As a mum with depression, I understand where you coming from.   I understand the frustration you go through, when everything that need your attention,  seem so much bigger than you and your energy.

No wonder so many of you are searching the net and social media for motivation to get that kick to start. It’s a daily battle between your body and your mind. But for how long you are prepared to go on fighting that battle? Is the battle worth your mental health and your family mental health?

You are in a cycle. One day you feel great, you can tackle as much as you wish. Some days, you just want to lie in bed and shut the door forever. Some days, you have just enough energy to wash the dishes or maybe put one load of laundry in the machine.

So what should we do?

Work according to your body needs. My experience taught me, doing things against my body and mind have huge negative consequences. The problem with this is; it not only have a long lasting effect on us, but it also have an impact on our families. We end up dragging our families in the dirt of our depression and our poor decision making skills. 

Nothing will happen if you don’t clean when your body is absolutely uncooperative with your desire to clean. But bad things happen when you do. And when that happened, many other bad things will follow. You will end up with many more on going stresses you don’t need.

What are your priorities?

Sit down and make a list of priorities that you need to focus on. Only what  you can do. Then on days you’re not well, do only those things on that list. Priorities  those things. If you can’t do anything else after you completed your priority list, don’t worry.

Even your priority list doesn’t have to be done all at once. If you are low on energy, spread the work. E.g., the dishes are a huge pile, it has overflowed from the sink to all sides of the bench. Instead of aiming at doing the whole huge pile at once, do only some. Leave some for later or for tomorrow; if you have what it takes to finish them up. If not, do only what you can. Apply this rule on every mega job you have, especially after depression or times when you desperately need rest.

Fix the root of the problem. 

The most important thing here, is to understand the root of the problem and work from there. The root of the problem is depression. Therefore you need to heal the root so the problem. When a plant is sick, and you just try to fix the problems from chopping off the leaves of  the sick plant when the root is the problem, you will not revive the plant. 

Fix your tiredness, your bad mood, your bouts of sadness etc. Fix all the things that comes with depression that disables you to function. Understand each problem and work with the problem one at a  time as they appear. 

You can’t clean when you’re absolutely sleep deprived, exhausted,  uninterested in your family and your surroundings, on your PMS. But when you fix those, you will be able to focus on what you want to do.

Always remember, if you are unwell, you need to rest. Depression is to be treated like any illness. Take your medication and treat every problem accordingly.

If you are sleep, deprived, check why? look deep in the problem, find the course and fix it. If you’re always tired, it maybe, just because your medication has not yet work on the part of the brain responsible for tiredness. Or maybe you are not giving your body, and the brain the rest it needs to recover, and to function in full swing.

Investigate, get to the root of the problem and fix it. Put all the energy you have to fix the problems you’re facing, instead of cleaning when you could barely able to take one step.

Cleaning has it’s own time.

Cleaning has it’s own time. Don’t rush to clean when you can’t do it. Avoid watching motivational videos when you are not in a state to clean. It doesn’t help. Listen to your body. Once you feel your body and mind are in the cleaning mode, go ahead and clean. Clean with an open mind. Know when to clean and when to stop. And most importantly, know when you should rest and focus on spending time with your family, instead of cleaning.