Hey, perhaps this isn't the exact place to ask, and I know it isn't, but I have been feeling down and lack motiviation to do anything. So TFTV, what helps you get up when you are down?
Personally I think about how I from a year ago would see myself right now, good or bad it usually makes me want to try to do something productive.
Do something with your family. Go to a movie, take a day trip someplace, just anything to distract you a little bit.
happy music
talking to friends
getting up and moving around a bit, getting outside
water and fruit
long hot showers
the list goes on and on
talking to friends
getting up and moving around a bit, getting outside
water and fruit
long hot showers
the list goes on and on
Here's what I do when I'm down.
First of all, I clean my bedroom. Depending on how messy or neat you are, it can be relatively quick, or take more than a hour. Make sure you don't half-ass it -- it has to be thorough. Cleaning might seem rather menial or superficial to you, but the feeling of openness and space, combined with the short-term sense of accomplishment helps to lighten my mood a lot. Plus, the act of cleaning forces me off my ass, and once I'm up I feel more motivated to get other things done.
Then, I go for a jog. Nowadays, I run daily for around thirty to forty-five minutes a day during the evening. It started out as a chore, but after a few months it became a habit because I particularly enjoyed the benefits. Immediately after a run, my mind is sharper, I feel more energized, and these effects usually linger for a few days. Whenever I skimp on exercise, it noticeably sours my mood and I feel shittier and less capable. It is up to you whether you want to listen to music while you jog. Personally, I like to leave my earbuds (and my phone if I can) at home, because the feeling of being unconnected and free from electronics is relaxing and makes me pay more attention to my surroundings.
Devote a certain amount of time a day to your hobby. If you don't have one apart from TF2, go to your local library and check out books that look interesting to you. Eventually, you will come across an activity or a topic that you enjoy. Don't keep it to yourself -- that's one of the quickest ways to lose motivation and drive. Join a local or online community regarding your hobby. Keep your buddies and friends updated on projects you're doing, or even try and get them interested in the same hobby. If you've taken up painting, showing off a finished painting to your close friends makes you feel good. Stick to it and you will eventually notice clear improvements and progress; it will boost your confidence and make you feel even better.
I'm sorry about your situation, and I sympathize with you. I know I have been in similar situations where I feel hopelessly down and unmotivated, sometimes for months at a time, and I hope my advice will help you feel better. However, please don't feel like you have to follow everything in my post. This is only what has somewhat worked for me; only you can know what it will take to make yourself happy.
First of all, I clean my bedroom. Depending on how messy or neat you are, it can be relatively quick, or take more than a hour. Make sure you don't half-ass it -- it has to be thorough. Cleaning might seem rather menial or superficial to you, but the feeling of openness and space, combined with the short-term sense of accomplishment helps to lighten my mood a lot. Plus, the act of cleaning forces me off my ass, and once I'm up I feel more motivated to get other things done.
Then, I go for a jog. Nowadays, I run daily for around thirty to forty-five minutes a day during the evening. It started out as a chore, but after a few months it became a habit because I particularly enjoyed the benefits. Immediately after a run, my mind is sharper, I feel more energized, and these effects usually linger for a few days. Whenever I skimp on exercise, it noticeably sours my mood and I feel shittier and less capable. It is up to you whether you want to listen to music while you jog. Personally, I like to leave my earbuds (and my phone if I can) at home, because the feeling of being unconnected and free from electronics is relaxing and makes me pay more attention to my surroundings.
Devote a certain amount of time a day to your hobby. If you don't have one apart from TF2, go to your local library and check out books that look interesting to you. Eventually, you will come across an activity or a topic that you enjoy. Don't keep it to yourself -- that's one of the quickest ways to lose motivation and drive. Join a local or online community regarding your hobby. Keep your buddies and friends updated on projects you're doing, or even try and get them interested in the same hobby. If you've taken up painting, showing off a finished painting to your close friends makes you feel [i]good[/i]. Stick to it and you will eventually notice clear improvements and progress; it will boost your confidence and make you feel [i]even better[/i].
