Over the last few months I've been incredibly reluctant about looking for a job again, and I always tell myself that I will start applying again and submitting applications, and yet I still continue to do nothing. But just a few minutes ago, I sat down, and filled out some applications and it went great. So what the hell is my problem? Why couldn't I just do that in the beginning? Why do I feel like I have to wait for the planet and the stars to align before I attempt to do something? Is this type of behavior labeled as procrastination?
i understand you feelings completely, knowing what needs to be done, knowing how to do it, knowing that you have to do it, but still not being able to muster the motivation TO do it. iv been unemployed for nearly 2 years now after being made redundant from my last three jobs. it maybe that you suffered from a touch of depression, i understand this too. its a rut that is difficult to get out of and it takes enormous amounts of will power to do anything at all. a psychologists may help, anti-depressants too. the reason why you "suddenly" felt like doing it, simply means you had a small lapse of your depression. it happens from time to time, regrettably not more often. i have been on anti depressants, seen various doctors (head and body) and none worked. strangely the thing that helped the most (though didnt fix per say) was when i started taking multi vitamins and vitamin D. its a cheap fix and if it doesn't work you haven't done any harm. give it a try. hope this helps a bit. it may not be depression at all, but certainly sounds that way from my experiance.
I've done it myself. Sometimes you get beat down so bad you just don't want to face another session. Little victories. Do things you can handle, like sending out one resume' per day, and write letters of introduction to companies for which you want to work. I snagged one of the highest paying job I ever had doing that. Then follow up by going out on at least one interview per week. If you know there isn't a job for you there, ask the Human Resources person for leads on companies that do need you. Get business cards, write thank you letters. They can't hire you if they don't know you're around. My shortest interview? ("Hello, I'm a knife sharpener." "Good, we don't have one, set up over there.") I worked there for over four years. The guy didn't even know polishers existed. Good luck! Edit: All applications should have a one page cover letter. Three paragraphs. Ask for the job. I always ended mine with, "Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to discussing job opportunities in the near future."
I think it's important to not ask yourself if you are procrastinating, but rather why you are procrastinating. A lot of people assume procrastination is laziness, and maybe you are (though, probably not). But maybe you are avoiding doing things because you get anxious thinking about them. Maybe you are depressed. Maybe you have thoughts that tell you that you'll never get the job anyway, so why bother? It could be a lot of different things, but I guess you should focus on the moments when you say "I should really do this" but then you don't, and figure out what's stopping you. Sometimes telling yourself "Stop procrastinating!" works. Sometimes it's much deeper than that. To echo Dave_C's comments... Dietary supplements: YES. Meds: NO. Fish oil has some shown amazing results with various body and mind kind of things. Take one of those every day for a few weeks, and you might feel better. To echo The Tourist's idea: Little victories are key. If you spent several months trying to do something, and then finally did, treat yourself. Even if you don't really do anything one day, maybe you tried harder than usual to get something done. Anyway, *Cyber Five* for overcoming stuff and filling out some applications!
iv been on anti depressants and they just made me 10 times worse. i hear it is different from person to person though hence me not ruling them out completely
I'm BP II and with a proper diagnoses, a competent psychiatrist and a tailored meds regimen, it saved my life. I enjoy life now more than ever before. This is why you'll see me trumpet the MMPI2 test. If you need help, find out why.
I agree. Meds can definitely work, but my qualm is that research shows that don't solve the problem. Despite what commercials and psychiatrist may suggest, there is no definitive evidence that says that depression, anxiety, etc. is caused by "a chemical imbalance in the brain," therefore it isn't treating the cause of people's problems. It has, however, been shown in research that thoughts, behaviors, and life events can lead to depression and anxiety. A better conceptualization of meds is that it treats symptoms of depression/anxiety, making it easier for people to clear up the thoughts, behaviors, etc. that caused it in the first place. They can give you the push you need to get back into the right direction, but if you don't work on the thoughts and behaviors, you'll be back to square one once you go back on the meds. Actually, in one study, fish oil was shown to have almost the same effect as meds on depression. And it doesn't screw up your brain chemistry.
Avoiding completing a task that obviously needs to be done, and instead putting it off repeatedly? Of course that's not procrastinating.
By themselves, maybe not. But my psychiatrist also has me seeing a cognitive therapist, and the mental baggage is/has been dealt with. You have to realize I cracked up in 1999/2000. That's +12 trouble free, enjoyable years. Knowing this, I wish I had lost my marbles years before!
I'm not sure why you have the sarcasm? Is it because you think that Matrix is silly for even asking, or do you think that some of us who have responded are taking it too seriously? Wow! I'm so glad to hear that you've had such success. I'm also glad you had a psychiatrist that saw the value in therapy, because too many do not. In your experience, what was the relationship between meds and therapy? For example, I view meds as a supplement so that therapy can get deeper into issues, but others might view therapy as a way to get the meds to work better. There could be a lot of different ways to look at it, and I'm wondering what your experience was like.
'Cause you're afraid, and perhaps combined with you may not really want a job. Like, you know you need a job, but that's quite different from wanting to work. But probably primarily, fear - fear of rejection and failure. If you never try, then you can't fail, right?
Those who have the best chance of remission (since there is no cure at this point) are the ones who have a combination of drug and talk therapy. The drugs can, in many cases (not all) help alleviate the symptoms; the talk therapy helps you learn how to cope, not only with the illness, but with day to day life events that can be more difficult because of the illness. It may take some time to find the right drug and the right dosage, but it's definitely better than doing nothing.
Really? I was actually under the impression that it was more the norm for psychiatrist to partner with psychologist/therapist so that both actions could be taken. Mind you, the idea might be tainted by the fact that I was going for psychology and not medicine in which it's the view that the meds are for immediate relief of symptoms.
