Getting Out of Depression and the Slump of Slumps

[DougRMR]

Day 9/30
Sleep Time: 8 1/2 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: No
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: Yes
Engagement/Presence: Average
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: Yes

Observations: Average day. Got up late, didn't do morning routine cuz I had an appointment. Finding it hard to balance getting my 8 hours of sleep with getting up early, since I've spent most of my life being a night owl. Still, I managed to get to bed early but got woken up by a dog at midnight right next to my window.

Overall Rating: 7/10

 

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[DougRMR]

Dunno if you were trying to tell me something but nothing was posted

 

[MattR82]

Man, I feel you. I'm not doing as much as you are, and can't see my friends as they live almost 2 hours away now and I'm building a biz (probs why I've been posting so much shit on the forum lately, haven'tseen my mates for 4 months) but have had a huge amount of success lately in just really forcing myself to slow down, take it one day at a time and focus on stress management. Made me realise so much of my stress was purely my own stupid choice. Slow is fast has never been more true in my life.

Wim Hof has been a gamechanger. Maybe even a lifesaver. I catch myself sometimes with very short/shallow breathing or almost like I'm holding my breath in stressful situations. I can identify it immediately now though and practice 3 rounds at least once a day. "Just breathe motherfcker!" as Wim would say.

The only music I listen to now is something like a Baroque playlist on spotify or some calm music like what you would have on in the background at a yoga class.

I now give myself 50% more time to complete work tasks. Why I was rushing to be as fast as humanly possible before, I don't know. So I could be home earlier by an hour or two, but stressed and burnt out like crazy? Good plan dummy, lol.

Just those 3 things made all the difference for me. Now to start bringing more exercise back again.

Good luck!

 

[KindlyCutTheCrap]

Hi Doug,

Sorry to hear you're having a bad time of it. A client was a real night owl and he found the Sleep Cycle app really good because it helps set up good Sleep Hygiene and it wakes you according to your natural sleep cycle. There were 2 things that made him feel grumpy - going to bed late and not socializing enough. After he got both of those in place, he was much more productive.

I personally found drinking 2L of water a day really important because it stops the body feeling like it's living in a desert. 2 quarts sounds like a lot but it's just 4 mugs of water in the morning, repeated after lunch. If you put the mugs on your desk when your computer is loading, you'll have them there right in front of you. To ensure you remember to drink them as you go, put them between the keyboard and screen. I prefer warm water because it's like having a proper beverage but doesn't make me thirsty afterwards

Hope this helps.
Best, KCTC

Day 9/30
Sleep Time: 8 1/2 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: No
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: Yes
Engagement/Presence: Average
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: Yes

Observations: Average day. Got up late, didn't do morning routine cuz I had an appointment. Finding it hard to balance getting my 8 hours of sleep with getting up early, since I've spent most of my life being a night owl. Still, I managed to get to bed early but got woken up by a dog at midnight right next to my window.

Overall Rating: 7/10

 

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[DougRMR]

Man, I feel you. I'm not doing as much as you are, and can't see my friends as they live almost 2 hours away now and I'm building a biz (probs why I've been posting so much shit on the forum lately, haven'tseen my mates for 4 months) but have had a huge amount of success lately in just really forcing myself to slow down, take it one day at a time and focus on stress management. Made me realise so much of my stress was purely my own stupid choice. Slow is fast has never been more true in my life.

Wim Hof has been a gamechanger. Maybe even a lifesaver. I catch myself sometimes with very short/shallow breathing or almost like I'm holding my breath in stressful situations. I can identify it immediately now though and practice 3 rounds at least once a day. "Just breathe motherfcker!" as Wim would say.

The only music I listen to now is something like a Baroque playlist on spotify or some calm music like what you would have on in the background at a yoga class.

I now give myself 50% more time to complete work tasks. Why I was rushing to be as fast as humanly possible before, I don't know. So I could be home earlier by an hour or two, but stressed and burnt out like crazy? Good plan dummy, lol.

Just those 3 things made all the difference for me. Now to start bringing more exercise back again.

Good luck!

Thank you man! I'm doing light exercise in the morning but I really have to bring in a full workout routine. Good luck to you, too. The classical music thing I can relate cuz I did that when I was trying to relax back in March lol

 

[DougRMR]

Day 10/30
Sleep Time: 6 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: Yes
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: No
Engagement/Presence: Average
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: Yes

Observations: Pretty average across the board, learning a lot of new things at my new job and pushing my comfort zone more than I ever have.Which is awesome. Still not getting my 8 hours of sleep but I know I can get it right.

