Next time you are ‘over it’, there are some simple actions you can take to make you feel more yourself:
1. Stop playing pretend and talk with someone
Many of us have made an art form of pretending we’re fine. Somewhere along the way, we’ve been taught the best way of ‘dealing with it’ is to silently suffer, whilst playing pretend and refusing to acknowledge any difficult emotions. A far braver and more resilient action is to reach out for support. An honest chat is much more useful than any amount of bad acting. It can lighten our load, serve as a release valve and allow those closest to us to do more than just play along in our game of pretend. You may choose to chat with a friend, a loved one, a trusted workmate or anyone who has your back. If you don’t know where to start the conversation, start with “I’m just over it”. Consider why you may be feeling this way and try to spend a maximum of about 3 minutes ranting about the unreliability of your Internet service (it gets fairly boring, fairly quick). It can be very useful to think about a few small actions you can take to change things up and get things moving back in a direction you want.
2. Stop trying to stuff it all in & get some proper rest
Imagine your waking hours are a suitcase. Is there any space available or is it stuffed so full that you need to sit on it, squishing the contents down, while you awkwardly force the zipper around, inch by inch, before collapsing in an exhausted, sweaty mess? Trying to pack too much in is an incredibly common problem. When we’re feeling over it, we should carefully consider what we can take out of the suitcase. When free from the weight of excessive doing, life can suddenly start to feel a lot more manageable and far less exhausting. To help us recover, one of the very best things we can do is sleep. We can also give our brains a break by scheduling time away from devices or stopping for a short session of mindfulness. Regularly taking time away from everyday responsibilities can be another great way to recharge, so be sure to get your holidays booked in.
3. Stop trying to do what’s expected and do it your way
Often, we become ‘over it’ when we weren’t really that into it to begin with. There are many things that hold us back from the bold actions we might be aching to take. We worry about fitting in. We worry about what people will say or think. We worry that people will worry about us. Before deciding to do the next thing, we can ask ourselves “Why am I actually doing this?” If it is all about other people’s opinions, we may like to reconsider. When we free ourselves from the shackles of expectation, we can often find a way towards the things that bring us excitement, joy and that lovely feeling of being truly alive.
4. Stop looking after everything but yourself
It’s easy to become fed up with an existence in which your needs and desires are constantly put last. One of the greatest acts of self-care we can all take is to re-prioritise ourselves. Self-care is about far more than just eating right, sleeping well and getting enough exercise. It can also be about learning to say ‘no’, establishing some solid boundaries and keeping your conscience in check. Engaging in self-care is a fundamental act of resilience, which enables us to nurture the most important values in our lives. We simply cannot consider self-care as just some reward, which only kicks in whenever we reach the end of our to-do lists.
5. Stop tuning in to all that’s wrong and take some time out for wonder
When we spend a significant proportion of our lives watching horrendous news stories or doom-scrolling on our phones, things can seem more than a little overwhelming. In recent times this has become a real problem. Powerful tech companies have realised that the best way to keep us hooked, is to keep us outraged, and have set about filling our feeds with things they know will spark anger, anxiety and concern. It’s wise for all of us to consider what we are tuning into and what effect it is having upon us. Most of us have had probably exceeded healthy levels of doom and disaster and it is very understandable that many of us are ‘over it’. While constantly tuning in to such material has a predictably poor effect on mood, when we walk away from our devices, we can experience a very different world.
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