Sad Stuck on thinking about my previous mistakes

Survival0200

Bluelighter
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Dec 27, 2005
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I've noticed than in my daily life, I constantly think about all the mistakes I've done in the past. This happens many times a day. I really can't do anything about these mistakes anymore, but they often fill my mind. I would like to look forward in life, but it seems like these past things are constantly irritating me. These thoughts that I can't get rid off. Is there a diagnosis for something like this? What's wrong with me? Depression? Have you had similar issues? What helped?
 
Have you had similar issues? What helped?
This has bothered me for my entire life, even though I'm fully aware that regret & shame are counterproductive emotions when we cling to them for too long

One realization has helped me a lot recently. The "self," if it is a real thing at all, is not a fixed entity. It's always changing, learning, evolving. I am literally a different person than I was a day ago. This is a biological fact.

So when I look back on my mistakes I try to have some compassion for that troubled, confused person-- a person that, thankfully, is not me.
 
I think that's a rut that a lot of people, mental illness or not, find themselves in at some point. People can be depressed without it being a clinical diagnosis, depending on how contingent it is on life events, i think. That said, I think it's important to have at least one person to be able to confide all of this to, in detail, a therapist or not.

Try focusing more on the present. The past is water under the bridge, gone.

Something I like to tell myself when I'm upset at night over how the day went is that tomorrow, this day will be over with permanently, and that in not too long of a time it won't even really matter.

I can empathize with your struggle, it is also similar to mine at times. What helps for me is staying busy, socializing, doing fun things that aren't detrimental to health, and making society a better place. Maybe writing down what your goals are, short moderate and long, and then finding out how to achieve them, because they are achievable!
 
I've noticed than in my daily life, I constantly think about all the mistakes I've done in the past. This happens many times a day. I really can't do anything about these mistakes anymore, but they often fill my mind. I would like to look forward in life, but it seems like these past things are constantly irritating me. These thoughts that I can't get rid off. Is there a diagnosis for something like this? What's wrong with me? Depression? Have you had similar issues? What helped?
An important part of recovery with mental health and addiction is the ability to forgive ourselves in order to move on

Its okay to make mistakes, we all make them and that's okay. Not all of us had good guidance growing up either, we've had to figure things out on our own and that results in more mistakes. That's okay, but being better than we were yesterday or a week ago or a year ago should be the goal. As long as we learn from our mistakes, forgive ourselves, and accept that its okay to have bad days sometimes because everyone does
 
If I'm stuck in the past, I become depressed.
If I'm stuck in the future, I become anxious.
If I focus on today, I can have clarity and experience serenity.

I may not be the person I want to be, but I'm overwhelmingly grateful that I'm not the person I used to be.
 
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