Overall Rating: 7/10

 

[DougRMR]

Day 11/30
Sleep Time: 8 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: No
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: No
Engagement/Presence: Average
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: No

Observations: Was very tired during friday night, decided to crash instead of doing morning routine. Pretty low energy day, don't know why. Maybe I got some blood sugar stuff or something but overall, not bad.

Overall Rating: 6/10

 

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[DougRMR]

Day 12/30
Sleep Time: 8 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: No
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: No
Engagement/Presence: Average
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: No

Observations: Felt a bit unengaged that day but got better during the night when I went out with my girlfriend to a show. Decided not to wake up at 6:30am to get my 8 hours.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

 

[DougRMR]

Day 13/30
Sleep Time: 8 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: No
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: Yes
Engagement/Presence: Poor
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: No

Observations: Had to do some errands, pretty straight forward day but wasted a lot of time on social media and felt bad afterwards. Decided to block a few websites and to put a timer on certain apps.

Overall Rating: 5/10

 

[DougRMR]

Day 14/30
Sleep Time: 8 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: No
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: Yes
Engagement/Presence: Average
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: Yes

Observations: Better day than monday. Worked on a project with that really made me excited and engaged. I'm starting to realize that really a lot of my slump and depression is coming from me letting myself go with distractions and not doing what fulfills me and gets me closer to my goals. Obvious, but for a chunk of this year I thought my depression was a bit outside of my control but it's good to have these reminders that you can stack up good moods in your favor.

Overall Rating: 7/10

 

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[DougRMR]

Day 15-19/30
Average Sleep Time: 7-8 hrs
Cold Showers: Yes
Social Media: Yes
Engagement/Presence: Average-Great
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: Yes

Observations: Gonna give a summary of these last few days, taking a lot of the info from my CBT writings.
Overall, I've been sleeping more hours. I can definitely tell the difference and I've been feeling a lot more motivated. Did a lot of errands I had put off and have been able to focus a lot more thanks to the Pomodoro Method. However, I'm seeing a trend that my Sundays are very sluggish and I feel brain fogged. It's probably my weekend diet, if I had to guess. I've been cutting sugar out lately, though so we'll see how I feel next weekend.

Overall Rating: 6.5-8/10

 

[DougRMR]

Day 20/30
Sleep Time: 8 hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: Yes
Cold Shower: Yes
Social Media: No
Engagement/Presence: Average
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: No

Observations: Didn't do bedtime routine yesterday cuz I was so tired. But overall a very good day today. It's been a lot easier for me to wake up at 6:30am these last few days. I also found that putting two different alarm clocks with different alarm sounds wakes me right the f*ck up lol A nice trick if you want to really get yourself out of bed, especially if you put the alarm clocks far away from each other and far away from your bed. Still haven't tried lion's mane but am gonna order some this week.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

 

[DougRMR]

Day 21-26/30
Sleep Time: On average, 6.5-8hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: 2 out of the 6 days I got up late but for the most part got up early
Cold Shower: The only day off from cold showers was today
Social Media: Used a lot. Set up a browser blocker for Youtube and Instagram
Engagement/Presence: Average to Great. Mostly average but still got ADD lol
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: Almost none this last week but did it a few times

Observations: Crazy week last week, super busy. Didn't even remember this thread until today lol but pretty happy that I had a "full" week. Didn't have a shitty day, either. In terms of mood I'm much better but sleeping has been a challenge because of a dog that is right next to my window that barks when his owner gets there at like 12am. Didn't even notice this until I started going to bed early this last week. It is what it is. Also got some Lion's Mane

Overall Rating: 7-8/10

 

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[DougRMR]

Day 27-30/30
Sleep Time: On average, 6.5-8hrs
Wake Up 6:30am: Failed most of the days but managed to get better sleep.
Cold Shower: No day off from cold showers
Social Media: Little use. Only sin was Youtube.
Engagement/Presence: Average to Great. Mostly average but still got ADD lol
Bedtime Routine From Previous Day: Almost none this last week but did it a few times

Overall Rating: 6-7.5/10

I completely forgot to give the final update when I finished this challenge. A few things to note. I definitely got out of the slumps. Some days were better than others but as of now, I'm more busy than I have been in a long time and I'm always doing something, either for my own health or to further my business. Got into a sales job recently and have been doing pretty good! Way better than I had been about a month back.

Sleep was very difficult for me but lately I've been sleeping and resting a lot better. Took some Lion's Mane and haven't really seen that much difference but I do feel better. I also started taking some sleep supplements (Natural Sleep Formula by Golden Naturals, if you're interested) and they have helped me more than a lot of other sleep supplements. So very thankful for that.

In terms of mood, I'm a lot better overall. Still got some "down" days but overall my mindset is much healthier and a lot more expansive. Don't feel as trapped as I did in the beginning of this challenge. Grateful for everything and God bless you all!