How To Motivated To Clean When Overwhelmed By The Mess
When you are overwhelmed with the mess in your house or in a specific room it can seem like theres no way you can ever get going. However, there are a few steps you can take to help.
About 6 years ago I was walking into the kitchen to make a cup of tea for myself. I used the microwave to warm up my water. I set the microwave to 1 minute 30 seconds and then decided to unload the dishwasher.
I was completely shocked because I had it in my head that it took at least 5 minutes or more to do that.
After realizing that, I started timing myself doing other chores and I was surprised by how much my mind would overestimate how big of a job a chore was when it really wasnt that bad.
Recommended Reading: What Medical Conditions Can Cause Panic Attacks
You Dont Have To Enjoy It
The only goal you need to have for a task is to complete it. You need to accept the fact that you arent going to like everything you have to do. You may wonder how anyone gets anything done, but it is because people who dont suffer from depression can fight through not wanting to do something they won’t enjoy because they feel balanced most of the time. You dont have that luxury, but unfortunately, life isnt fair. If you get into your head that it is what it is and you just have to get it together and complete a task, it will make it easier.
How To Overcome Lack Of Motivation
Some people naturally feel the need to clean when theyre depressed, but for most of us one of the telling signs of depression is letting go of day-to-day activities. One of the best ways to sidestep this symptom is to set yourself up for success ahead of time.
Keep your cleaning supplies stocked and in convenient places for the jobs. Keep bathroom cleaners in the bathroom, vacuum cleaners nearest the high traffic carpeted area, oven cleaner in the kitchen, etc. If you cant find something for the task youve talked yourself into getting up and doing its all too likely youll give up right away.
Clean up as you go if youre already making yourself fix something to eat, wash the dishes while youre up. Not only is it easier when the mess is fresh, itll get done and you wont have to look at it later. Any mess is likely to make me feel even worse and contrarily less likely to do something about it.
Delegate, delegate, delegate. Anything and everything you can get anyone else to do will be good for your house and for your health. The people who love you will be happy to help, especially if you share that youre depressed and this is something they can do to help you, as chances are they usually feel helpless.
Don’t Miss: Fobia Meaning
Identify The External Stress Inducing Factors
External influences may often affect our motivation. Perhaps you have a chronic health problem. You might feel trapped in a dead-end workplace or work in a stressful environment. Maybe your significant other or family members have been critical of you. All of these factors may have an effect on motivation.
However, thinking about what you can do and what you can control can help you feel more in control of your life. Give yourself the power to walk away from a negative and stressful situation. If the work scene is crazy, take a few days off. Sometimes, a change of scenario can help you to be back on track!
The Standard Approach: What Not To Do
When most people feel depressed, they try to push through it.
In a culture that has a bias toward happiness, we believe depression is a bad thing. If we have depression, we need to change it right away.
And how do we go about changing it? By using brute forcepushing ourselves to do that which we dont want to do.
But heres the most valuable lesson anyone can learn about their subconscious mind:
What we resist, persists.
What does this mean?
Resisting depression or frustration will not only prolong its existence it may even make it stronger. So, when we try to motivate ourselves through sheer will, we are feeding the very monster were trying to overcome.
Read Also: Does Depression Make You Hungry
Trying To Fight Anxiety Or Push It Away Doesn’t Help
When you fight or hide your anxiety, it’s a temporary solution. You might feel ok for a little bit, but it always comes back with a vengeance.
Before I go into this list, I want to recommend talking to your doctor or finding a therapist if youre finding it hard to function. Dealing with Clinical Depression or Generalized Anxiety Disorder can make trying anything new feel impossible.
That’s why I suggest talking to professionals to get to a point where you’re mentally ready to move forward. Its totally possible to manage both of these and actually get out of depression.
But, if youre in the middle of struggling, the tips below might not be helpful enough. Im saying this from experience. I was in a deep depression for a long time, and nothing worked.
Even setting small goals didnt help.
