There are volumes that can be discussed concerning " worrying ourselves into an episode " .
I think it comes down to when our defenses are exausted and our little " inner crtitic " has the floor , it's time to reach for any and all help to avoid getting knocked down .
Just remember , that inner critic is a liar . You / we are much more than what others might have us believe about ourselves.
I think that is so true the simple things that we need to do are sometimes the hardest for us. Doing the dishes sometimes can be hard for me to accomplish and the more they pile up the worse I feel so if I can keep up on them on a daily basis I feel better. Sometimes just making phone calls that I know I have to make are very difficult for me but once I complete it and the less I put them off I feel better.
For me, it's the little things that add up and that, when finally done, feel like a big accomplishment. Filling my med box for the next week. Picking up the dry cleaning. Watering the ivy plant that is languishing in the corner. Taking the dog out for a much needed bathroom break. Things I don't really want to do. Some days I plan for a whole morning (it usually takes much less) to get all those little things done at one time. Maybe picking up a birthday card for my sister or a friend. Maybe perusing allposters.com for my next art project. Maybe taking the hand-vac and gettint up all those little bits of soil and leaves around my burgeoning plant stand. Maybe finally loading the dishwasher and running it and putting away the clean dishes. And voila! It's done! For a while. Till it all has to be done again. I could let myself get depressed because of the repetitive-motion injury to my ergonomically unwise position on doing things in a timely manner. In other words, I put off things till tomorrow that I could just as easily do today in order to sit in front of the TV and vegetate. Or pick up that interesting book on toxic parents. The things that seem the most bother are the ones that take me outside, out in my car, out in public. And the list of things that I can't decide whether or not I can actually put them on my permanent not-to-do-list!
I just finished out the school year, and I finished out strong. I looked around my office and the classroom I teach in with fresh eyes and saw how much I had let things collect and pile up the past 6 years. I had the desire, focus, and the energy to take on the task of purging and organizing. It took a couple of weeks, but I got it finished and I look forward to re-arranging after a retiring co-worker moves her stuff out. Now here is the weird thing, I have plenty of energy and focus at work- especially the last couple of weeks, but when I get home it is a different story. I feel like my neighbors, particularly the HOA are watching me and taking note. I will let a week go by before I check my mail and I don't answer my home phone if I can help it. Both of those things have been a real issue for several years. I call or text my family only when they initiate it, or when Im feeling guilty. My house feels dark and unused. I put off going home at the end of the work day. When I am depressed, the bedroom is the only place I feel comfortable and safe.
I have a spare bedroom that doubles as a small "office" of sorts.
When I had a manic spell over Christmas... things got - well - crazy. Then I went into a tailspin of a quite nasty suicidal depression that lasted nearly 3 months (some may remember, I have posted).
During this time period... I just didn't do anything here at home. Bills piled up, paperwork piled and thrown about, door open - pitch - door close.
This past week I decided I had to organize and clean.. I just had to dagnabit.
I am now sitting, in perhaps not the most clean of bedrooms/office but, a much more organized and caught up one... typing on my laptop.
I am also trying a different version of a medication I had tried 2 months ago but caused itching after I shortly started it - but a different form of it.
Meaning, I was taking a tablet and now I'm trying the suspension form to see if I get the same itching.
I'm trying... I'm trying.
First on paying the bills -- when "all this" started, we switched to auto-pay on everything for which that is an option. It has saved our credit rating and saved me a number of meltdowns.
Next: kudos to the declutterers. Any corner that is cluttered interferes with healthy flow of energy. Any time I de-clutter, I feel better, even if it is just the top of my dresser.
Meanwhile, this weekend I cleaned up a new/used keyboard, carried it into the house, and started playing tunes I used to play as a child, in preparation for finally taking lessons. It's actually not so little a thing to learn a new skill, especially one with hand-eye coordination. It stimulates the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which stimulates growth and repair of damaged brain cells... Can you feel the next blogpost coming on? :-)
First on paying the bills -- when "all this" started, we switched to auto-pay on everything for which that is an option. It has saved our credit rating and saved me a number of meltdowns.
Next: kudos to the declutterers. Any corner that is cluttered interferes with healthy flow of energy. Any time I de-clutter, I feel better, even if it is just the top of my dresser.
Meanwhile, this weekend I cleaned up a new/used keyboard, carried it into the house, and started playing tunes I used to play as a child, in preparation for finally taking lessons. It's actually not so little a thing to learn a new skill, especially one with hand-eye coordination. It stimulates the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which stimulates growth and repair of damaged brain cells... Can you feel the next blogpost coming on? :-)
I have found that it's the little things that make the biggest impact on my life, health and wellbeing. Or rather it's the appreciation of the little things. I've learned to be grateful for whatever is in my life. Somedays it's still a challenge but mostly I can stay mindful and in the moment. Some of my favorite little things are doing the dishes, sweeping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, sitting my my gurgling little cherub in the garden, laying on the grass and watching the clouds roll by, digging in my garden, planting something new, accomplishing a little task on my to do list. Writing in my journal.
Making a call that I've been postponing. Sending a card to someone.
The list is endless.
Taking time every morning to commune with God.
I have found that it's the little things that make the biggest impact on my life, health and wellbeing. Or rather it's the appreciation of the little things. I've learned to be grateful for whatever is in my life. Somedays it's still a challenge but mostly I can stay mindful and in the moment. Some of my favorite little things are doing the dishes, sweeping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, sitting my my gurgling little cherub in the garden, laying on the grass and watching the clouds roll by, digging in my garden, planting something new, accomplishing a little task on my to do list. Writing in my journal.
Making a call that I've been postponing. Sending a card to someone.
The list is endless.
Taking time every morning to commune with God.
I started reading the Serenity Prayer last week. I was describing to my son what I was going through with him on an emotional level: trying to raise the courage to change my interactions with him and also the courage to accept things from my past with him that I can't change: if someone blames me for his alcoholism or his lack of followthrough because I always bailed him out then fine. I can accept their blame with courage, yes some of it is my fault. He told me that is the Serenity Prayer. And so I began memoriizing it. And has helped me stand firm with him. I has also helped me stand firm with myself..
But I think the smallest thing was finding out that after all my bills, I have 16 dollars left that's all. I can buy cheap shampoo and that's about it. Next monthi is easier but for 2 weeks Im sunk. But I have done it before. I'm almost certain that the 2 weeks will only take 2 weeks even tough it feels like an eterity 
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Right now I am teetering on depression. I committed to developing a WRAP program for myself a month ago alone much to my disappointment. I live in a difficult situation that distracts me from paying attention to managing my symptoms and encourages me to be in denial about them. It seems waking up is a struggle lately. I can still do the regularly scheduled bills but only some of the basic tasks that most people seem to unconsciously perform everyday without fail. I am braking down a little at a time. The small tasks that I can still achieve help me to believe that I am not a total waste of human life.
I won't answer your question fully here; it would take too long. Suffice it to say that I am glad your question came to my attention. I will add it to my WRAP book and hope to have the concentration to answer it. When life is falling on me the little things in life are the only things in life I can see. And when I can catch them and complete them I feel so proud that I haven't fallen so low that I cannot see them scuttle about. It's like a hurricane that descends made of millions of pixels that distract me from the storm.
You see I can't even stay on topic...