I'm sorry about your situation, and I sympathize with you. I know I have been in similar situations where I feel hopelessly down and unmotivated, sometimes for months at a time, and I hope my advice will help you feel better. However, please don't feel like you have to follow everything in my post. This is only what has somewhat worked for me; only you can know what it will take to make yourself happy.
Physical activity seems to help me out the most, so whenever I'm feeling down I just go to the park and play basketball with some randos for 2-3 hours.
chilling with close friends really helps as well
chilling with close friends really helps as well
Learn to play an instrument
Go outside and do something fun (hike, camp, climb, kayak, swim, freeze tag)
Go outside and do something fun (hike, camp, climb, kayak, swim, freeze tag)
Fair warning: this is just a longer version of brah's post (#5). He has a lot of quick tips that I agree with, but feel free to read on if you want my take on them.
In my experience I start to feel unmotivated and unhappy during extended periods of just loafing around the house and not being around or interacting with irl friends. I love the dudes I know online, but chatting over steam is not the same as calling up a friend to chat or hitting the movies.
I typically get myself out of the dumps by doing just that: interacting with the friends I know irl. Even if it's just having a short convo over text, it makes me feel a lot better. Super bonus points if I can get a small group together and we just chill out, order some takeout, and play games all night.
I'd also recommend going outside if it's a really nice day, take a short jog, then come back inside for a nice shower to cool back down. All of my friends swear that I'm nuts because I love running to cheer myself up, but other than driving, there's NOTHING better than pumping some fun, happy tunes while jogging around. People always say that running sucks because you get sweaty but a shower is an easy fix and the whole experience is just rejuvenating. I find it hard to be down on myself after a good run.
To be honest, if you're feeling down, I strictly recommend against playing video games. It's pretty unhealthy escapism and honestly stops working after a while. Lately I've been finding myself just being more sad that I'm making myself better by locking myself in my room and staring at a computer screen for several hours. That's just me though.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Don't think of ANYTHING in this thread as a chore to make yourself feed better because you'll just take the genuine enjoyment out of it all. Cheering yourself up isn't a job, so don't treat it like one. Just avoid a deliberate state of mind.
In my experience I start to feel unmotivated and unhappy during extended periods of just loafing around the house and not being around or interacting with irl friends. I love the dudes I know online, but chatting over steam is not the same as calling up a friend to chat or hitting the movies.
I typically get myself out of the dumps by doing just that: interacting with the friends I know irl. Even if it's just having a short convo over text, it makes me feel a lot better. Super bonus points if I can get a small group together and we just chill out, order some takeout, and play games all night.
I'd also recommend going outside if it's a really nice day, take a short jog, then come back inside for a nice shower to cool back down. All of my friends swear that I'm nuts because I love running to cheer myself up, but other than driving, there's NOTHING better than pumping some fun, happy tunes while jogging around. People always say that running sucks because you get sweaty but a shower is an easy fix and the whole experience is just rejuvenating. I find it hard to be down on myself after a good run.
To be honest, if you're feeling down, I strictly recommend against playing video games. It's pretty unhealthy escapism and honestly stops working after a while. Lately I've been finding myself just being more sad that I'm making myself better by locking myself in my room and staring at a computer screen for several hours. That's just me though.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Don't think of ANYTHING in this thread as a chore to make yourself feed better because you'll just take the genuine enjoyment out of it all. Cheering yourself up isn't a job, so don't treat it like one. Just avoid a deliberate state of mind.
exercise (ideally a couple of hours a day), change your diet, find a community to get involved with. don't be on the computer more than a couple hours a day; try to avoid spending long stretches of time sitting down in general.
if you feel sad or "empty" most of the time and have trouble sleeping you may want to call for a medic irl as these can be symptoms of depression
if you feel sad or "empty" [i]most[/i] of the time and have trouble sleeping you may want to call for a medic irl as these can be symptoms of depression
I MGE, particularly in an arena such as endifs or ammomod, where the improvement is rapid and you get to feel good about yourself.
