Motivation lacking...help!

[beechlover]

Good morning all,
So, just a little background...
I'm 55, diagnosed late 40's, tried several careers, made it 13 years as elementary school teacher, but finally decided needed more quality of life.

In so many ways, I am blessed, but now that I finally left teaching, I'm at a loss for what to do with myself. I have a pretty strong fear of failing whatever I try next, and I would love to just stay home and not have that stress. But, financially this is a no go. So, I have applied for a number of jobs, and am building up a little craft business...way more money spent than made so far !

My problem is, there are so many things I would like to get up and do, but I am a tiny bit depressed and have trouble motivating myself to do anything. So I'm looking for ideas to get me up and moving. I know exercise is good for so many reasons, but just can't get myself to really commit to that.

I was on Welbutrin for a little bit, and I like what that did for motivation, but didn't like the side effects.

I take Concerta and Ritalin, and they help enormously, but to really get myself going, I have to take a dose that makes my heart race and makes me jittery. I also take Celexa, Deplin, fish oil, vitamin D, and a multivitamin.

Thanks for your ideas and support!

[SquarePeg]

Good for you that you have so many things that you would like to do (I´m the opposite). Maybe you have too many things and it´s overwhelming and you need to decide what direction to take.

Without the structure of a working day to keep the adrenaline pumping it can be hard to motivate oneself, although it´s nice to have a break I find the more time I have the less I get done. I have practically been in a coma during school holidays!!

So you may find having time on yours hands more challenging than you would have thought.

You could always make yourself a timetable (just to remind yourself of the old day)

[DvlsAdv0c8]

Have you asked your doctor what he or she thinks would be a "safe" level of physical activity or what your options are for exercise? There may be just one little thing you can start with and do every day that isn't too difficult or taxing on your system and gets the blood flowing. I know I feel more motivated and upbeat once I get moving.

It's just the starting part that's hard. Once you get in the habit of doing that one small thing you can increase the intensity or add something else if it's OK with the doc.

You said you are working on a craft business - what kind of business? Is it something that you can blend with some physical activity, like walking to different stores and showing them your products (and maybe acquiring some customers in the process)? Or walk around hanging up business fliers or handing out business cards?

Maybe you could enlist a friend to help you get motivated that would take daily walks with you. You might want to try not to isolate yourself, which would just make your more depressed after a while.

[Flia]

Calendar events with alarms, such as "get up", "shower", "go to the gym" helps me.
When I'm low and unmotivated I just comply and let the alarms tell me what to do.
Loud annoying alarms with snooze option are necessary to get me going. After eight or so snoozes I actually get my but lifted :-*

[theloner]

I can relate, I think like that everyday, I'd like to take more of the med's but not good at my age, BP and all, I try but I seem to be just stuck in my box.

Originally Posted by beechlover

Good morning all,
So, just a little background...
I'm 55, diagnosed late 40's, tried several careers, made it 13 years as elementary school teacher, but finally decided needed more quality of life.

In so many ways, I am blessed, but now that I finally left teaching, I'm at a loss for what to do with myself. I have a pretty strong fear of failing whatever I try next, and I would love to just stay home and not have that stress. But, financially this is a no go. So, I have applied for a number of jobs, and am building up a little craft business...way more money spent than made so far !

My problem is, there are so many things I would like to get up and do, but I am a tiny bit depressed and have trouble motivating myself to do anything. So I'm looking for ideas to get me up and moving. I know exercise is good for so many reasons, but just can't get myself to really commit to that.

I was on Welbutrin for a little bit, and I like what that did for motivation, but didn't like the side effects.

I take Concerta and Ritalin, and they help enormously, but to really get myself going, I have to take a dose that makes my heart race and makes me jittery. I also take Celexa, Deplin, fish oil, vitamin D, and a multivitamin.

Thanks for your ideas and support!

[425runner]

I have this problem too. Only thing that helps is coffee and Dexedrine but then I get really motivated and charged up, which would be great if I had a job....but I've been unemployed for over a year now so that boost in motivation equals jitters and feeling "speedy"

Wellbutrin made by IBS a lot worse, never did much for depression anyway except for making me angry. L-tyrosine on an empty stomach seems to help quite a bit and most recently Noopept 30mg twice a day.

[Dori1220]

I've kind of been facing the same thing. I was in the military for 9 years. This past May, my enlistment was up, so I took a giant leap and left the military and now I'm in school full time. I too am dealing with the lack of motivation and I think it's mostly due to not really having a structured schedule like I had while I was working. School does keep me busy, but I often have lots of free time, even after I've studied and wrote papers. This leads me to feel restless and unproductive. What's helped me is getting up and going straight to the gym. Going first thing in the morning allows me to stick to it and I get it out of the way. If I wait until the afternoon or evening, I can always find an excuse not to go. The excersice helps with the feelings of unmotivation very much.