Get It Done When You're Depressed Read Online Free Page B

projects you judge harshly in the middle usually turn out just fine and look and feel as good as the projects you can easily do when you’re well.

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    Make Your Own Decisions
    Have you ever felt so depressed that it seemed impossible to decide on anything, even something as simple as what to have for dinner? Depression takes away your ability to make decisions. Due to chemical changes that take place in your brain when you’re depressed, decisions you can normally make without thinking twice can become Herculean tasks. You can often feel panicked, afraid, and worried simply because of the fact that you have to make a decision. Considering how many decisions you have to make in a day, not being able to make even the simplest of decisions is a real problem.

You Versus Your Brain
    When you’re depressed and have to make a choice about something, there’s a good chance that your brain will put up a fight. It’s as though your brain is always trying to negotiate for something different from what you want to do. You might struggle with making a decision so much that you wind up confused and tired—and with nothing decided at all. And while you’re going through all that, you might miss many positive opportunities to get out and feel better.
    Plus, depression can create strong feelings of guilt over what decision you eventually make. This guilt can make you very uncomfortable because you think that either someone is going to get hurt or something is going to be missed as a result of your decision. This feeling can be so stressful you may feel it’s easier not to make decisions at all. Unfortunately, this route simply leads back to more depression for not having made a decision.
    But you can make your own decisions when you’re depressed. Ask yourself what decision you would make if you weren’t depressed. If that’s not possible, override the pointless back-and-forth with your brain by making a decision, whether or not you like the decision, and then move forward. You might then have to deal with the voice of the depression telling you you’ve made the wrong choice, but that’s easier to deal with than the sense of uselessness that can come from not making a decision at all.
    Do you have trouble making any of these kinds of decisions?
    • What, when, and where to eat.
    • What work project to start on first.
    • Where to drive once you get in the car.
    • Whether to stay in a relationship.
    • Whether to go to a social event.
    • When to clean the house.
    People are bombarded with decisions daily. Whether these decisions are large or small, overriding depression and making a choice is what matters.
Mike’s Story
    I can remember being so depressed that I would just drive in circles because I couldn’t decide where to go. It was terrible. Then I decided I would drive in one direction toward where I wanted to go—no more getting in the car just to drive aimlessly. When my brain said, Wrong direction, Mike! I drove anyway. One time I stood on a street corner and turned in all four directions; it seemed so impossible to decide which direction to turn that I just stood there like a statue. And it drives me crazy when people tell me I should get outside and just do something to feel better when I’m depressed. I often feel so confused as to what I want to do that I do a little bit of everything. But nothing ever feels good.
    After years of this, I decided it was time for me to take charge of this situation and to realize that making a choice is actually easy if I just make one. It never feels right at first, but I always feel better after I do it.
My Story
    For many years I had so much trouble making decisions that it really upset people around me and made it difficult for me to get anything done with pleasure. No matter what I did, my brain told me it was the wrong choice. I would choose one dish in a restaurant, and immediately I knew I should have taken the other one. I’d decide to do something on the weekend,