How To Get Out of A Slump

February was a tough month for me, both mentally and emotionally. It became to a point where I could no longer take care of myself and decided to head home for a week so I could focus on school and getting things done instead of worrying about what to eat. After some reflecting, I decided I needed to prioritize self-care and make sure I am healthy so I could conquer life again and take over the world. Thus I looked back at my journal entries and compiled a list of activities that would help me re-energize myself and help alleviate anxiety.

Getting some sunlight:

As I have gotten older I have realized that sunlight is super important for me. Thus I decided to start taking morning walks, where I just walk around my neighborhood and my local park. This helps me wake up and gets me active early. Thus by the time I comeback to my house I feel a lot better and awake. This walk also helps alleviate any anxieties caused by events or activities I need to do later that day.

Exercise:

For me this is going to the gym. Usually I try to take pre-workout before I go on my walk so by the time I comeback the pre-workout has kicked in and I can hit the gym. The gym just feels good, and I gym mainly for mental reasons and the physical aspects are a bonus. You don’t need to hit the gym, just do any exercise. And if all you can do is the morning walk that is good enough. The key here is to get active, that it!

Eating Healthy:

Eating is a big struggle for me as most of time I just don’t want to eat. However I know that I need to eat healthy to stay healthy and get shit done. Thus I try to create easy to make meals. My go to is 3 eggs, with some spinach, cheese, and some other veggies. I also try to eat some fruit or just make a fruit smoothie, which gives me a lot of energy. I also try to drink a protein shake to make sure I am getting in my daily protein requirement. However when I am not doing well I just try to eat anything I want. This means if I want Taco Bell or In N Out, I get it. This because although it is important to eat healthy, its just important to eat period. I can go a very unhealthy amount of time without eating, so I just let myself eat anything in order to make sure I am eating.

Here are some tips on how to eat healthy:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/eight-tips-for-healthy-eating/

Meditation:

I recommend Meditation to anyone. It has done wonders for me and my mental health. The main thing is has allowed me to do is associate an emotional feeling with a physical sensation. This means that when I am angry or stressed I started to notice that I flex my forehead. Thus if I just relax my forehead these feelings dissipate and I start to feel calm again. Meditation also gives me a lot of clarity and time to just calm down and do nothing.

Here is a referral link for headspace, which is the meditation app that I have been using for over a year now. It has a variety of courses and singles for anyone, and I highly recommend it!

https://www.headspace.com/invite/FHzmO

Self-Compassion and doing what you want:

When you are in a slump or feeling low, there is no point of making things worse by yelling at yourself and telling yourself you should be feeling better. You need to give yourself compassion and be like “Hey I know I am not feeling well right now, thus I am going to just relax and take things slow.” Its ok not to be ok, but what is not ok is beating yourself up for not feeling ok. Obviously I am also guilty for this, but am working on becoming more compassionate for myself and letting myself feel all the feelings.

Here is a link on how to practice self-compassion:

https://positivepsychology.com/how-to-practice-self-compassion/

Relaxing and Entertainment:

Ultimately this is allowing yourself to do whatever you want to do that you know you will enjoy. For some it will getting a coffee, for others it will be hiking, and for other it will be binge-watching New girl. For me its getting high af and watching league videos or reading a book. All of these are great ideas. You need to remind yourself that life can be fun by doing the activities that you enjoy. Just let yourself go for a day and do whatever you want. This will help re-energize you and let you take on your goals with a new and refreshed you.

I hope these tips were helpful as they definitely help me. As always thanks for reading and letting me help you become a better you.