Working while depressed? Here’s how to make it more manageable.

When you’re deep in the depths of depression and experiencing life-impacting side effects (including anxiety and exhaustion) — it can be nearly impossible to complete the work that’s required of you. I’ve been in this situation more times than I can count.

As an individual who suffers from chronic pain, I’ve worked while depressed for years — and it can be completely, utterly miserable. My depression closely follows my chronic pain fluctuations. The more pain I’m in, the easier it is for me to sink into negative thought patterns. When I feel my worst, I want nothing more than to collapse on the couch with my pup, close the blinds, turn off my cell phone, and disappear for a while. Yet most of the time, that’s impossible, due to work, family commitments, and my never-ending to-do list.

Over the years, I’ve found ways to make working while depressed more manageable, and it has been an absolute blessing. I’ve learned to embrace my emotional and physical flaws rather than hide from them, and I work hard to focus on self-care so that when depression hits  —  I’m ready for it.

It’s critical that I remain positive and focus on self-care, no matter what chronic pain throws my way. If I let myself slip, depression and anxiety consumes me.

The list below contains my go-to solutions for working while depressed. It’s terrifying to open myself up like this, but I’m sharing these tips in the hope that an idea below will help you manage your depression in a healthy way. We’re all human, we all face immense challenges, and we’re all in this together. In the comments, I’d love to hear about your self-care routines, too.

 

Take a walk.

We’ve all heard this before, but I’m absolutely serious how impactful this tool is. Taking a 10–20 minute walk does wonders for your mental health. As I meander through my neighborhood, I pump your arms to increase my heartrate and feel better, faster.

When I’m really, really struggling and hate the idea of doing anything productive, I time myself to walk slowly for 10 minutes, and tell myself that I can stop when the timer goes off. Most of the time, I receive a positive jolt to my emotional state, and I typically end up walking for a few more minutes because I’m enjoying myself so much. The endorphins that kick in following light cardio may be enough to get you back on track and ready to focus on your task at hand.

Prioritize projects around your depression.

This is one of my all-time favorite coping skills. I keep a list of projects/tasks to accomplish while I’m feeling depressed-to keep me motivated and moving forward. As I’m a freelancer, I need to continually fight for the next job, and there’s no room for depression waste an entire day. I save the more relaxing or enjoyable tasks for when I’m feeling my worst.

As an example, when I’m depressed, I record expenses, track mileage, and organize paperwork while drowning in poignant indie jams — whatever I need to help me feel better. I save this free-form blogging (most of my Medium posts) for when I’m feeling extremely down and need to commit what’s in my head to what’s on the page. Otherwise, I dust my office, respond to non-essential emails, write thank you’s, and read up on industry news. It takes a while to get used to, but it’s an effective way of managing my time, and accomplishing tasks is a sure-fire way for me to feel slightly better.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgzxla5AiVr/?taken-by=kelsey.ro

Write it down.

When I’m depressed, I write about it — why I’m down, what it feels like, and how its affecting my life. I journal, because I’m blessed to have a husband where I’m not worried about him reading my entries. Though, if I needed a more private way to record my thoughts, I’d protect a Word document and spew out all of my thoughts and negativity. This works, because releasing that pent-up emotion almost removes it from your mind. I’ve found that forcing myself to write, even when I’m in pain and terribly depressed, gives me a gentle nudge in a more positive direction.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeTNunsgRq9/?taken-by=kelsey.ro

Practice gratefulness daily.

When I’m anxious, depressed, and downright pissed off, practicing gratefulness always helps me refocus. I have this “what’s good” section of my journal. When I whine and complain during an entire journal entry about how depressed I am, there’s still a happy bow tying it all together. It makes me feel good to end a journal entry on a positive note. Write it down, or simply take time to look around you and enjoy the view. There’s likely a lot of amazing stuff in your life that can perk you up a notch or two.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXsvhaLA0Kf/?taken-by=kelsey.ro

There’s nothing wrong with a much-needed break.

Some days, I hit the “pause” button on my freelance business and enjoy an afternoon off in front of the television. I’m ashamed to admit this, and shouldn’t be! Everyone deserves a break. The go-go-go culture of the corporate world is ingrained in me, and it can be challenging to let that go.

Personally, I’ve decided that it’s not essential to spend my life committed solely on work. Frankly, I’m not sure I could if I wanted to. Corporate jobs, where you’re stuck at a desk for 40+ hours per week, dealing with cranky coworkers, can be just about the worst thing in the world for chronic pain. And when pain flares, so does depression.

Note: I take these OFTEN. It’s essential for me to keep moving. Oh, and behind-the-scenes information here  —  see that tweet copy below? What I really did was continue my Bollywood binge because I was too depressed and overwhelmed to complete my writing.

Saturday morning #Bollywood binge to relax before more #writing this afternoon.@iamsrk — I can’t get enough of your movies. I wish there were more on @netflix!#amwriting #ShahRukhKhan #SRK #Raees @RaeesTheFilm #freelancelife #freelancer #binders pic.twitter.com/W2fqVpnJDz

— Kelsey Roseth (@KelseyRoseth) February 3, 2018

Give origami, knitting, or another simple handcraft a try.

Let’s say you’re feeling utterly depressed and want to bail on work and watch Netflix all day. Or, you burn up your weekend watching television or doing something else inactive. A good solution, to get in your rest time while also feeling better about yourself, is to give handcrafts a try.

Now, if you’re a perfectionist, ditch that attitude right now. I’m not talking about you becoming a fantastic, amazing, wonderful wood carver, for example. I’m simply saying you should identify an easy handcraft to keep you busy when you’re inactive. If I knit a basic scarf or play around creating origami animals, I feel less crappy about watching TV all day. Plus, having a soothing, hand-focused activity to accomplish is pretty relaxing. Most importantly, that small feeling of accomplishment may be just enough to motivate you to make another healthy decision.

With depression, remember that each small step — like feeling good about yourself after creating a simple origami crane — helps move you toward a happier life.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfmWTTngKPM/?taken-by=kelsey.ro

These are a few simple tips I’ve learned along the way to make depression more manageable. I’d love to learn how you cope with your depression in the comments!