I am struggling, too, but am starting to see improvement. Are you in therapy and trying meds? I have started walking, too, which tends to improve our anxiety and depression. It's a hard journey, but there is hope!

Hi catlover, I am in therapy and on meds. I have been for a number of years but still nothing has really changed. That’s why I say I don’t know what my deal is because a lot of people see improvements after changing some things. I’ve tried many things but still nothing.

Chapter 4 page 14

First, you are going to have to change the habit of how you think of the past, present, and 'improvement'.

Essentially, in order to change how you 'feel', you are first going to have to change how you think about how you 'feel'.

It's a challenge everyone faces on a daily basis.

No one else can do it for you. Only you can. We can share the tools we use to help ourselves push through those pesky thoughts that affect our feelings so easily.

Until you find what works, keep working at it, and keep track of the little things that do help, even if just for a moment. Every little bit adds up, and you'll see, feel, and know the difference.

You are not alone in this!

You might need a different therapist. A specialist in anxiety. And different medications. Don't give up. It took me a lot of years to really start to get better.
And a whole lot of trying different therapists.

one of my more cherished brothers-in-healing was paraplegic. it has been a goodly while, but i still pause to honor him with grief every so often. we traded allot of notes on the rigors of living with chronic conditions. it do get weary but the dreary challenge of it leads us to bonds and understandings we could have forged no other way.

we cope by looking for the collateral beauties.

gentle empathy, asuncion. now ya got me in the mood for some nina simone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aoCqU4QcZo

I am concerned about the same issues with my wife, in therapy and a program, various medications but no discernible improvement.

1. Plan One basic question is whether there is a treatment plan. What are achievable goals, what skills need to be developed, and how can progress be noted. Maybe you don't need a lot of progress, but some way of checking progress. I think you should think of a treatment plan and review it with your therapist or team.

2. Typical goals There are some common goals. For example, doing some regular exercise makes sense and that can be checked. Are you exercising 3 times a week and if not, what can we do to achieve that, do you go outside for walks, again if not, how to we achieve that goal. Can you call friends twice a week.

3. Job performance People get evaluations at jobs and sometimes need to do better. The company will develop an action plan, identify areas for improvement, and create a joint plan, it would seem something like this is needed.

I get anxiety and depression are hard and some amount of positive reinforcement is helpful, but there needs to be some plan for improvement in place.

I understand. I have been "living with" my anxiety for 25 years.

I would suggest again to see your psychiatrist about trying a different medication. See what they say. Zoloft and Luvox are two really good OCD medications. I know a few people on Zoloft, 100 mgs a day, and they are doing great! It's like their anxiety is gone.

Trying a new therapist is a good idea, too. As @Tired said above. I went through 5 therapists to find a good one.

There is help out there. I know it's a big pain... but trying a different medication, trying a new therapist... can help you to feel so much better, and it's worth the hassle of doing it. It is worth it to be feeling good again.