It’s easy to feel stuck in the climate that we’re in now. We fall into isolating routines, and our mental health starts to suffer because of it. There are many reasons why you might feel stuck. Personally, I’ve found that most of the time, I’ve felt stuck. It was because I’d been exhausting my mind in some way or hadn’t seen people in a long time.
Often, we feel stuck in our current situations because we aren’t sure how to get out of them, we’ve fallen into bad habits, or we’ve become too complacent. This creates feelings of exhaustion, excessive boredom, depression, and isolation. So, what do we do when we feel this way? How do we get un-stuck? The truth is, different things work for different people. The things that I do may not work for everyone. However, I hope that at least one of the five options in this article will work for you guys! Be honest with yourself and dedicate a day to taking care of yourself. Get out of your house! Do something else to distract yourself and talk to someone about how you’re feeling.
- Be Honest with Yourself
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This is the first thing that you should do. It’s important to know why you feel stuck and what is causing you to feel that way. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can release all of the boredom, exhaustion, and complacency that you feel. Once you confront what makes you feel trapped, you can learn to work through it and move on. Make yourself a priority! Though this is important, do not spend too much time thinking about how stuck you are. I promise that will just make it worse. Identify what’s making you feel trapped and then find other things to think about. Read a book or watch TV. Just get out of your head. The worst thing that you can do is remain in the state of mind you’re in now, and the other items in your list will make sure that you don’t.
- Self-Care
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Self-care is always a good option! I can’t tell you how many days I’ve dedicated to taking care of myself this year. This will help you get out of your head and make you feel better. Dedicate an entire day to yourself. I know that it’s a little challenging to go to places right now, but you don’t have to leave your house for this one! Take a long shower, treat yourself to your favorite snack, watch a movie or your favorite TV show, meditate, do some yoga, etc. This is your day to pamper yourself! Do what makes you feel good! It sounds a little weird to say “keep yourself busy” and “distract yourself,” but I really believe it helps. Sometimes, taking our mind off of certain things allows us to focus on what is more important.
- Get Out of Your House
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This one is a little tricky because of COVID. However, there are places that you can go that won’t put you, or anyone else, in too much danger. You can take a walk, go for a run, or go for a drive. Something as simple as going through a drive-thru could help. There are also a couple of restaurants that offer outside dining if you feel comfortable with that! If you and your friends feel comfortable, meet up at a park! Just make sure that you get some fresh air and restart your brain. A change of scenery will help your mind free itself of the thoughts that preoccupied it.
- Do Something Else
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This one overlaps with three of the other options. By “do something else,” I mean distract yourself with a new project or activity that makes you happy. Sometimes we feel stuck doing a particular activity repeatedly or trying to complete a specific task. Doing something else will help free your mind of the frustration or negativity that the other task was causing. It also might help you come up with new ideas for the original project.
- Talk to Someone
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Talking through your issues usually helps lift the weight off of your shoulders, as well. Call a friend or someone else that you trust and talk to them about how you’ve been feeling. The simple act of talking to someone about it could help. However, if you’re not comfortable talking to someone else, you could always talk to yourself. Start a journal or record voice memos to free your mind. You don’t have to listen to or read them once you finish — they’ll just serve as mini diaries. Just like with the first option, don’t dwell on the subject for too long. Once you write or talk it out, release it and move on. It may be challenging, but it is vital to the process!
I know that these things may not work for everyone, but I hope that you can find something that does work for you through them. It’s easy to feel stuck, and it’s a feeling that everyone experiences multiple times in their lives. However, there are things that you can do to get out of it, and I hope that this article helps you in some way!