It wasnt until I finally talked to my doctor and started taking anti-depressants that I actually felt ok enough to work on other things. I’m not saying that’s what you should do, because everyone is different. But if you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to seek help from a therapist.
How To Motivate Yourself At Work When You Are Depressed
Many of us are forcibly having to multitask at work. We have to wear many hats at work and juggle several projects. Additionally, maintaining consistent communication with your team and clients is absolute.
You might get overwhelmed with too much going on and fall behind on your work due to multitasking. Lagging in work often breaks your spirit. You might feel less motivated to work, which might further induce your depression.
Research has shown that heavy multitaskers are less competent than employees who work one task at a time. Multitasking can make your brain go haywire and reduce productivity.
How to motivate yourself at work when you are depressed? To keep yourself motivated at work when you are depressed and distracted, opt for single-tasking.
Single-tasking can help rebuild your focus. You can assign an hour of your work time specifically for checking your emails and communicating with your team. It will give you the advantage to keep your project focus time quiet and uninterrupted.
Single-tasking can lower your stress level and make work enjoyable. Minimizing context switching can keep your train of thought unhampered. Focusing on one task at a time can flourish your creativity.
Lastly, remember to take a break and have a little me- time. Your work is no more important than your mental health. Delegate tasks to your co-workers if the pressure becomes unbearable. Enable yourself to consider less-than-perfect outcomes while focusing on motivation in depression.
Also Check: The Phobia Of Bees
When Depression Prevent Exercise: Find Treatment That Works
At Next Step, we know how profoundly depression can impact all aspects of your life. Our compassionate, non-judgmental team offers a variety of depression treatments, including medication and therapy.
If depression is keeping you from your potential, we can help. Call our Louisville, Kentucky office at 502-339-2442. You can also request an appointment online.
But What Is Depression
Ever feel you cant catch a break, its just one bad thing after another or a general long-time low mood? That could be depression. Its classified a mood disorder, that affects how a person thinks, feels and acts.
And the tricky part is its not like a cold where the symptoms are the same for every person, so time to get rid of those stereotypes of black clothes, tears, and Morrissey songs.
Depression presents itself in a variety of ways anxiety, low mood, lack of motivation, or even no outward symptoms at all and sometimes, out of stigma, its completely hidden.
Don’t Miss: Phobia Of Big Words
Taking Care Of Yourself
Theres a natural impulse to want to fix the problems of people we care about, but you cant control someone elses depression. You can, however, control how well you take care of yourself. Its just as important for you to stay healthy as it is for the depressed person to get treatment, so make your own well-being a priority.
Remember the advice of airline flight attendants: put on your own oxygen mask before you assist anyone else. In other words, make sure your own health and happiness are solid before you try to help someone who is depressed. You wont do your friend or family member any good if you collapse under the pressure of trying to help. When your own needs are taken care of, youll have the energy you need to lend a helping hand.
Speak up for yourself. You may be hesitant to speak out when the depressed person in your life upsets you or lets you down. However, honest communication will actually help the relationship in the long run. If youre suffering in silence and letting resentment build, your loved one will pick up on these negative emotions and feel even worse. Gently talk about how youre feeling before pent-up emotions make it too hard to communicate with sensitivity.
Talking To Someone Who Has Experience Can Help Put You On The Right Track
I dont want you to suffer. Its why I always suggest focusing on that first and then moving forward. Remember, there is affordable online counseling available to you, which you can access from home at any time.
This post is for you if you are pulling yourself out of depression but are finding it hard to motivate yourself to start doing things again.
It’s for you if youre feeling ok enough to try things, but youre still in the habits you created when you were anxious, depressed, and in survival mode.
So, this blog post is about slowly pulling you out of survival mode and helping you get back on track to start pursuing your goals.
This post will teach you how to take baby steps to find your motivation when you struggle with anxiety and depression. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself with too many things at once.
