DEPRESSION
How to Get out of Bed When You’re Depressed
Feeling too depressed to eat right, workout, or go to work?
Does the thought of interacting with the world outside your bedroom overwhelming?
Is it rough to simply get out of bed at all?
As much as you’d like to jump out of bed and be that annoying morning person in the office, you are not that morning person at all.
Perhaps in your bed you feel like a zen yogi master, or perhaps you feel like a hostage. Or maybe a combination of both.
Are you hiding your depression? You don’t have to hide any longer.
The thought of going to work can feel overwhelming, impossible, it just isn’t happening today.
Here’s actual advice that can really help:
What if you just took the day 15 minutes or an hour at a time?
Don’t think about going to work, don’t think about making breakfast, just think about the next step. That first step out of bed.
It can be 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour, whatever works best for you. Within this time frame, you tell yourself that you will be out of bed.
Just try. Visualize yourself stepping out of bed, putting both feet on the floor, maybe stretching a little. Stretching always feels nice right?
Tell yourself: Within this time frame if I really can’t get up, I don’t have to. It’s okay, I can stay in bed. I don’t have to succeed but you do have to at least try.
Applaud yourself for trying, in however far you got. Trying is an accomplishment!
If you did get your feet onto the floor, pat yourself on the back. Applaud yourself, maybe even have a little smile. Enjoy that moment.
If you are now out of bed, you might as well have a shower. Perhaps you might as well drink a glass a water. You might as well have some breakfast.
Take it in baby steps, one little step at a time creates larger steps over time and you will get there.
Have something productive next to your bed
For the days that you can’t get out of bed, perhaps you can put something next to your bed, like a book or a coloring book so that even if you are in bed, you can still get something done.
Are you hiding your depression? You don’t have to hide any longer.
Sometimes the key to getting out of bed when you are depressed is setting yourself up for success the night before.
Here are some of the best tips for getting good rest so you have a better chance of getting out of bed the next day:
Wake up at the same time every day
Even if you don’t have to go to work, this helps to keep your body on the same sleep schedule and keeps your sleep schedule from getting out of whack.
Avoid bright lights and screens an hour before bed
Bright lights and screens before bed affect you melatonin production and make it harder for you to fall asleep and get good sleep.
The better you sleep, the easier it will be to get up in the morning.
Avoid caffeine and chocolate after lunch
Each of these may affect sleep, so it is important to track them and see if they affect yours. If so, avoid them after lunch.
Download the Sleep Cycle App
The Sleep Cycle app is the smartest alarm for your body. You put in a time frame of when you would like to get up and depending on where you are in your sleep cycle, it will wake you up when it is most beneficial to you.
This is great when you don’t like being jolted out of sleep by an alarm clock.
You get better sleep and don’t wake up with a heart attack.
Try some natural supplements
There are specific supplements that can help with sleep, such as magnesium, potassium, chamomile, and more. Trying some of these supplements before bed time can help you get a better night’s rest. READ MORE ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS.
Activity and depression can be friends, they can exist together.
So take it slow and try to set yourself up for success the best you can.
Remember, it’s all about trying. Give one or all of these a try and maybe just one of them will help you get out of bed a little easier tomorrow.
Are you hiding your depression? You don’t have to hide any longer.
Sources:
https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/therese-borchard-sanity-break/how-get-out-bed-when-youre-depressed/