Hey, Judy, I really don’t have very good strategies. I don’t know if it’s feasible for you right now or whether you’re doing this already, but I think anti-anxiety medication can be very helpful.
Getting out of a hole is very hard, and I think I’m doing it right now half out of sheer desperation. I will tell you one thing a therapist told me, when I was at absolute bottom, and talking myself out of applying for something: “I want you to do this and I want you to get it so you can have a win, and we can build on that.”
I think I’ve talked to you about this over messages, but I think reorienting yourself to look at regular tasks as wins might help. Did you get out of bed, take a shower and feed yourself? Those are wins! You’re doing good already. Did you go further and do one difficult task that you’ve been avoiding? That’s a win too, now you can feel really good at all you’ve accomplished. Maybe that’s enough for today, if you don’t have something urgent hanging over your head maybe you can stop there. If you do, maybe you can try to do one sub-part of the urgent thing and make a little progress on it.
Then, maybe tomorrow, I think we have to think about the wins and tell ourselves that we just did this stuff and we are capable of it! And take that win energy forward. It’s like winning a race with yourself - you won! You get a prize! You accomplished something good! And let some of that fuel you for the next step. Once you get moving a little, even if there’s a long slow upward curve, at a certain point the curve steepens and you get better and better. The small things get easier, like taking a shower and grabbing a quick bite to keep you fed and healthy and going. The medium and bigger things get a little easier, because you’ve just started rehabituating yourself to doing them.
Like @evergreen said when I’m dealing in good ways I have strategies to cope, like walking outside, or cooking. Cooking is one I like because it gives you something achievable and you get a meal at the end of it. I also think just accepting it helps too. Sometimes I’ve been able to say, okay, I feel like shit tonight. I am going to just lie in bed and try to sleep, and I will feel better tomorrow, and I did mostly.