How do you manage to work ( office/home/business) when you're depressed

This is a great question energetic bunny, and I'm interested to see the responses you get. I too work from home, and I've been struggling enormously to motivate myself and to focus lately.

I've found having a routine helps. I set the alarm and I just force myself to get out of bed in the morning. I love a lay in the bath, so that's my treat for getting up. I also try and remember the people I work for and with deserve better from me than to just have me lolling around being ineffective. Having said that, I try not to be too hard on myself...... it's finding that middle ground. I guess in your circumstances, being self employed, it's worth thinking how you deserve better for yourself. Having financial worries and stresses due to difficulty working is likely to perpetuate your depression, so you owe it to yourself to take small steps towards rebuilding your future. You deserve peace of mind.

And finally I hold onto the fact that this will pass. I notice small improvements, hang on to happy thoughts, try to catch negative feelings and question them, challenge them. You can not only learn to live with depression, you can beat it too. Even if your first step is on tiptoes, even if it feels impossible, take it. You're worth it.

Best of luck x

@energeticBunny2323, great thread! I'd also love to hear other's tips and hacks ^^;

I think the most important thing is to remember 2 things: that we have depression and need proactive accommodating the environment to our health state (a) + should treat work time as an actual work time (b):
a) There is really a little point of deceiving ourselves and overestimating our abilities. It can only create unbearable anxiety without which we have already enough difficulties. We should stay realistic and understanding towards ourselves. Pretending that we are not fragile, will only make the stressful blows harder. If we are oversleeping in the morning and waking up at noon, that's okay. We can start to work at 1p.m., there is no rule. We have to do everything in our power to make the tasks easier and here dividing them into smaller chunks comes helpful. If we can only check our inbox in the given moment, that's okay. What matters is that we are working at all, the process itself.

Self-care is vital. At any given moment we have to do what's in our best interests. It applies to the sleep, diet, moving our body around, relaxation and reaching out to others. Every day we have to schedule 3 pleasure activities to give our tired mind&body time to rest. We have to lower our expectations and acknowledge all of the little victories, e.g. posting by posting in "I am proud of myself, because" thread.

b) Showing up and deciding to work is already a half battle won. So no pajamas, no sweatpants. We have to wear our normal clothes and have an area in our house dedicated to accomplishing tha tasks. Starting to work at the fixed time of the day makes the transition easier for our brain, so it's good to try that.

What works for me is to setup a timer for working 1 minute. And then take a 1 minute break. And then setup timer for 2 minutes, and after take a break. And repeat it further ad nauseam, until I don't have to force myself anymore. And when I get myself rolling, I'm joining an online work group which uses the Pomodoro system.

So yeah, I think watching out for balance is important, because with depression it is so easy to loose the perspective on the bigger picture - that we are important, regardless of our productivity, and we deserve a good, healthy existence. All the best, lovely!