How to Get Out of a Mental Funk and Turn Your Day Around
We've all been there. You wake up in the morning, and you're just not feeling it. Life feels blah. You don't want to go to work. Your colleague or sister or partner annoyed you yesterday, and the feelings are still lingering. Your clothes fit funny, and your face looks tired. Maybe you regret that 9 pm glass of wine or the giant warm batch of chocolate chip cookies you devoured.
You're in a mental funk, and you know if you don't somehow snap out of it, you're headed for a long day of self-pity and cranky-town.
Even the most mentally healthy people sometimes wake up on the wrong side of the bed. It's normal and seems to happen to me a few days a month. I've trained myself to figure out how to identify it right away and work through a process to turn it around. This has benefited me because I never or rarely let a mental funk turn into an entirely lousy day.
3 Ways I Get Myself Out of a Mental Funk and Turn My Day Around
I Pay Attention to My Thoughts
My all-time favorite podcast, The Life School Podcast, Brooke Castillo discusses how our feelings turn into thoughts, our thoughts turn into actions, and our actions turn into results. Brooke has helped me become more aware of the conversation going on in my head and how reoccurring thoughts can significantly impact my mood, my day, and my life.
When I feel down and in a funk, I zone in on my thoughts. Am I thinking the same thoughts over and over? Are there unresolved feelings I must deal with? Am I too hard on myself?
If I'm in a funk, it is most likely because I've let my thoughts get the best of me. Questions I may ask myself are:
What has changed from yesterday? Did I have these thoughts yesterday?
Did someone say or do something to me to create uncomfortable feelings in me?
Am I talking to myself the same way I would talk to someone else?
Would I let another person talk to me like I'm talking to myself?
How was I feeling the last time I felt positive and energized? What has changed since then? How can I get back to that place?
I try to figure out precisely what I am feeling deep down. It doesn't mean that I try to fix or change my feelings. All of my feelings are valid, but I need to identify them if I want to make a shift in my mood.
Go to Your People
If digging deep into your feelings and thoughts uncovers an unresolved issue or some form of self-sabotage, I turn to my people- the people who love me unconditionally and want to see me happy and successful. I'm blessed to have many of these relationships in my life, including my husband, Brian, and friends I trust dearly.
If working through the feelings and thoughts on my own isn't working, I'll go to my people and articulate clearly that I am struggling.
"I'm in a funk. I think it is because of A, B, and C. Can you help me decide if these thoughts are grounded in reality?"
Simple conversations and statements like this allow me to say aloud what I have been wrestling with my mind. This allows my partner, my friends, and my people to be a mirror for me. To help me ground my thoughts in reality and steer me in the right direction.
I never feel guilty going to these people because
I give back to these relationships and show up when these same people need me.
I'm not going to my people for the answers; they know I'm not coming to them for the answers. I'm going to them so they can hold up a mirror to me so I can ground myself in reality.
People like helping the people they like and love. It also makes them feel needed and loved as well. A true, authentic relationship grows when we go to the ones we love with both our good and bad days.
Get Out of My Current Situation
Another self-intervention I do when I'm in a funk is to create a physical change of scenery. If you listen to the latest e2e Podcast episode, I told a story about a morning when I was struggling. I could go to my team tennis drills and use the self-pity I felt to play some of the best tennis I've played in years. I could do this because I recognized that I wasn't doing well mentally on the car ride over and could identify where the feelings were coming from. Hint: It had nothing to do with tennis.
I left the court thinking, "THIS is why people need to exercise and have hobbies" - Just getting out of my house and forcing myself to change scenery hugely impacted the rest of my day.
A change in scenery has always boosted my spirits and distracted me from mental funks. Hitting the tennis courts and seeing my tennis community was enough distraction for my brain to push those negative thoughts away.
If tennis is not an option, I run to Target and browse the shelves or take a long walk with my dog around the neighborhood, listening to a high-engaging podcast. A physical change of scenery is such a great distraction for my brain.
Finally, there have been times that these funks don't go away. I know that is okay too. Sometimes we must lean into the tough days and know that tomorrow will be a better day.
If I find that these days are more numerous and I can't quite shake my funk, I call a therapist and get the help I need to get back on track.
We all want to live our best lives, but not every day will be the best day you have ever had. Living our days in a funk can feel frustrating. To get out of a mental funk and turn your day around, pay attention to your thoughts, connect with your people and find a change of scenery.
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