@brenda61 Hi Brenda. Even a walk around the block can sometimes help to change your mood. If I do not get out of the house for an entire day, I start to feel yicky.

Hi, @brenda61-- glad you have this therapist to talk to.

You mentioned your therapist encourages you to get out of the house more but that that is difficult. What do you think is the biggest barrier to your getting out?

Well, I am a very large person. I also have arthritic knees. But, I also do not enjoy being around a lot of people. Driving the car also makes me nervous now. I am just a hot mess.

Hi, @brenda61 Do you have any hobbies you enjoy (or used to enjoy)? I have a few that I enjoyed before I crashed at the bottom of a horrible black hole, and I still have the hobbies, but the pleasure isn't the same. I do a lot of yard work and gardening, play the piano, knit, paint houses, shop at thrift stores and window shop online (more than I should). I think that I do have a level of pleasure doing those things by now, after years of therapy, but not like I used to. Depression does depress pleasure, for sure. I hope you have something you can focus on that takes your mind off the negatives. I know that while I'm gardening, I'm not thinking about how depressed I am. Just a thought.

Jim

Hi Jim, @jimhd
You have offered some great thoughts to all who suffer from depression - when you mind and body are active, depression doesn't have the same "hold" as it does when we are inactive!

For me, exercise programs that are group oriented (even on a DVD) work quite nicely. I have one chair-exercise DVD that also has music and is taped in a group exercise class. It is great to use when the weather is bad and I need to be active without getting outside.

I'm wondering what other activities our group has done to keep depression at bay?

Teresa

I know what you mean about not taking as much pleasure in hobbies, and I think it's great you're still pursuing them. I begin therapy again in a month and I'm hoping that will help me to do the same. My depression and anxiety seem to keep me from doing much at all (plus physical ailments, and lack of money after being forced to retire). I will keep your message in mind and try and push myself to do more. Thank you for an encouraging post.
Alice

@hopeful33250

Our daughter gave us a chair exercise dvd a couple of years ago, but it's still in the package.

Jim

Jim @jimhd
Unwrap it and take a look - it might be something you can do for variety in your exercise program.
Teresa

@hopeful33250

Exercise routine. That's a great joke! I get a lot of exercise working in the yard, 8 months of the year. That's pretty much it. I don't walk much because of the burning pain in my feet from peripheral neuropathy. I have a bicycle, but have only ridden it a few times. I've rarely exercised for any extended period of time.

Jim

Jim, @jimhd

Working in the yard definitely counts as an exercise routine. Good for you!

Teresa