Going through the motions...

[jakethebake]

Do you ever feel like you're just going through the motions? I've been feeling like this a lot lately, in almost every aspect of my life...work, most things at home, social interaction, relationships with friends & family.

There have really only been a couple of things I've been focused on or really felt like caring about. Everything else has just sort of been background noise lately. I seem to go through these periods periodically...like every couple of years or so. And they're hard for me to break out of.

I actually feel like just disappearing sometimes, going to live on the street or something. Not that I ever would, but I actually think in detail about what that would be like and what I'd do.

Does anyone else go through this regularly? What do you do to snap out of it?

[Bluffoon]

Spend some time with my son.

[coffeecrazy1]

I feel like this daily at work, mostly due to the fact that I'm in a transitional period with a transitional job before graduate school and bigger, better things.

But...it sounds like you need a vacation, man. I find a bit of distance is always good for perspective.

[A_C_Slater]

Don't you have a 1 year old daughter?

Maybe you subconsciously want to abandon her rather than deal with the added responsibilty.

You sickeee!

You're sick!

[dcasper70]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't you have a 1 year old daughter?

[/ QUOTE ]

Take her out for some shrimp. You'll feel better. Post pics.

I go through this all the time. What you're describing is depression. I usually just wait for something really bad to happen that resolves itself, and then I reasess my life, and realize things could always be worse.
Or, I go out and get really drunk, and then the next morning I am thankful no one died and I begin to appreciate things more

[MrTrik]

I felt like this after my divorce. I was making huge money and was succeeding in other areas of my life. But every now and then, especially Sunday nights for some reason, I felt like I was a zombie. Not really caring. Not really acting on [censored]. Like life was quickly passing me by.

I pulled out of it at some point. If I ever split with my current wife, I'm sure it'll happen again. But we're happy and I have many other things going on these days so maybe that would help if I ever slipped into that funk again.

[phage]

Have cookies and milk with your kid(s) whilst watching the peacocks?

[Blarg]

It can all stink until you make it better. You've got to happen to life instead of letting it happen to you. Learn the art of happiness, to appreciate what you've got instead of expecting it to weirdly be somehow more than or different from what it is. And find an interest. Nobody can be happy just buying stuff, watching t.v., eating and sleeping. Like history? Become more than curious -- go for competence. Like martial arts? Go for more than fitness, try mastery. Think your family is okay? Don't just keep a roof over their head, be the dad you wish you'd had and the husband you hope or wish your mother had. Have a goal that engages your maximum effort and would result in improving you and making you a more interesting or better person, or even a few such goals. Fulfill your intellectual, physical, and/or spiritual obligations to yourself. Life without goals and interests is not only boring, but a symptom of being inattentive. It doesn't matter you do, just pick something hard and do a at least a little of it every chance you get. And don't get the blues if sometimes you get a little tired of routine. Life is mostly routine, unless maybe you're a kamikaze. Find the routines you appreciate.

[asofel]

The average persons life is often a cyclical and repetitive set of actions. If nothing different happens, these actions begin to develop a rut. You're experiencing a rut right now, and its perfectly common.

They're hard to get out of because of precisely those things which create them: you can't just quit your job and go skydiving in Europe. You can't hit the reset button and start over new, as some can when early on in life. This can also lead to feelings of being trapped in this rut which takes a psychological toll.

Sometimes little things can break you out of them--finding a new hobby, making a small but consistent change in your routine....finding a new bar maybe /images/graemlins/smile.gif

At times I feel similarly. Its probably just because I just hit the quarter century mark, and am having some sort of psychological crisis....if only there was a forum for me....

But anyway, for a variety of reasons, these feelings can start weighing you down, and I'm convinced that those who can't deal with these feelings well can ulimately fall into depression. Perhaps this is like an early mid life crisis for you...

Is there anything you could do now that you've wanted to in the past but have never done? Learn how to play an instrument? Learn how to cook something? Attend a certain annual event you never seem to get to?

