All of us go through emotional slumps at some point and it is an entirely normal part of the ebb and flow of life. It is easy to ride an emotional high when things are going well for us, and we are occupied and happy doing something we enjoy. However, there are times where life gets rough, and we feel like life is purposely shoving us down headfirst into a slump. In these times, we find it difficult to gather the strength within ourselves to get back up. Other times, we do not even need to be going through something overtly difficult to feel like we are being shoved down into an emotional slump. Sometimes, life’s often monotonous character can put us into auto-pilot mode, where we feel like we are just going through the motions in our day to day. In these moments, perhaps we do not feel one hundred percent ourselves, and we do not feel like we are making any progress in our lives. Both of these kinds of slumps are entirely natural, but what is important is that we learn not to stay in them and not let them consume us. There is always a way out, and there are ways to make yourself feel alive again and there are ways to prevent future slumps. This requires conscious, daily effort, but is always worth it in the end.
When we are going through difficult times, it is easy to run to things we know will give us instant gratification and that sound good and helpful in theory. These things include scrolling through social media, laying in bed all day, watching TV endlessly, or engaging in any other sort of non-productive, passive behavior. While these things are not bad in and of themselves and are sometimes even necessary as part of our healing processes, if we engage too much in these behaviors, we will only manage to sink further into our own emotional pit. The reason we want to engage in these behaviors when we feel down is precisely because they are passive and do not require a lot of effort on our part. That is why we the desire to do them when our emotional batteries are low, but afterward, we almost always find that we have drained our batteries even further.
Engaging in healthier, more productive behaviors that require a little bit more effort on our part does not always sound appealing when we are feeling down, even if we know deep down that they will make us feel better in the long run. The most difficult part is finding the initial impulse within us to start. Cleaning your room, engaging in a fun hobby, reading a book, catching up on your correspondence, or seeking out quality time or conversation with a loved one are activities that can sound draining before we even start. However, usually, we will find that afterward we have been re-energized and we feel proud of the fact that we have done something positive for ourselves even when we did not necessarily feel like it. Continuously engaging in these behaviors and keeping that mindset will not only help you get out of a depressive episode, but they may even help prevent depressive episodes in the future. When we cannot find the strength within ourselves to bring ourselves to continually take care of ourselves, it always helps to have an accountability buddy who can help you, encourage you, and remind you to do the things you said you would. We need to remember to take care of ourselves even when it is not instantly gratifying.
