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Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

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Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#261
post #118

This Christmas is significantly different for me. Normally it would be filled with friends and family, but not this year. I succeeded in hiking >10 miles yesterday and today, legs willing, I'll be at least spending part of the day in the PacNW forests to keep the depression at bay. JWST was my Christmas present. I'm happy to see we've got final separation and the last view of the telescope. If anything, it's the best…

aren't there snow storms out here in PacNW? do you have a blog where you document your journey through the forests?

Since you asked, here is a photo from near the end of my hike, looking NE or E to the Cascades.

https://ibb.co/8Nh29nn

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#262
post #20

Thank you for this gesture. I lost almost everything. Job, 7-year relationship, my mental health. Feeling that I'm not only alone but inadequate to have a life like anybody else. I'm still alive, so there's that.

Employee, significant other, these are roles we may adopt at certain stages in our lives, but they're certainly not everything. They represent only a fraction of your potential.

Another way to look at things is that you've just gained a tremendous amount of agency. You're no longer required to perform these roles. There are surely dreams or opportunities out there which you wanted to pursue but were never able to. Take whatever amount of time you feel is appropriate to grieve, it's very normal to experience distress in the face of radical change. Then pursue them. There won't be many times in your life when you're presented with a clean slate like this.

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#263
post #20

Thank you for this gesture. I lost almost everything. Job, 7-year relationship, my mental health. Feeling that I'm not only alone but inadequate to have a life like anybody else. I'm still alive, so there's that.

You are not alone; at least,... your struggles are shared. I haven't lost the job, but lost an 8-year relationship at the beginning of the month (about 7 days before my birthday). I'm guessing your mental health issues might originate from those events, or maybe not; I can't speak to those, personally -- I'm experiencing my share of depression, but I know it's because of my circumstances.

You're still alive, but you probably don't feel like you're living. Maybe life is becoming a bit like getting from one difficult thing to the next. And those "things" aren't anything that is normally difficult, but feels overwhelming. I've both been there recently and have been there, in the past. It's tough and my heart goes out to you.

Most advice is bad so here comes mine: get from one thing to the next for a little while. Take the time. You need it. And understand one thing: you're not special[0]. Whatever mistakes you're beating yourself up over many, many others have made and experienced the same or worse circumstances. The very vast majority overcome those mistakes, and many do it without medication, doctors or other treatment[1].

And then there's "later" -- whatever that is: During a divorce group meeting a gentleman said something that greatly affected my life: Whether its winning the lottery or becoming a quadriplegic, the happiness of both individuals looks pretty similar a year later. Neither have ever happened to me, but in my own life, that 1-year rule was something that time-and-again proved to be true. And my timeline is typically 3-4 months, not one year. As they say, "this too shall pass".

I've lost a great job in the past. I found a better one. I lost a pretty rough relationship, not by choice, to the point that I'm not interested in doing that again. I hate being alone[2], but I know that the sting will fade and I'll start dating, again. And I know there's someone who will want to share life with me in a way that is more fulfilling than my former relationship was.

Easily the biggest factor, for me, was re-discovering my Christian faith. I realize there aren't a lot of us in this place and I'm not interested in being preachy -- to each his own -- but its really the only thing I can credit with getting me through a really rough tragedy about a decade ago. It wasn't "being surrounded by other caring people at church" which caused me to be less lonely or made my life better because of that. I don't put myself out there very easily. I didn't know anyone at my church and didn't meet anyone until well after those circumstances passed. It was prayers, all of which were answered, several of which were answered in ways that I refer to them as miracles. Yeah, yeah, I can explain them as coincidences, too. They're not but I'm not going to attempt to defend that.

The only other bit of advice I'd offer is stay as far away from alcohol or other mind altering substances as much as you can. One of the ways out is finding a purpose for your life to replace the ones you've lost. This will be impossible if you add another layer of resistance on top of the problems you already have. You lost. You're not a loser. You had a 7-year relationship. You had a job. Those came from something you did and you probably had far more success in those places than you had failure, but you won't be able to see that clearly right now.

I'm praying for you and your circumstances. This time of year really amplifies loneliness. I'm right here with you.

Merry Christmas!

[0] I chose that word intentionally, not insultingly. When I'm depressed it's easy to feel like I'm the only one who's going through what I'm going through and that I'm uniquely cursed. Somehow using the word "special" to describe that situation makes it seem a little less difficult.

[1] I'm not saying don't do this -- I see a psychologist, regularly, now and have been doing that for a few years. Finding a good psychologist changed my life and it might help you, too. I only mention this because it helps to get past the whole "I'm too depressed to call a doctor/doctors, so I'm going to be stuck here forever".

[2] To clarify: I like alone time, I don't like "being alone". My family all lives pretty far away, I have few friends close by, I have a 3-bedroom house with "just me", I have my children part-time. I spend a lot of time stuck with my thoughts these days, but comparing today to 3 weeks ago, I'm happy a lot of the time now -- maybe most of the time.

