Distractions and Depression

Sand was dribbling out of the bag of her attention, faster and faster.

~ Sarah Blake

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.  Join me in blogging to erase the stigma of mental illness so our loved ones can seek the help they need.

D

istraction is a large part of my depression.  I don’t enjoy my pain, so I find ways to forget it.

Some good ways.

Some bad ways.

Laughter is a good way.  But I’m not sure laughing like a hyena at Pinterest pins of crazy Tumblr posts is entirely healthy.

Then again, Pinterest is like crack, and crack is whack…so there you go.

Distractedly Creative…and Sad

I read somewhere that easily distracted people are more intelligent and creative.  Perhaps it is more realistic to say that creative and intelligent people are easily distracted.  Makes sense ~ there are always several story and post ideas zipping around in my head: bright and colourful as humming birds ~ and just as elusive.

A good friend describes his ADHD as his brain being cable TV with several channels playing at the same time.  He thinks he’s crazy. 

I know he’s brilliant.

Preparing to write this post, I clicked through Pinterest to find a good image, and came to an hour (or three) later.  And had three or six more ideas on where to take this.  Which, despite what you might think, is actually a gift.  Because those ideas got written down and might be used later.

Yet my energy is still low.  I still have a little spot of quicksand sadness that’s just sitting here in my chest, waiting to suck me down.

Less Distractions = More Sleep…and Vice Versa

Energy levels are a huge factor in my distraction equation.  The less energy I have, the more easily distracted I become.  And the less restful sleep I get, the less energy I have.

You would think that with my depression, sleep wouldn’t be an issue, but that is a myth. Yes, depression causes a drop in energy, which can cause us to sleep more.  But sometimes the depression walks hand in hand with anxiety and that keeps us awake.

One night, I had a waking dream that was so real and touched on a deep seated insecurity, that I cried so hard and so long that I gave myself a quadruple play: depression, dehydration, migraine, and lack of REM sleep.

The next day was so ugly, my friends, not even Tumblr’s antics could turn my sad into glad. (Although this one made me laugh so hard I snorted.)  Hey admit it, we've all felt that way once or twice.

Tonight, though, I’ll try to up my energy levels in a more constructive way.  I'll work in my garden, walk around the property, soak in a bubble bath, drink a cup of chamomile tea with lemon, read for an hour, and turn out the lights earlier.

Hopefully that will equal less distractions and higher energy levels tomorrow.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Are you more distracted when you’re depressed?  How do you deal with distractions?