On occasions I feel like this

[Thor]

Guys,

There are times like maybe two or sometimes three evenings in a week I feel alittle down. This has nothing to do with women or stress. I just dont feel like talking to anyone. Like I want to shut myself of from the world listen to some music or just chill and not do anything, not even answer my phone. Not sure why though.

Can anyone relate to this ?

[Creatine Dreams]

I think that is normal. Most people need some alone time! I know I do...

[Spikes]

I can relate to that it happens to me like 2 times a month.

[theoogabear]

why not try doing something when this happens? mentally work through it.

[Tim]

I don't think you necessarily have to do anything. We all get bad days, often for no reason. I think that's why guys don't talk about having them much or deal with them well actually; they don't like the lack of explanation. When we're feeling angry or sad because of something like our boss yelling at us or because a girl rejected us then it makes sense. But if there's no apparent reason for it then we don't like to admit to it. The reality is that those days happen to literally every single person on the planet. They just vary in frequency and how we deal with them.

If they become a more regular thing, then it can be a problem. If you feel like they're happening too often Thor, then try to trace it back to something. Is there something that seems to be frequently linked to them or is it a lack of something that it leads back to?

If having some time alone or just relaxing doesn't seem to work these feelings out, and they become more frequent and dark, then it might be worth looking into whether you're mildly depressed or heading in that direction. From what you said about where you are now it doesn't sound like that's the case and I wouldn't worry too much about it though. Let us know if things change.

[Drewid]

Totally agree with Tim.

The fundamental aspect of the Vipassana meditation is recognizing the impermanence of *all* emotions. Given time every feeling will pass, some just take longer than others. But feelings move fast. Set a five minute timer and see if you're still thinking/feeling the same when it goes off...

If you can gain some distance from those stray feelings you'll end up with less misery in your life.

Long before I learned the technique I started treating some feelings as "colds". Rather than trying to attach an explanation to an emotion I just let it ride, and avoided trying to discover a reason. In retrospect I wished I'd done it with a lot more unexplained feelings in my life.

[Thor]

Thankyou everyone for your responses on my post. Like Tim says I think I just had some bad days and felt under the weather. I have perked up again both yesterday and today.

Having said that the weather has been absolutely appalling here in the UK. That might also be contributing to my moments.

I began meditating yesterday. Early days yet will see how things pan out over the next few months.

[Tim]

Thor you reminded me of another thing worth mentioning here. When the seasons change (and especially in winter) a number of people are affected by a form of depression called Seasonal Affective Disorder (a.k.a SAD). Why SAD occurs isn't exactly known, but it's often linked to a decrease in sunlight. I believe I went through a winter where I experienced SAD once. It's not as serious as other forms of depression, but it can lead to long periods of feeling down or lacking energy.

If anyone wants to step in and lay some science knowledge on us to properly explain this... Go ahead.

[Matty]

Not sure the science behind it, but I think it has to do with Vitamin D. Definitely a real phenomenon though. I get it a lot during the winter, and most recently, during monsoon season. Exercise is a really good way to combat it. Not sure about the science behind it, but a tanning bed might give you vitamin d....dunno, I felt better after using one in the winter though.

[Thor]

This is exactly what I am doing right now mate thanks

(06-08-2012 03:05 PM)theoogabear Wrote:  why not try doing something when this happens? mentally work through it.

[FirstAidKit]

I think this is pretty normal... I'm usually a very social person but I tend to need at least one night a week to just 'recharge my batteries' - literally just shut myself in my room with a book and not talk to anyone. Your tolerance might be lower or higher depending on your levels on intro/extraversion but I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Thor]

I guess us men have "periods" like women

(06-10-2012 01:55 AM)FirstAidKit Wrote:  I think this is pretty normal... I'm usually a very social person but I tend to need at least one night a week to just 'recharge my batteries' - literally just shut myself in my room with a book and not talk to anyone. Your tolerance might be lower or higher depending on your levels on intro/extraversion but I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[Thor]

A friend of mine recommended an audio hypnosis product called the Sphinx of Imagination 2012. Has anyone heard of this one before ? gonna do some googling to find out a bit more before I purchase it.