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#264
post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also suck at math. As a web dev, I don't need much but doing 2d/3d graphics gave me headaches for a while. As a kid, I used to complain often and loudly that I would never need any of this stuff. Turns out I was wrong. You can turn around your life. I did so in my 30s. I am only saying this because there's a high chance you are an old fart since you know and like kraftwerk. As you have correctly guessed, it's not t…

Thanks, I'm 36 by the way.

hey man, I'm in my 30s as well and definitely feel like I'm restarting life after a LTR ended in the spring.

I like to remind myself of the encouraging phrase "We overestimate what we can can accomplish in a year, and under estimate what we can accomplish in five". Compounding gains is the game and humans always seem to underestimate their power

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#265
post #263
post #20

Thank you for this gesture. I lost almost everything. Job, 7-year relationship, my mental health. Feeling that I'm not only alone but inadequate to have a life like anybody else. I'm still alive, so there's that.

You are not alone; at least,... your struggles are shared. I haven't lost the job, but lost an 8-year relationship at the beginning of the month (about 7 days before my birthday). I'm guessing your mental health issues might originate from those events, or maybe not; I can't speak to those, personally -- I'm experiencing my share of depression, but I know it's because of my circumstances. You're still alive, but you…

Thank you for the kind words, a lot resonated with me.

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realise you didn’t post this looking for advice (and I apologise if this is unwelcome), but if I can relate one small thing from my own personal mental health nadir: Walk. Outdoors. In the greenest place you can find. No, it won’t change anything that you’ve been through, but it really will help you to quiet everything for a small chunk of time to let your mind get a rest from it. Please don’t ever think you’re ina…

To add to this great advice, if you feel lazy to start, get a good audio book and listen as you walk. It becomes a kind of reward for going for a walk, you get a chapter or two of a great book.

I'll second this advice: I can't walk alone when I'm depressed. The quieting effect of being alone just causes my mind to go crazy with all of my problems.

An audio book at that time, however, is a great solution. Audio books, for me, can't occupy my entire mind. I can't sit and listen to an audio book. At the same time, they occupy enough of my mind that I can't do other mentally intense things and pay attention to the book at the same time. I had used them for driving, yard work, and other boring tasks to quiet the noise in my head and the feeling of boredom[0] that the task occupies.

When walking with a good audio book, I can observe the world without the noise of my circumstances and it really is a peaceful exercise.

[0] For me, boredom drives depression.

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#267
post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you so much for this. I'm already doing some (2, 4, 5) others are planned for 2022 (1, 3, 6). But 7 is brutal. I was going to propose but things changed. Anyway, again: thank you very much. This is very appreciated. Very kind of you.

Also would like to add one more: Read books especially ones that motivate you. I was in similar boat as you are a few years ago and the books like "The Checklist Manifesto" and "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" helped me immensely.

This cannot be overstated - the uplifting effect of the written word feels much more potent than hearing it from a friend or scouring YouTube videos.

I have found this book (https://tinyurl.com/4k27x6s9) to be a wonderful resource. I know there are many more to recommend, but I would start with the basics.

*EDIT - spelling.

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#268
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

happy dec 25th coffee in the morning feeling!

Even if one doesn't "celebrate" the year-end holidays, the vibes all around are alright , to be fair. The coffee, much like the air you breathe-in itself, feels very different when almost everyone is in a jolly good mood.

In my experience, in the U.S., the vibes around this time of year are often frenetic, stressed, and full of forced holiday merriment. If I could find a way to completely avoid late November to early January, I would.

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#269
This is a great post and a reminder that HN is a great platform / community.

It also seems like a reminder that the internet really does have the power to bring people together in meaningful substantive ways.

Especially when there are still social platforms that allow for clear minimally augmented communication between individuals.

Thank you for the inspiring post and thank you HN for an inspiring year!

Re: Tell HN: You are not alone this Christmas

#270
post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to this great advice, if you feel lazy to start, get a good audio book and listen as you walk. It becomes a kind of reward for going for a walk, you get a chapter or two of a great book.

I'll second this advice: I can't walk alone when I'm depressed. The quieting effect of being alone just causes my mind to go crazy with all of my problems. An audio book at that time, however, is a great solution. Audio books, for me, can't occupy my entire mind. I can't sit and listen to an audio book. At the same time, they occupy enough of my mind that I can't do other mentally intense things and pay attention to…

I would agree. The saying, "Idle hands are the devils playground" can be appropriated as, "An idle mind is the fertile soil of the depressed."

Although the reality is the mind is anything but idle for those predisposed to depression. The rumination, negative thought patterns and self-critical thoughts are worse than a prison sentence of solitary confinement.

For those who may not understand this, imagine standing over a 5 year old constantly berating them, in a horrifically negative way, for every action they take, good or bad. Now imagine the effects of that over years or decades.

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