It’s a catch -22: being unmotivated to change anything, but wanting to feel happy can bury you deeper in your rut, making it even harder to climb out. There are a few simple things you can do though to turn it around.
1. Get up and go
It can be tempting to wallow for just a day longer when you’re feeling stuck in your emotional rut, but that’s one of the worst things you can do. Sitting around feeling sorry for yourself is only going to add fuel to the fire, so it’s important that if you’re feeling down, you force yourself to do things.
Head to the gym to work up a bit of a sweat or call a trusted friend and go for a drink to vent. Whatever it is that you usually like to do when you’re not feeling down is the same thing you should be doing when you are.
2. Take your mind off things
Instead of analyzing every bad feeling and emotion you have running through you, do something that’s mind consuming. Throw yourself into a project that requires your utmost attention so that it clear your mind.
If what is causing your emotional rut is a real problem, you may even be closer to solving it and more motivated to do so when you have a clear mind.
3. Meditate
Meditation has been proven to clear the mind and help banish negative feelings. There are plenty of apps, such as Calm , which can be downloaded for free and used at your discretion. All you have to do is download the app, follow the instructions and drift away to a better place.
4. Do something that makes you feel good
To help get you out of your rut, do something that makes you feel good. Go shopping and buy yourself that new dress you’ve been eyeing or see a feel good rom-com to lift your spirits. This is the most common tip on how to beat emotional rut, because it is an instant mood elevator.
Choose the type of things you deem as pick-me-ups and make a list of them. Knock an item off the list one-by-one over one to two weeks and watch your negativity melt away.
5. Don’t be hard on yourself
You are your worst critic, and it’s important to remember that during an emotional rut. When you’re stuck in a constant state of bad moods, it’s easy to tear yourself down as you go over the things that are making you to feel negative.
This will only make things worse, though, so you have to remember to give yourself a break. So, what if you cried every day this week or don’t feel like your top-notch self. It won’t last forever, but letting you believe that it will could prolong it much longer than you’d like.
6. Remember this: Nothing lasts forever
Remember when you were so happy that you could barely stand it? Well, that’s over now. Think about how you’re feeling now: so unhappy you wish you could just snap out of it. Well the same rule applies. Your emotional rut will not last even if it seems that way.
7. Take it one day at a time
There is no magical quick fix or unique tip on how to beat emotional rut. It takes time to get back your positive vibes. Each day is a new day and a new start, if you want to look at it that way, so there is no reason to think about how you’re going to feel tomorrow, next week or even next year.
Focus on the here and now and the day you have in front of you. If you take it step-by-step each day, it will make the task seem a lot less daunting and much more achievable.
8. Talk to someone
Whether you choose to talk to your best confidant or even a professional, it’s important to let it all out. Whatever is going through your mind will continue to spin around up there unless you take the time to really let someone know what’s going on in your head.
There is no shame in needing help, and when you have it available to you, it’d be stupid to let that pass you by.
9. Change up your routine
Do you eat the same pizza from the same restaurant every Friday night after the same week ends at the same job you’ve had for years? If so, you might want to consider changing it up a little bit.
Don’t quit your job—unless that’s what’s causing your emotional rut—but there are things you can do to change up your routine just enough to add some variety to your life.If you always eat pizza at the restaurant a block from your office, try Italian instead.
Even small changes can seem big when you do enough of them.
10. Find what needs to change, and change it
When you get yourself out of your rut enough to really reflect on what is causing it, take time to figure out what in your life is really getting you down. Maybe it’s your job or a relationship—it could be any other number of things.
The fact is, you need to know what is causing your negativity and take the steps to change it. It is the most important tip on how to beat emotional rut. You’re the only one who can do it.
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