Feeling hopeless and have nothing to live for
I have no intention of taking my own life - i know that the dark time im having is temporary but I'm in so much pain right now. I cant stop worrying about the most stupid things - yesterday for instance i worried about swollen glands, fever, lack of smell/taste. These are irrational as i have neither of the three. I cant sleep at night, it takes my a good hour and half to drop off. I cant stop crying. The CBT im having has no effect even though im doing the 'homework' i wish i could be normal. I just want to be happy again
Original post by CloudySkies238
I have no intention of taking my own life - i know that the dark time im having is temporary but I'm in so much pain right now. I cant stop worrying about the most stupid things - yesterday for instance i worried about swollen glands, fever, lack of smell/taste. These are irrational as i have neither of the three. I cant sleep at night, it takes my a good hour and half to drop off. I cant stop crying. The CBT im having has no effect even though im doing the 'homework' i wish i could be normal. I just want to be happy again
Like you said, the dark period you're having is temporary. You just need to hold out until you feel better. I’m sorry you don't feel too well right now and I hope you feel better
I feel your pain. I try to remind myself that I have been happy before and I will be happy again. This is just a temporary feeling.
Original post by CloudySkies238
I have no intention of taking my own life - i know that the dark time im having is temporary but I'm in so much pain right now. I cant stop worrying about the most stupid things - yesterday for instance i worried about swollen glands, fever, lack of smell/taste. These are irrational as i have neither of the three. I cant sleep at night, it takes my a good hour and half to drop off. I cant stop crying. The CBT im having has no effect even though im doing the 'homework' i wish i could be normal. I just want to be happy again
We all have irrational thoughts. That's not a reason to feel hopeless. Above all, there is always, always hope.
You need to recognise when you are having an irrational thought and deal with it as such. So, when your mind starts telling you - you have swollen glands, you need to argue back a little. This sounds crazy, but it will get easier with practice. So, you would recognise "hmm, I seem to be getting myself worried by swollen glands here. I have no symptoms. There is no evidence. I'm going to dismiss this as one of those mad thoughts that just appear from time to time." I know it's a weird time out there right now, but the truth is, there's always something to worry about. The reality is, most of the stuff we worry about never happens.
When I find myself worrying about something at night, which prevents me from sleeping, I tell myself: "it's late, there's nothing you can do about it tonight. File it away for tomorrow. If it's still troubling you tomorrow, you'll make a plan and deal with it then." Inevitably, after a sleep, I find I am no longer worried by the issue, or, my mind has managed to come up with a solution in the night. This is the magic of sleep. That's why it's important to get sleep, because it really does calm the mind.
There are some really good meditation apps you can listen to last thing at night. I listen to one called "relax into sleep - guided meditation" (Meditation Oasis). I find it really calming, and it acknowledges "you'll have stray thoughts, but that's OK, it's just the body unwinding". Having all these weird thoughts often happens last thing at night because the mind is trying to unfurl itself and get into sleep.
Often, we have difficulty sleeping because of what we have done during the day. Getting enough exercise, getting fresh air, eating well, not using stimulants such as caffeine, or cigarettes or alcohol, not having lots of sugar in our diets, all help. I always find the term "mental health" problematic because the mind is as much a physical organ as the stomach or the heart. There is no disconnection between mind and body, so making some changes to our exercise regime, or our diet can have a profound impact on how we feel mentally.
Last point - we all need purpose in our lives in order to feel that our days have meaning. Try and have something planned every day that you can strive towards and achieve - it can be painting a fence, or reading a book, or helping an elderly neighbour with a job - whatever it is will give your mind something to focus on that is positive. The mind is a poor master, but a good servant.
