"Be brave enough to heal yourself even if it hurts."
Have you ever felt yourself slipping into a slump? Where you feel physically, emotionally, or spiritually drained? Maybe you know exactly why you're feeling down- something happened at home, in your relationship, or at work. Maybe you don't have a specific reason as to why you feel a certain way- you just feel "blaaaah".
I'VE BEEN THERE. In fact I was just there.
I've caught myself in plenty of down times where I have to pick myself back up and fight and crawl my way back to a healthy head space. Which is why I wanted to write the top 5 steps that I take in order to get out of these slumps. I hope that this helps you if you're feeling a little down in the dumps!
1. RECOGNIZE YOUR TRIGGERS
You've recognized that you're in some sort of slump but now it's time to recognize what has caused these feelings. I think it's important to know why you feel the way that you do specifically. For me sometimes a disagreement with my fiancé will put me into an anxious mindset or being around negative people will put me into a similar negative funk. I have to be so mindful of the energies I'm around and accepting into my life and maybe this is you!
Whatever you're feeling, recognize the WHY. Ask yourself: Why am I feeling this way? What is causing me to feel anxious? sad? Recognizing WHY is your first step to solving the issue and picking yourself back up.
2. MAINTAIN YOUR ROUTINE
This is so important to do. Even if you are in this dark place you want to maintain your routine. This will ensure you don't completely loose yourself in this time. Continue to do the things you do from day to day and do not allow yourself to disappear from the world. This step is by far the hardest for me to do because when I feel down all I want to do is crawl up in bed and disappear from my friends and family until I "figure it out" but what I've learned is that this actually makes my job of getting back up 1000 times harder and takes 1000 times longer.
Get up, grab your normal morning coffee, head to work, go to your normal lunch date, make it to the gym for your afternoon workout, you get it- maintain that routine of yours.
3. MOVE YOUR BODY
Exercise makes you happy.
There's a reason that people continuously say this- it's the truth! In these slumps it's probably one of the last things that you want to do but it's probably one of the most important things that you do! Breaking a sweat and finishing that workout will help you feel accomplished and proud of the work that you put in which will boost the moral with yourself & in turn- will contribute to your happiness.
4. GET OUTSIDE & OFF SOCIAL MEDIA
I don't know what it is about the outdoors but it has so much to offer our souls. Whenever I feel "down in the dumps" I head out on a hike. It doesn't have to be a lengthy 5 hour ordeal, do whatever you can fit into your schedule but I highly recommend prioritizing this outdoor time! If you can't head out on this hike, go for a walk around the block, or have your lunch at the local park. Go for that walk and leave your phone at home!
Social media can be very dangerous to your mental health especially when you are already in a weakened state. The last thing you need is to see any negative posts or even positive posts that make you feel guilty about yourself or your life.
Be careful and very mindful of the media that you take in during this time.
5. JOURNAL & PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Journalling may not be for everyone but I am an avid believer that there is power in writing everything out. It allows you to work through whatever you're feeling in a healthy and safe way. There is no fear of judgement or negativity when it's just you with a piece of paper and a pen. Write out what you're feeling, why you think you're feeling this way and what you're doing to get yourself back to a healthy mindset. I also encourage you to write our what you're grateful for. When I find myself in a negative headspace, I catch myself being so negative about almost everything- haha.
I force myself to look for gratitude because this is the time that we need it most! When you find thankfulness during these harder times it keeps your mind on the positive and not dwelling on the negative and when you're writing it all out I think it hammers it home even more.
I hope that these steps help you dig yourself out of this slump. Life is full of ups and downs and you are capable of handling whatever gets thrown at you!