For those of you who have been depressed?

Question:

I have a hard time keeping the house clean. I do well in many other areas of my life, but when it comes to keeping the house clean, you can just see my depression everywhere. I am so ashamed and it keeps me from feeling like I can have people over.I will say that I am keeping up with the dishes now and have been for 2 years. I am proud of myself for that. BUT, so many of the other major things that needs to be done, go undone. I feel awful. I love my husband and children SOO much, but I can't seem to find the energy. Help please...any advice for those of you who have been through this. Thank you.

Answers:
from my depression i have bathing issues. i can only force myself to shower about once a week. for cleaning i've found it helpful to watch tv and every commercial get up and do one little thing. a few dishes, get a load of laundry started, clean the bathroom mirror, etc. you'll be surprised how much you can get done if you just do it in small increments.

You can tell my psychological state by what my kitchen looks like. Depression looks like 3 days of dirty dishes all over the place...just do like you are doing, make sure you do certain small things and work out from there...and what finally helped me was hormone replacement therapy...don't know if you are at that age...I feel myself again after starting to take estrogen...

Why can't your husband and kids help you with the housework?
I too have suffered with depression for most of my life. I finally sat down with my husband and told him in no uncertain terms that if he didn't help, then he was no decent partner and I would do better without him. This seemed to sink in and he started helping me. He did things like vacuuming and mopping floors and doing windows. The kids were taught as soon as they could walk that they had to put their toys away and put their dirty clothes in a hamper. Even just those few things were helpful enough to motivate me to finish the rest of it.

I don't know what meds if any you are taking, but you could add Wellbutrin to your meds for extra energy. Its a antidepressant, but also is a mild stimulant. Hire someone several times a year to do the deep cleaning. You will feel so much better with a clean house. Pace yourself. Invite people over often is a great way to motivate yourself to clean. You need the social contact.

sometimes I feel so depressed and lazy to clean up. so I just say to my self "just do it, just get it done now so I can go on for the rest of the day without thinking, uhh I still have to do this and that. what a pain! you can do it. if you have accomplished so many other things in your life don't let cleaning your house be a big problem. If you turn on some music while you clean it will probably pump you up a bit. remember we only get to live once please don't waste it by being depressed and enjoy your family and life. good luck

For those of you who have been depressed?

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