Breaking the Lethargy Spiral
The Problem
Feeling depressed is a vicious spiral. Your negative thoughts make you feel miserable, inadequate and discouraged, which means you feel slowed down and tired and less inclined to be active. Your activity level goes down, you start to avoid situations, which means that you don’t have positive thoughts and experiences; your confidence is further reduced, which increases the negative thoughts and low mood & so on.
So What is the Way Out?
Becoming more active is one way of breaking this vicious spiral.
1. Activity makes us feel less tired.
Normally when you feel tired you need a rest but when you are feeling depressed the opposite is true – you need to do more. Doing nothing makes you feel more exhausted and lethargic.
2. Activity distracts us.
Being active gives your mind something different to think about instead of dwelling on worrying negative thoughts when you are in active.
3. Activity improves our confidence.
Being active gives you more of a sense that you are at taking control of your life again and achieving something worthwhile. Small steps help rebuild shattered confidence. A chain reaction then occurs and you feel motivated to try to achieve something else.
4. Activity improves our thinking.
Activity improves our thinking and memory and helps us to get problems into a more realistic perspective.
5. Activity can involve others.
People who care about you will probably be pleased to see you more active, which may make you feel better. Being more involved with people improves your chances of feeling better.
Its fair to say this won’t be easy…… especially if you mood is very low. Ask family or friends to help motivate you and consider contacting us to book an assessment. Sometimes doing something a little different can be so helpful.
