthy and doesn’t help the situation at all. During this time I either I just didn’t feel up for anything or going to the store to get food felt like I was climbing a mountain. Thank goodness for Uber Eats – I used that for a couple days to readjust myself to eating, then finally got myself to the grocery store. While I live right across the street from the grocery store which makes it pretty easy, another potential option is to use a grocery store delivery service such as Instacart. (I personally have never used Instacart, so I don’t know exactly how their service is.)
    • Taking showers regularly. People frequently talk about how depression can make this really hard. I know this can seem like such a task at times, but once I get in, I always feel a lot better. I decided to start dedicating part of my lunch break for taking a shower every day and it really did help to improve how I was feeling.
    • Working to get my sleep schedule back on track. Well, as regular as I possibly could. I’m an insomniac who also can sometimes exhibit hypersomnia. They get especially bad when I’m depressed. Getting a good amount of sleep is so vital and important for my overall mental health. I know when it gets messed up I can have a harder time regulating my emotions.
    • Cuddling with my kitty. My baby Patches is my emotional support animal. I’m sure if you have pets you can probably relate to how therapeutic their company can be.
  6. Starting to share about my struggles and just try to socialize in general some, even if it was just to say I wasn’t doing well. I’m so lucky to have my group chat I run full of amazing supportive people. They’re really people I can rely on and having that bridges the gap in-between therapy sessions. (If you are on Facebook and are interested in joining, please let me know.)
  7. Finding something for which to look forward. Fortunately I had made plans a while back to go to the beach with my best friend for a healing trip; I hadn’t been there since the horrible trip when Sean died.  The trip was scheduled for shortly after I hit the eye of the storm and I was initially anxious and hesitant to go, but I’m so glad I did.  The trip also gave me more incentive to get myself back on track, despite the little bit of reluctance I had about going.  It was a very special trip, cathartic, and exactly what I needed to kind of reset myself. We also had a great time and got matching airbrushed shirts saying “I woke up like this,” haha.
  8. Ultimately just setting the intention to just ride the wave to the shore, knowing I would get there eventually. The ultimate goal was to just stay afloat until I did, and I did once I started trying to work through everything.
Reinvigorating Life
The sky maybe a bit gray, but the grass can be green. Take it easy; clear skies will come.

Since Then – Getting Back Into Life

So it did and does gradually get better. It takes some effort but it’s so worth it. I feel like myself again and pretty good. Getting back into life is so invigorating! I feel on top and engaged with my life, work, socialization, and other things again. I have been getting out more. Getting out can be a walk to enjoy nature or just run errands or to hang out with friends.

All this being said, as someone with a chronic mood disorder, it’s not the end. I am well aware that I more than likely will find myself back in a situation like this again.  If/when that happens though, I learned a lot from this last episode. I will apply it all and will continue to try to learn more.  This is where you guys can come in….

How Do You Work On Getting Back Into Life & The Giveaway!

Entering

So now I want to turn to my readers and ask for your input!  Providing such will get you an entry into the giveaway.

To enter the giveaway, please either (a) comment directly below on this post, (b) on the Facebook post here, or (c) email lizkay@lizkaythediary.life with the following:

  1. What do you do in times like these?  Do you have any tips you want to share? How does getting back into life play out for you?
    • If you are in a place where you cannot think of anything though, that’s all you have to say; you can still enter. I understand the struggle.
    • Tell me the prize pack for which you are wishing to enter (masculine or feminine).
  2. Pick a number between 1 – 111!

I will randomly pick the winners on December 15th (not set in stone), so make sure to let me know before then!

The Prizes

Feminine

  1. Erin Condren “Petite Planner Gratitude Journal”
  2. Set of colored Bic Gel-Ocity pens (my favorites!)
  3. Special candle made by the lovely Three Shade of Sage
  4. Some cute stickers/decals, including some made by the talented Bethan Designs – my favorite says “Grow Through What You Go Through”
Feminine Prize Pack

Masculine

  1. A Gratitude Journal for Men
  2. Set of black Bic Gel-Ocity pens (if you would prefer a colored set like that in the other prize pack, please let me know!)
  3. Black “Enjoy Your Life” scented candle
  4. Small Amazon gift card
Masculine Prize Pack

What do you think? Please let me know!