NIU_NIUHere's what I do when I'm down.
First of all, I clean my bedroom. Depending on how messy or neat you are, it can be relatively quick, or take more than a hour. Make sure you don't half-ass it -- it has to be thorough. Cleaning might seem rather menial or superficial to you, but the feeling of openness and space, combined with the short-term sense of accomplishment helps to lighten my mood a lot. Plus, the act of cleaning forces me off my ass, and once I'm up I feel more motivated to get other things done.
For some reason this has made me feel a lot better everytime I feel down. I guess it's just seeing the end result of labor that makes me feel happy. In general, I usually try to talk to those people who are close to me, either friends or family.
First of all, I clean my bedroom. Depending on how messy or neat you are, it can be relatively quick, or take more than a hour. Make sure you don't half-ass it -- it has to be thorough. Cleaning might seem rather menial or superficial to you, but the feeling of openness and space, combined with the short-term sense of accomplishment helps to lighten my mood a lot. Plus, the act of cleaning forces me off my ass, and once I'm up I feel more motivated to get other things done.
[/quote]
For some reason this has made me feel a lot better everytime I feel down. I guess it's just seeing the end result of labor that makes me feel happy. In general, I usually try to talk to those people who are close to me, either friends or family.
good sleep, good diet, good exercise, and some sort of socialization are all good ways to help you feel less like poop
Have a smoke, watch sad anime.
That's all you have to do, and any emotion will be gone from the outside world.
That's all you have to do, and any emotion will be gone from the outside world.
vanillaLearn to play an instrument
Go outside and do something fun (hike, camp, climb, kayak, swim, freeze tag)
This. Get a cheap guitar and try and learn to play some songs you like or something, usually great if you're feeling depressed once you can recognize what you're playing.
Go outside and do something fun (hike, camp, climb, kayak, swim, freeze tag)[/quote]
This. Get a cheap guitar and try and learn to play some songs you like or something, usually great if you're feeling depressed once you can recognize what you're playing.
I just let it spiral until i'm too tired to keep my eyes open, sleep, and wake up to do it again
talking to people helps
talking to people helps
One of the most powerful revelations I've had is that you have full control over how you feel. The placebo effect is proof of this. Humans are trapped in a flesh and blood body, you are unable to experience anything that happens outside your head. Everything you think, feel, experience and perceive is nothing more than chemical and electrical signals in your brain. Nothing in the outside world has the power to make you angry or upset. When you hear something you perceive as offensive you are actually deciding to get offended.
Some believe that when something is “bad enough” you have "the right” to be upset. Of course you can get upset about whatever you like, but if it doesn’t help your situation and you have the option of not making yourself feel like trash, then why should you? You’re just shooting yourself in the foot, bringing unnecessary suffering upon yourself and those around you.
Understanding this, can we be calm and content even in the face of major adversity? We rarely see this in our environment and some even believe it's impossible. Obviously, it takes a lot of practice to get to the point where the most grievous losses wouldn't afflict us but every step we can take in that direction will make those periods of anger, sadness, and depression fewer and farther in between.
Some believe that when something is “bad enough” you have "the right” to be upset. Of course you can get upset about whatever you like, but if it doesn’t help your situation and you have the option of not making yourself feel like trash, then why should you? You’re just shooting yourself in the foot, bringing unnecessary suffering upon yourself and those around you.
Understanding this, can we be calm and content even in the face of major adversity? We rarely see this in our environment and some even believe it's impossible. Obviously, it takes a lot of practice to get to the point where the most grievous losses wouldn't afflict us but every step we can take in that direction will make those periods of anger, sadness, and depression fewer and farther in between.