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suomi48

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I'm a 72 year old male, married for 46 years.  I have residual schizophrenia and mild to moderate depression.   The only mood medication I take is perphenazine.  I talk to a psychiatrist every few months and a therapist monthly.  The main emotional problems i have are loneliness (a lack of people to see and talk to on a regular basis), boredom and a lack of motivation to enjoy hobbies and interests i have recently enjoyed up to 10 months ago.  I spend an inordinate amount of time just sitting on the couch listening to music on my tablet with headphones on.  I volunteer at a local hospital two hours a week.  I take care of our four cats and take care of making the bed, laundry, dishes and garbage.  I would like to be able to have the motivation to enjoy my hobbies and to contact friends by email, messaging, or by phone, but I can't bring myself to..
 
Hi Suomi,

Welcome to forum, I hope you find it helpful and useful to be here. You mention that you stopped enjoying things 10 months ago, can you elaborate on why that might have been?

What kind of hobbies do/did you have? Perhaps talking about them here might stimulate you back into being interested in them.
 
Welcome to the forum! Anybody over 70 instantly gains respect from me. Since you are willing to take medications maybe you should consult with your psychiatrist and try different happy pills. They do work. Lots of senior citizens take them.
 
Yeti1980 said:
Hi Suomi,

Welcome to forum, I hope you find it helpful and useful to be here. You mention that you stopped enjoying things 10 months ago, can you elaborate on why that might have been?

What kind of hobbies do/did you have? Perhaps talking about them here might stimulate you back into being interested in them.

I write poetry, have 1109 pages, but I am reluctant to submit any to magazines because I don't see the point when I believe the only people who will read those magazines are the poets in them.  I have been published in some good magazines but the satisfaction in that is short-lived.  I also have postwar Lionel trains,but don't see the point of just seeing them run in circles.  I have a stamp collection and regularly add to it.  That gives me the most enjoyment.  My main way of enjoying myself is to sit on the couch with my tablet, wearing my headphones listening to music for hours at a time.
 
Welcome to the forums.

Would you mind saying what type of music you generally listen to?
 
Minus said:
Welcome to the forums.

Would you mind saying what type of music you generally listen to?
I listen to:  Rock, from Chuck Berry to doowop to oldies to Talking Heads; Broadway and movie soundtracks, classical from pre-barouque to 20th century composers, instrumentals and jazz like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Chuck Mangione, Dave Brubeck; fife and drum, Dylan and other folk music.  Just about anything except opera, country, hiphop, rap, blues.
 
Sounds like a pretty well rounded list and an understanding that classical isn't just "classical", with there being a number of eras. It is too bad that you couldn't find anything in any of the blues areas that captured your interest. There are some like Lead Belly that fit both in blues and folk though with your range you are undoubtedly already familiar with him.
 
Suomi48, let me interject the casual conversation with a more serious, but potentially helpful, Sunday message.  

If you were younger, your lack of interest and motivation might be attributed to depression.  But given your age, I'd attribute such feelings to a lack of purpose with one's life.  Let me explain a bit.

I spent most of my adult life being focused on my career, and since I didn't raise a family like others, I directed my free time and attention to outdoor sports, trips, and adventures that kept life busy, fun, and interesting.  An aging body and forced retirement changed that though, and for the past 5 years I've had to turn the focus of my life to other things.  In short, I've had to find a new purpose for my life.

Now, I've always been a Christian, but faith was just one part of my multi-faceted life.  Since retirement though, I've redirected much of my free time to putting faith at the center of my life.  There's been many ways of doing this which I'd be glad to share with you or anyone, but the important point is that it's given me a purpose for my remaining time here and a genuine passion for things that matter.  And the more I learn, the more I appreciate the free time I have each day to make it count.

I used to love my job, my trips, and my high adventure outdoor sports.  I thank God for the extraordinary life he gave me, but my low key life now is actually fulfilled with more meaning and passion because I'm focused on what we were created for - to know and love God and to love others.  Life is about relationships, and being busy with work, hobbies, or the pursuit of other pleasures won't bring genuine satisfaction for most people - and won't bring lasting peace and joy for anyone.

Listening to music, collecting stamps, writing poetry, and playing with trains are all good activities in my view.  But for a worthwhile passion?  I'd suggest you focus each day on knowing and loving your Creator more.  There's so much fascinating material to read, watch, and listen to. So many Christian related political issues to care about.  So many people needing help and guidance.  When you direct your time and attention to the most important things in life, it's hard not to develop interest and passion.  Let me know if I can help in any way.
 
suomi48 said:
I'm a 72 year old male, married for 46 years.  I have residual schizophrenia and mild to moderate depression.   The only mood medication I take is perphenazine.  I talk to a psychiatrist every few months and a therapist monthly.  The main emotional problems i have are loneliness (a lack of people to see and talk to on a regular basis), boredom and a lack of motivation to enjoy hobbies and interests i have recently enjoyed up to 10 months ago.  I spend an inordinate amount of time just sitting on the couch listening to music on my tablet with headphones on.  I volunteer at a local hospital two hours a week.  I take care of our four cats and take care of making the bed, laundry, dishes and garbage.  I would like to be able to have the motivation to enjoy my hobbies and to contact friends by email, messaging, or by phone, but I can't bring myself to..

Welcome from a fellow music and cat fan!
 

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