Coping with depression and anxiety is one major task, and for anybody thats been suffering for years, and is still here to tell the tale, i take my hat off to you, several times. As a long term sufferer myself, every day was a constant battle to get through. I'd wake up in the morning, and think to myself, oh no, not another day of this. Also, if i knew i had to leave the house that day, i would just start worrying straight away. My depression and anxiety had led to social anxiety, also known as social phobia.

Basically, you can no longer deal with social situations, such as talking to people in public, or visiting places where there are lots of people present. You feel that low about yourself, and what your going through, that communicating with people is just too much of a thing. I used to think, that if i spoke to someone, they would immediately pick up that there was something wrong with me, so i'd just try and avoid talking to people as much as i could.

This was very hard on me, because before i'd slumped into depression and anxiety, i was a very socialble person, and had lots of friends that i'd talk to on a daily basis. All of a sudden though, i'd just ignore them, and they must have thought, whats going on with him? i felt really bad that i could no longer hold a conversation with them. Time went on and on, and things just got worse and worse, until leaving the house was an absolute nightmare. I'd stand behind my front door for sometimes up to 20-30 mins, trying to pluck the courage to walk through it into society.

When i did walk through it, i'd walk fast, and i'd be sweating bricks, and have jelly legs, and heart palpertations. The more i thought about what was going on inside me, the worse it would get. I suffered for many years like this, and nearly came to the end a couple of times, but i just did not have the nerve to take my own life. So i just fought my way through every day, the best that i could, and just hoped that the next day might be a little easier for me. Now there is no miracle cure for depression, anxiety or social phobia, but there are things you can do to help the fight again'st them, such as cycling.

I cycle nearly every day now, and it has given me so much joy since i started. It really helps me to take my mind off of my problems, even if its just for an hour or so, plus it helps me to stay in shape, and keep my legs strong for when i get jelly legs in public. I dont feel so much like i'm going to lose my footing and fall over. You can get anywhere on a bike, whether its to the beach, or a trip into town, and pushing the bike a long side of you, when your not on the road, helps too, as it gives you a bit of support. Also, if you do have an anxiety attack, and start sweating, no ones going to think anythings wrong with you, other than you have just been cycling and worn yourself out. Riding a bike also gives you an excuse to wear sun glasses out and about too, if you find it hard to make eye contact with people. No ones going to think theres anything wrong with that either, even if its a miserable day, as 99% of cyclists wear shades to protect their eyes.

This is just one way, so you can begin to function a bit better day to day, and start living some kind of life again, and not be trapped indoors constantly, worrying about what comes next. Of course, there are also Anxiety Medications you can try, which will help you to function a lot better.