I've heard of the former years ago and even made an account on it but I never got around to using that. Maybe I should use it again. What do you think? About the latter, it is interesting and I'll try to look at it in more detail later. Thanks for sharing your resources
just to clarify, what exactly do you mean "when trying to do anything when depressed"? Do you only mean suicide or are you talking about literally anything? Also, out of curiosity, can be books help those who are too depressed to where they don't have the energy to do anything at all (like me)?
Hi, so, basically:
How To Keep House While Drowning is a book that is designed to help people who struggle with doing house chores and basic things like washing you body, hair, exercising, etc. (or as the author
neutrally calls them, "care tasks") due to depression or other difficulties (for example ADHD). It kind of reframes your view on chores, hopefully rids you of the possible guilt you might be feeling about struggling with doing them, and also gives you practical advice, like how to clean a room without becoming overwhelmed, what to do if you struggle with doing the dishes or brushing your teeth, a list of hygiene items to keep next to your bed when you don't have the energy to shower, etc., etc...
I listened to it religiously when I was once left home alone for two weeks and suddenly found myself horribly struggling with tasks the people I live with were previously in charge of doing. Since then, I have implemented a lot of the advice into my everyday life, and I have also stopped feeling so guilty about my always messy room, or the fact I oftentimes struggle to shower. Also, I find that just listening to an audiobook chapter about doing the laundry helps me and motivates me to do the laundry... I find it quite therapeutic.
The author is a licensed therapist with ADHD and two children, so she writes about many things she struggled/struggles with herself. It's quite short and gets to the point rather quickly, I can send you a link to a google drive PDF if you want (though I didn't read it, but listened to it). It's not for everyone, but personally, I found it useful.
You Will Get Through This Night is also about helping the reader handle depression (and also anxiety). It's structured into 3 parts: This night (what to do when you're feeling bad
now), Tomorrow (what to do when you aren't in an immediate mental health-related crisis and you are ready to try to build some habits), and The days after that (this part is about understanding your mind and how it works a bit more, and also touches upon the subjects of therapy and medication)
(and there's also and Introduction at the beginning, which is quite skippable). There are many exercises that you can do in everyday life (mainly breathing and mindfulness techniques). Plus, there's quite a lot of explanation of how your brain works and why the methods work -- it was written by Daniel Howell (who has struggled with depression in the past), but it was cowritten by an actual psychiatrist, so it's all valid information.
It was quite cool to learn where anxiety comes from, why is mindfulness important and also it changed my perspective on platonic relationships (as in, it's fine to get different), plus I found all the chapters about doing thing despite mental health struggles quite encouraging. I guess there might not be any
revolutionary observations (although, it depend on the person reading it), but it can still be useful to read (at least I, personally, did find it very useful, and I have read a lot about mental health in the past). Also, I enjoy the author's humor, but I suppose not everyone will.
Of course, whether or not these books are helpful is highly subjective, and also it depends on the severity of your metal illness, but I suppose they have potential to help you, or at least they did (kind of, of course not completely) help me : )