OMG how do I motivate myself and recover???????

I have met my fair share of people who just dont like to get out of bed. And for no reason at all. They just roll out of bed whenever they like. They make some coffee and do what they do. Oh, yes, I am referencing more than one long-term relationship. These ones never lasted long. I hate the word lazy. I hate it because my parents never stopped working. If us kids did not work we were That Thing (child)That Did Not Belong. But I loved my parents and it is because of them I get the hell out of bed.

Alright now-what does google say about mental illness and motivation??? Care to guess?? Lets look it up..............

Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors. For instance: An individual has not eaten, he or she feels hungry, and as a response he or she eats and diminishes feelings of hunger. There are many approaches to motivation: physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social. Motivation may be rooted in a basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or for a desired object. Conceptually, motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion.

Wow- did you get all that????

I am slightly, though not overly, impressed. When we struggle with mental illness finding the ‘motivation to complete basic needs (think: shower, eat, talk) is difficult. Sometimes, impossible. But in order to recover from mental illness, motivation becomes a key factor in our success. Unfortunately, its also one of the more difficult areas of our life to harness when we are unstable.

So, how can we define motivation in the massive realm of mental illness?

*Motivation (lack thereof) can be connected to a state of depression. It should then be treated as such.

*Difficulty accepting your diagnosis in connection with finding the motivation to recover from it. If we cannot accept the diagnosis we are probably not motivated to recover from it.

So ok-the real question is....

HOW DO WE MOTIVATE OURSELVES?????

Make a schedule. Example: If I struggle with insomnia (and lately it never leaves me) I still set my alarm at 8 a.m. A schedule is important and it regulates our lives, our stability, and our recovery.

>Allow others to help you when you need help! Perhaps you dont need to be dragged out of bed, but a pep talk is helpful. People in depression are often certain they will never get better. But we will and we do and try, try, try to remember this.

>Do what you can do. If all you can do is get up, well, that is motivation enough for the day. If getting to work on time and staying there is part of your routine, then give yourself some credit.

I know for me motivation is like doing chores blah!!!! Please send me a messege on things that you like to read on to help you become more motivated.