Start doing one of these things, whether its little or requires some planning. This will break up the monotony and bring something different into your existence....and whatever it is, write a trip report about it /images/graemlins/wink.gif


edit: or you could just read what Blarg wrote /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't you have a 1 year old daughter?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. My kids were one the the things I was referring to that i really care about. I have awesome kids. /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
I go through this all the time. What you're describing is depression. I usually just wait for something really bad to happen that resolves itself, and then I reasess my life, and realize things could always be worse.
Or, I go out and get really drunk, and then the next morning I am thankful no one died and I begin to appreciate things more

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea. I getcha, but I don't feel depressed exactly. It's not a dark place. I'm not negative about things. Or waiting for bad things. It's more of a just lack of interest.

[slickpoppa]

This happens to me all the time. Travelling somewhere is usually the best way for me to get out of it.

[Tron]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Don't you have a 1 year old daughter?

[/ QUOTE ]

Take her out for some shrimp. You'll feel better. Post pics.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like this idea the best. Go for 50 this time! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
It can all stink until you make it better. You've got to happen to life instead of letting it happen to you. Learn the art of happiness, to appreciate what you've got instead of expecting it to weirdly be somehow more than or different from what it is. And find an interest. Nobody can be happy just buying stuff, watching t.v., eating and sleeping. Like history? Become more than curious -- go for competence. Like martial arts? Go for more than fitness, try mastery. Think your family is okay? Don't just keep a roof over their head, be the dad you wish you'd had and the husband you hope or wish your mother had. Have a goal that engages your maximum effort and would result in improving you and making you a more interesting or better person, or even a few such goals. Fulfill your intellectual, physical, and/or spiritual obligations to yourself. Life without goals and interests is not only boring, but a symptom of being inattentive. It doesn't matter you do, just pick something hard and do a at least a little of it every chance you get. And don't get the blues if sometimes you get a little tired of routine. Life is mostly routine, unless maybe you're a kamikaze. Find the routines you appreciate.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is very good. It's what I know I need to do. And it's actually what I've been trying to do lately. Force myself to care more about things. I kind of hinted at this in a post awhile back. The part about finding routines you appreciate is somewhat counterintuitive, but I know you're 100% correct. Throwing yourself into a new or better routine is huge. I'll probably just keep banging away atbthis until I find something that snaps me out of it.

[LALDAAS]

This is me. I am bored.

Not to much advice for ya for I dont ever do anything for my self.

Monday - Friday is a grind I work 12 hours a day go home play some cards and wait for the weekend.

Weekend rolls around I either go out and get blasted with my firends or do the girl friend thing.

I pretty much try to spend less then I make to someday get married, buy a home and do the same damn thing i am doing now minus going out with the buddies getting blasted every other weekend /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

WTF /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Yads]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I go through this all the time. What you're describing is depression. I usually just wait for something really bad to happen that resolves itself, and then I reasess my life, and realize things could always be worse.
Or, I go out and get really drunk, and then the next morning I am thankful no one died and I begin to appreciate things more

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea. I getcha, but I don't feel depressed exactly. It's not a dark place. I'm not negative about things. Or waiting for bad things. It's more of a just lack of interest.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is still a symptom of depression. You don't have to be feeling sad to be depressed.

[Shajen]

same [censored] here.

I think it's the time of year combined with my bullshit job.

I dunno, life is good, but it's like I'm medicated, you know?

I need to snap the [censored] out of it, but I don't know how. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[diebitter]

Well, I feel fan-bloody-tastic personally.

[Blarg]

How about freaking fabulous?

[Easy E]

It may be a sign of stress, or schedule overload.

A vacation and re-analysis of your daily schedule demands might be overdue.

[diebitter]

[ QUOTE ]
How about freaking fabulous?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure what it means, but probably that too.

Anyone else wanna give me a whhhhhhoooooaaaaa-FAN-FREAKIN-TABULOUS!

[Aytumious]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I go through this all the time. What you're describing is depression. I usually just wait for something really bad to happen that resolves itself, and then I reasess my life, and realize things could always be worse.
Or, I go out and get really drunk, and then the next morning I am thankful no one died and I begin to appreciate things more

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea. I getcha, but I don't feel depressed exactly. It's not a dark place. I'm not negative about things. Or waiting for bad things. It's more of a just lack of interest.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is still a symptom of depression. You don't have to be feeling sad to be depressed.

[/ QUOTE ]

And it has a name: Dysthymia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysthymia).

Jake, you may have a dysthymic personality, though it may be more mild compared to others who suffer more deeply from it.

[Blarg]

It's a reference to an OOT thread made by Chuddo some months ago.