Ah honey...............I am so sorry to hear you say this. Wish there was sumptin I could do to help. You have a wonderful heart and are so helpful to others.................I hope you get some relief soon:):)

Hugs to you (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((CHERRY))))))))))))))

So sorry. I understand. Try doing one tiny little thing each day. Pick up one item and put it away, finally before you know it, it will be picked back up. Sometimes, when I am overwhelmed with pain, each time I get up to go to the potty I take one item with me and drop it off where it belongs. It really does help. If nothing else it will prevent it from getting much worse until you can deal with it.

I use to hole up in my room too.....try not to do that, it just isolates you more and you become more depressed.
Big gentle hugs to you!

Favorite thing in my house is the garbage pail....I hate clutter and when I feel overwhelmed I just throw stuff out.

Gee, I am not the only one who resorts to the bedroom. I bring my laptop in here and lay on the bed and spend hours here. I totally understand you. I hope that it can get easier for you though. I know how hard it is, so I will pray for you.

Awe Cherry my dear friend.....depression is such a hard one and seems to go hand in hand with CP. It is not something you can just wish away, as you well know. Medications help, but with constant CP it is impossible not to experience down days. So give yourself a break and know what you are experiencing is quite reasonable for the amount of stress you are in.

As for your clutter I understand how that eventually gets to you. I think the advice to just tidy a little everyday until it is picked up is good. That way you are working towards a goal, I am big on goals.

You do so much and live with so much pain and yet you still manage to be here everyday to support others, I think you are amazing. Biggest Warmest Hugs, Cathy

I am sorry and understand the cycle of pain and depression and for me I have anxiety too.

clutter can be overwhelming and suffocating and can definitely zap energy and create bad feeling.

The bedroom is a place that needs to be your sanctuary, a place when you walk in you can feel peaceful and relaxed.

visualize how you would like to see your room and what kind of feeling you would like to have when you walk into your special place.
Perhaps you want An inviting cosy bed where you can curl up and read. clear floors. clear surfaces, clear bed. windows that you can get to and open. closet doors that you can open. Freeing and spacious. It helps us to feel calmer.

I know when we have pain, feel tired, we aren't always up to tidying and cleaning up. but somehow we need to keep on top of things so it doesn't mount up and become an overwhelming mountain.
try and work on a little bit each day.
If you have a huge pile of clothes then go through a handful of items. don't think you have to do the whole thing all in one go.
If your bedroom is becoming a dumping ground for anything and everything. change the habit.

I do the same as Dixeme, I try and make less work for myself as much as possible. If I am going into another room I will check first to see if something needs to go in there with me.
living room to kitchen, living room to bedroom, bedroom to bathroom, etc. I try not to go empty handed.

You are also working which I can imagine is a great strain for you and adds to the difficulty.
Maybe having some kind of chore schedule may help. certain tasks for different days. I know sometimes the scheduled chore can get kicked to the side when our pain level maybe high but it may be of some help.

I wish things were better for you. I hope you feel encouraged knowing that you have people here who understand.
and I hope you can begin to create a peaceful bedroom space that you truly deserve.

First Cherry Im sorry your not feeling well. I know about the happy stress free face we put on for work hours. I'm a pretty good faker too.....decluttering can becoming very over whelming if you don't start with decluttering a little each day. I know if I get to far behind I can't catch up because I do get easily over whelmed. Then I have to call for help . Maybe put 5 things a day away in your bedroom. It will make you feel so much better. Your the one that makes us laugh each day , so we need you to get a move on my friend. Lol hugs

Cherry I am sorry. At least during your day your are around your clients.
You give joy and usually when you do that it should make you feel better.
I am clinically depressed and take two antidepressants and have for some time.I don't know if I could have got through my two years of hip problems without it. Two surgeries, 3 months in wheelchair ect.

I am a firm believer in baby steps. Most of us want to make one fell sweep and get it over with but it is too painful. So the suggestion of putting a few things away each day is a good one. My bedroom is my haven so I try to keep it picked up. There is a saying "good enough". I think it comes into play here.

Getting some different size tubs could help. This would allow you to put like things with like things.You don't do it all in a day. For that matter in a week. It is baby steps. Clear off a spot for a jar or vase of fresh fall flower or leaves or something from outside.

Treat yourself with kindness. I personally don't think you are isolating. The job you do connects you with people every day. You need a serene and peaceful place to go at the end of the day.

Just some thoughts. I care. I hope you are able to find someways to be happy and comfortable.

Peace,
hippy

Cherry, I am sorry you are feeling so depressed.I am overwhelmed by projects too... I have so much stuff around here.
What kind of projects are you doing? Are you still interested in it or them. If not could you put them out of sight so you don't have to be reminded of them everyday? The others gave good advice. god bless you my friend. I hope you can make some headway to do something to make you feel better.

I meant God bless you...

aw cherry, so sorry to hear your so down. BIG HUGS! try and do lil baby steps to clear up? a tiny weeny bit a day?
I think you should do something to cheer yourself up. Any thing that makes you feel better, whether its a film, an outing whatever, make sure you prioritise some time for you. We are all always here for you anytime you need a chat. I wish I could do something for you, but massive hugs are being sent your way cyber mom!
xxxxxxxx

Hi Cherry,

So sorry to hear how down and overwhelmed you are feeling. It is such a downward spiral sometimes. Like the others I agree in the small steps.

I am fairly OCD especially when it comes to clutter and cleanliness and that type of situation is very overwhelming for me as well to the point where I sometimes get anxiety. One thing I have found that helps is creating a contained mess. I know that sounds silly but I find that if I put all of the things that are just lying around in one place of the room then it helps me deal with it. This way the whole room is clean except for that one spot and then I will work on it a little bit at a time.

I also will try to see what things I tend to clutter a room with and think of ways I can setup that space so that I don't just throw it somewhere. Instead I will find a system that allows me to better organize those things. The tub idea in another post is part of this. It gives things that don't belong in that room a centralized place to be put until you can deal with it.

I hope you find some comfort and strength from all the great ideas that the group had.

Hang in there and try to relax and take one step and one day at a time :)

Trina

I appreciate all your support. Thank God for this safe place to 'unload' when I've held it in as long as possible.

I have containers and piles of clothes that I need to sort, donate...whatever. I tend to bring things into my bedroom more than I ever have because the guy who rents a room in my house is on my case all the time. He seems to have lost sight of who actually owns the house!

I'm starting the day with so much pain that it makes me wonder what the heck I do in my sleep. I have two appts. today...PT and my shrink. If I can get a handle on this pain, maybe I'll try to bag Summer clothes and replace them with the dreaded warm things.

This could easily turn into a 'whine fest' so I'm stopping, right now! Thanks, everyone, for being my soft place to land.

Hugs to all,
Cherry

The trinity of CP and I know how you feel, I have given up on trying to be like I was before and now just try to be happy and if there is clutter I do what I can but try not to stress out to much, you gotta give yourself a break you do so much so taking it easy when you get home after work is ok to do.

It is funny those things cause stress but also thinking about those things cause stress so there is a no win situation so dont look for a answers, just look to take things day by day.

I do know what you are saying about clutter tho that it causing stress just looking at it but it also causes stress and pain to clean it up so remember there is no right and wrong decision here.

You gotta look at what you are doing like working as a big accomplishment and then take baby steps on other things you want to do

Cherry,
Sorry to see that you are feeling overwhelmed by everything! I think there is lots of good advice here already. However, any chance you could replace your demanding tenant with someone more compassionate? Maybe someone who would actually offer to do something for you instead of giving you a hard time? Wish I could come over and help you:-)