When depression hits

Depression and anxiety often goes hand in hand.

We talk about depression a lot, like it was just a state of mind: " oh I feel so depressed today."

Oh you do, do you? No you actually don't, cause when you say it like that, you have not the faintest idea of what depression means or feels like.

Everybody can relate to feel down and relate to feel scared, but what they don't understand is, that it has absolutely no comparison to the mental disease anxiety and panic attacks.

Just as well as with depression:

Besides the frequent use phrase "I feel so depressed" - a statement of feelings in the moment - people in general have absolutely no idea of what depression is.

And it's so hard to explain, even after suffering thru it several times, I can't explain it totally.

But what I know for sure is;
The severe depression served with anxiety as a cherry on top is lethal.
Yes. Lethal.

Depression makes me incapable of doing even the smallest tasks, when it hits.
I really have to struggle just to go to the toilet and brush my teeth. I see no happiness, no reason to live, there's no sunshine, no colors, no smiles, no reason... 

It takes so much convincing to make myself eat, take a bath or get into clean clothes... It drains me totally for whatever little energy I have left.
I didn't have anything to eat left in the house, but it didn't really matter, cause I wasn't hungry.

I could go on painting a picture, but lets cut to the fact of how bad it actually was, when my (now) bf visited me for the first time:
Ate last time: 5 days ago
Last bath: 7 days ago (afraid to faint in the shower)
Teeth brushed: daily
Weight: 46 kg
Outside last time: can't remember (months)

I had severe depression and suffered from anxiety really bad and thought I was choking all the time.
He stayed with me all night on the couch, so special, and so kind of him. And he made me laugh for the first time in weeks.

I didn't want to go to the mental hospital once again. So after careful consideration I agreed to come visit him and the others who lived here, and I could decide if it would help me to stay there for a while.

This was the beginning of my new life.

BUT if I had not accepted this suggestion, I'm quite sure, that you would not be reading about it here.

So depending on the "strength" of the depression, please take all the help anyone offers.
You can't begin to work with yourself and your anxiety, if getting out of bed is a struggle.

When/if you feel a little better than this, going towards moderate depression), you can start your activity in many different ways. 

What way doesn't matter, whatever gets you up from the bed is perfect.

I use the "carrot." (If I roll over, I get a treat);

When I feel the little ugly head of depression popping up, and it tries to make me do nothing, I don't totally obey.
I start the TV and find something to watch, and relax. BUT when commercial breaks appears on the screen, I have a little task I must do. Clean 1 kitchen cabinet, empty the dishwasher, sort the laundry or alike.

Sometimes the result of the little task itself is enough to snap me out of the depressive state and inspire me to keep working.
Otherwise I just return to the tv after the commercial is over.
I continue to do this all day, and very often I totally forget, that I was watching TV.

This is my little "get up" method. I don't actually have others, since this has always worked, and still works, for me.

Yup, everything is good for something, even commercials :-)

You have another method? Please share it, so we can help each other get out of bed :-)