i’ve been feeling REALLY depressed recently. it seems as though my life is getting exponentially more difficult on a daily basis, and i simply don’t have the energy to keep up any longer. i live in a tiny house that only has enough space for me to unpack about a quarter of the stuff that i currently own, and the rest of it, and most of moe’s stuff as well, is stacked around me in boxes, in the bedroom, in the dining room, in the living room, in what passes for my office (which was supposed to be my workshop as well, but there isn’t enough room), and in both of our unheated, uninsulated sheds outside. in one of the sheds – the more waterproof of the two, but that’s not saying much – i have three or four stacks of boxes that contain books and papers and suchlike, and my drill press and band saw (along with a bunch of other stuff), and i’m afraid that if i don’t move them to a less damp environment pretty soon (thank god for the relatively dry weather we’ve been having so far), they’re going to be a growing mass of mold and rust by the time i finally get around to doing anything about it.
and the reason i live in a house that is not big enough is that i was unemployed for 9 months immediatly prior to my moving here, and then when it was settled that we were going to move here, i got a job, so now i have to work 9 hours a day, plus at least an hour and a half commute each way (and that’s if moe gets off work on time, which she frequently doesn’t), and when i get home i’m SO EXHAUSTED that i barely have enough energy to take a shower, much less do the myriad of other things that have to be done, like mowing the lawn, or unpacking boxes, or dealing with incense orders…
then there’s the fear that i’m soon going to be living in a place that could very easily turn into one of those places… you know, the ones that have boxes of moldy books, and piles of dirty dishes, and dirty laundry, and animal filth everywhere, and nobody who cares enough to do anything about it, and you wonder how it is that people can actually live that way…
then there’s my job itself… to say that i hate my job is a simple, but understated way of putting it. specifically, i hate that my bosses have so much control over me and what i do for 9 hours a day, five days a week, and yet they know practically nothing about the nuts and bolts of the business they are in. i hate the fact that when i get frustrated, i have even more difficulty than usual in talking, when it’s essential that i be able to communicate clearly and effectively, especially when i get frustrated. i hate that i have an easier time showing people something than i do telling them about it, especially when those people are my bosses, and they have very little time to be shown things that don’t really concern them anyway. i hate that i am the only native english speaker in the shop (greg doesn’t count, because, although he was born in the united states, he’s black and from new orleans, so he might as well be a non-english speaker), and even when i am not frustrated, simply saying something is frequently a challenge. i could go on for days…
i have my computers sort of set up, but i can only use one of them at a time, because i haven’t had the energy, time or space to attach them to the ethernet hub that i bought last weekend. i have to make an invoice for dr. howard for the business cards i made for him four months ago, but i can’t, because that’s on the other computer. i have an incense order that’s been sitting on top of a stack of boxes, half filled, for a month and a half, and there’s no telling when i’m going to get around to ordering the rest of the incense so that i can fill it. i’ve got to take out the trash and the recycling – AGAIN – for all the good it’s going to do. i eat lunch because i get a lunch break, but i have not eaten breakfast or dinner for a long time (a month and a half?), because there’s no food, and even if there was, i’d have to cook it before i could eat, and then i’d have to clean up afterwards, and i just don’t have enough energy to commit to doing that. i’ve got to take a shower (for some reason, after my injury, my sweat stinks even more than it used to). and somewhere in there i’ve got to get enough sleep to make it through another day just like it tomorrow… which NEVER happens…
sorry it took so long to reply to this, but thanks for your thoughts… although i think it may take more like six months to a year, instead of just a couple of months for me to be in a completely different place than i am now, i’m already feeling better than i was a few days ago.
I understand how you feel about wondering why you just didn’t leave this place. My accident has made me realize that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, even if it sucks, like my accident and the aftermath of such accident. At the same time, I’m happy that I am STILL alive, and that I was given a second chance. Now grant it, that second chance has been COMPLETELY UPHILL. Just know that someone else in this world understands, LITERALLY. Don’t give up.
i’m complaining… this SUCKS!!!
when i regained consciousness after my injury, one of the first things i asked my wife was why didn’t they just let me die, and in spite of the fact that she didn’t like that i said that, i’m still not sure i wouldn’t rather be dead… this SUCKS!!!
i can understand him, but farah and majid sometimes don’t… although they don’t let on that they don’t understand him, which only makes it worse… 8/
so I’m going to poot again to tell you that I am feeling the same way emotionally. I am constantly drained now from working my nine hours as well. Now grant it, my commute is only twenty minutes, but it still sucks. that’s an hour of my life everyday that I’m stuck in a vehicle. My house always seems to be a mess. I feel like I only have like five minutes at home. Amadeus just has been INCREDIBLY needy since I started this job.
I’m not complaining, just letting you know that I understand to some extent.
whas you talkin bout colours fom N’Awlins cans speak. I’s dons no whats you talkin bout.
That’s sad. I like and respect you so much. I don’t like to see you feeling down. I can relate to this so much. I feel like this so often. Different circumstances, similar type of depression and exhaustion. Sometimes I just curse the rising sun, like I can’t believe another blanket of darkness has left me and it’s time to get up and face all my work again with never enough sleep, never. It wears on me and frays my chemistry and my nerves. No sleep, no money, no help, no hugs….ugh, fucked up life. But then… somehow, some way, I make it through another breath to a better way, a better time, another hour of sleep, a fantastic song that changes me inside, an explosion of laughter that obliterates my stress and tension. Somehow we make it through.
It seems like right now, most of what you’re going through is related to your recent move. These things will get ironed out over time. All the details, all the logistics, all these things will fall into place. Every day you’ll do one thing, something, move one thing, unpack one box, one thing, another breath, a great song… You just got there. In a month more, so many more things will be settling into place, you’ll feel so much more at home. You’ll get your bearings and be able to see things more clearly and begin to get organized. Many things may have to go. Except for the financial necessity of the job, it definitely seems like a spirit killing enterprise for you to keep up with it. Keep an eye out for something better along the way.
The main thing in the short term is to do everything you can to take care of yourself in just a basic physical sense. Sleep as much as you can, whenever you can, nothing else is more important. We’ve got to replenish ourselves with sleep. In the morning, grab a piece of fruit or a piece of bread on your way out the door. Make yourself eat that. That’s got to happen. In the evening, if you’re too tired to cook, eat raw vegetables and fruits, eat a piece of grain bread. Always breathe deeply, carry oxygen to your brain and through your system. Circulate it. Do whatever you can to see to it that you take care of yourself. Every little thing will contribute to the overall effort, and have you seeing things in a better, brighter light in the end.
I think in a month or two, you’ll be in a completely different place. Just take care of yourself in the details day by day.