[LookingForHope16]

How do you deal with huge life changes??

Does your weight change when these come about??

Recently ( I know the 300+ group have heard about all of this! And I thank you guys soooo much!!) I have moved apartments with my SO. We have lived together, but we just needed a bigger apartment. She finally got a job, working midnights. So I switched to midnights at my job.

With all of this going on, I have found myself slumped back down with depression. I have dealt with depression before, but it's been pretty good for the last 2 years.

Right before we moved, I was really focused on my weight loss and SO was right there with me. Now after the move, I feel like I could really care less about anything. We moved in on Dec 1 and we still have most everything in boxes. The kitchen is the only thing that is really unpacked.


I was talking to Susan B in PM and she said that it might help me to get some other tips from you gals and guys. You people are wonderful!!

So, I guess the question is how do you deal with all of the huge life changes?

P.S. Did I mention that I'm starting college in January?!

[msbeeverhausen]

Moving house is a big thing and working nights is never good for losing weight. I worked shifts for a while and found that on nights, you eat loads more than you would do on the day shift to try and keep your body awake. It messes up your sleep and your food cycles completely. Cos you'll eat on night shift, then you'll have breakfast when you get home and dinner when you get up and then 3 meals during the night shift (if you work 12 hours anyway).

things will settle down.

i just moved back to the UK from Poland and i had to unpack everything as soon as it arrived. it was the only way i could possbily get things back to normal. so i do suggest that you unpack! it really helps.

[LookingForHope16]

We've got most unpacked. Things are starting to chill but I still feel sooo strung out!

[Leenie]

Gee thats a tough question. For me when I have to much going on at once I get just like you, where as I want to shut everything off, run and hide. But thats is partially because of my adhd.

I would have to say to take it one day at a time and don't focus on anything beyond that. Some days I have to do that with my meals, I have to focus on one meal at a time b/c anymore makes me panic and I get depressed trying to look at the whole picture.....but thats just me lol

[LookingForHope16]

I do too! I just wondered if I was the only one that got depressed.

[rabidstoat]

Usually I deal with huge life changes by eating lots of comfort food but, er, I don't advise that.

I try to look at it as a chance to "start with a clean slate". Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When I moved from Georgia to Atlanta I took that attitude and it worked. Other times, I've had huge changes and I've just burrowed. For me, how depressed I am tends to affect me hugely.

Unpacking really has helped. This last time I moved (from an apartment to a house) I went manic one weekend and did tons of packing. I was exhausted, but it did make me feel like I was settled. It's the only time I've moved and really unpacked.

You can try sprucing up your place, too. I like to buy flowers when I'm feeling overwhelmed. And I like cuddling with my cats. A boyfriend or spouse might work too, if I had one. Sometimes I color. Seriously. I get crayons and paper, or a coloring book, and I color, and then I put the pictures up on my refrigerator. Hee. I think I regress to childhood or something but hey, it's worked!

I tried a "do something new every weekend" tactic and that went horribly. Dance Dance Revolution has helped me a lot. Feeling guilty about things usually makes me feel worse. Oh, and once I had a lot of negative change, and work was super stressful, and I decided whenever I was mad at my boss I was going to go down to the apartment complex's gym and ride the exercise bike furiously until I was too exhausted to be mad. I lost like 12 pounds that month, it was amazing! I did a lot of bike riding.

[eightbitgirl]

I used to have a fight or flight response, but now I look at it like I just need to handle one thing at a time. it's so hard to teach yourself that, but I truly believe that if you take a breath, step back, and look at not the *big* picture but the little pieces that make up the big picture.. you'll feel much better about yourself and feel less stressed. and the payoff is that with each little piece of the puzzle you complete, you feel a HUGE sense of accomplishment. say, for instance, take one night to unpack just the kitchen. then another night to work on the bathroom.. and so on. but don't forget to shower each other with affection!

being an "adult" sucks, doesn't it?