From the U.S.: I have 2 goals and I just can’t get started with them. I know I’m good and yet I suffer from so much lack of confidence. I go to sleep late and watch TV most of the night and then I finally get some sleep but I get up around noon each day. I feel I could be of use to people with my hypnosis and REIKI practices yet I can’t even help myself. My house is filled with stuff I want to give away yet I don’t.
I have limited funds and providing services to people would help a lot, yet I act as though I don’t care. In fact, I seem not to care about much of anything. I already take 2 antidepressants and suppliment those with low doses of pain killers. I seem to be using the pain killers as a way of coping with my lack of initiative and energy. I used to walk my dog 3x a day now it’s only 1x. My life could best be described as: Bla bla bla bla and more bla with occasional bursts of Rah rah rah – sis boom bah.
What is most concerning to me is that your current state is a change. You got the education and training to be a skilled healer and yet you can’t practice. You used to walk your dog more. I’m glad you found the energy to write to us here at LifeHelper.
There are several possibilities for the change in your energy that need to be explored, especially since you are 68 years old. The first stop should be at your medical doctor’s office. There are a number of physical problems that can manifest as a lack of energy. Describe all your symptoms. Make sure there isn’t an undiagnosed or under-treated medical condition going on.
Second: The medications you are taking may have become a big part of the problem. You take the medicine to help you cope. You can’t cope. You take more medicine and add others. Many people fall into a cycle like this without realizing that they are making things worse, not better. Talk to your prescriber and/or pharmacist about whether the interaction of the pain killers and psych meds is part of the problem.
And — You may not be getting adequate treatment for depression. It’s possible that you need a change in medication or a change in dosage. If you aren’t in therapy, you really should be. The treatment of choice for depression is a combination of talk therapy and medicine. There is evidence that Cognitive Behavior Therapy is most effective.
And — you’re 68. None of us like to think about it, but it is also the time when the first signs of dementia appear. Ask your doctor how to get screened. Early detection and treatment can slow down the process.
I wish you well.
Dr. Marie
