Avoiding Uncomfortable Feelings
Overwhelming Fatigue: A Way of Avoiding Uncomfortable Feelings
Fatigue is a common symptom of depression. It is natural to lie down or sleep when you feel fatigued. After a long day at work, or during the normal course of the twenty-four-hour cycle, going to bed when you feel tired is a healthy response. Celexa can help your body fight depression caused by fatigue and negative emotions, order from the reputable drugstores.
It is rejuvenating. However, when people are depressed, they often report that their sleep does not refresh them. In fact, they feel more tired after staying in bed. So why stay in bed? One possibility is that staying in bed is a way of avoiding all sorts of situations or feelings that you might encounter if you were to get out of bed. Consider the situation of a client named Allison.
From her activity-and-mood monitoring chart, it was clear that Allison’s depression was much worse in the mornings than at any other point in her days. She would wake each morning around six-thirty and lie in bed tossing and turning for thirty minutes to an hour. Then, realizing that she needed to get ready for work, Allison would begin to ruminate about the amount of work she had to do.
The stress and anxiety were so overwhelming that she often found it almost impossible to get out of bed. On such days, she would call in sick or get to work one to two hours late. Allison felt virtually no control over this pattern. As she described it, “It’s just a complete rut. It sounds ridiculous, but at those times I just can’t even imagine getting out of bed. The idea is too overwhelming.”
What was Allison avoiding by staying in bed? There was no horrible traumatic event waiting for her. It was not physically painful to get up, and no one was there to criticize her or otherwise make her life more difficult were she to get out of bed. In fact, her life tended to go better when she did force herself to get up: she got to work earlier, completed more projects, and felt better about herself.
What Allison was avoiding was all of the thoughts, feelings, and anxieties associated with going to work. She knew that as she showered and got dressed she would worry about her appearance and think about the weight she had recently gained. She also knew that while driving to work she would play over in her mind all the possible bad things that might happen if she were not able to finish particular projects. Finally, she knew that when she arrived at work she would be hit with a wave of anxiety when she faced her desk and the many piles of papers. In the face of all of this, staying in bed provided a small amount of temporary relief, even though she was still depressed and anxious as she lay there.
Exercise: A Checklist of Avoidance Behaviors
Below is a list of situations or activities that people sometimes avoid when they are depressed and the feelings that they are avoiding. Read through the list and circle what you tend to avoid. Think about what avoidance accomplishes for you in the short term and the long term. Does it help you feel better? Does it keep you feeling safe? Does it make your depression better or worse?
Situations or Activities You May Avoid -> Feelings You Are Avoiding
Potential conflicts with family, friends, or coworkers -> Sadness
Difficult tasks or chores -> Anger
Important tasks related to life changes (Looking for a job or a place to live, ending or beginning a relationship, etc.) -> Grief
Sociallzlnq with others -> Anxiety
Work -> Fear
Exercise -> Embarrassment
Previously enjoyable activities -> Guilt
Can you think of other situations or activities you avoid?