You May Like: The Phobia For Long Words
Here Are Some Ways To Motivate Oneself When You Identify Yourself To Be Depressed:
Exercise
Its really important to exercise daily. Start with 15 minutes first and slowly increases it to at least 35 minutes. If you will exercise for a minimum duration of 35 minutes for at least five days a week then you will find an improvement in the depressed state. Endorphins are the feel-good hormones that are released during exercise and hence can change your depressed state to a happy state.
Dont overburden yourself
Do not make unrealistic plans. Do not push yourself beyond your limits. Its important to take a break in-between. Divide all the bigger tasks into smaller tasks. Congratulate yourself every time you complete a smaller task. This will motivate you to complete the entire big task.
Eat fermented foods
According to the researchers, it was concluded that bacteria present in fermented food may increase the production of serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is known to reduce the symptoms of depression.
Some of the fermented food items:
Ø Fermented Rice and dal batters from which dosas and idlis are prepared
Ø Fermented soybean
Avoid taking negative information
Follow a routine
Make schedules, stick it on a wall from where it is easily available. Tick the tasks when they are completed. This will motivate you to work more hard.
These are few tips however if its not working for you. Dont panic but dont ignore as well. Consult a professional to come out from a depressed state.
What Did You Do When You Werent Depressed
Act against your depression by doing some of those things. If you are currently depressed you might notice that your behavior is much different from what it was when you were not depressed. You might be avoiding people, exercising less, making fewer plans, and getting lost on the Internet or in your rumination. Let’s call this your Depressive Behavioral Profile. What it reflects is what you look like when you are acting like a depressed person.
Now I want you to identify what you look like when you are not depressed. What are you doing, who are you connecting with, and what activities are you engaged in? The behavioral activation approach to dealing with depression places a great deal of emphasis on acting as if you are not depressed so you can behave your way out of depression. As one of the founders of behavior therapy once said, When facing adversity, behave. In other words, if you’re feeling down, take positive action. Make a list of all of the activities you can think of that you engaged in when you were not depressed and start scheduling those for the next week.
Also Check: Sesquipedalophobia Vs Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
Dont Wait For Motivation
Depression can make even the smallest tasks, like showering, seem daunting. When it comes to exercise, dont wait for a burst of motivation. Try reversing your thought process. Instead of saying, Ill go for a walk when I feel better try thinking Ill go for a walk to help me feel better. Over time, this will get easier.
You can also post a sticky note on your mirror or next to the couch to remind you to take your daily walk.
Little Motivation Tricks For Getting Through The Day With Depression
Picture this: youre lying in bed or sitting on the couch, devoid of energy. Theres a pile of dishes waiting for you in the sink, your dog is giving you a guilty I need to eat look and you have several imminent assignment deadlines going off like fire alarms in your head. But, no matter how hard you try no matter how anxious the pile of responsibilities makes you you just cant do it.
If this sounds familiar, then youve experienced one of the most common symptoms of depression. Depression sucks the energy out of you, leaving you exhausted and unable to budge. Its no wonder many with depression find the spoon theory to be apt to their lived experience.
We decided to ask our mental health community what little tricks they have for getting motivated when depression drags them down. Maybe depression is telling you that youve already tried them all, but we hope youll find a few unexpected gems in the answers they gave us.
Here is what they said:
1. I convince myself all I gotta do is one thing today. But in order to do that one thing, I need to get out of bed to do it. Usually I say food or washroom, something I cant go without. That works for me. Like a pep talk before starting the day. Mizheekay H.
7. Make a list and put on some music that motivates me to move. Otherwise, Ill spend days just going from the bed to the couch and back. Suzy J.
What motivation tricks would you add? Let us know in the comments below.
Read Also: Definition Phobia
I Tie It To Something Fun
Plenty of health professionals have told JF Garrard that regular exercise will help her severe depression. But she still struggles to do it. So she links physical activity with something she likes, like watching Netflix. I use home exercise DVDs. Ill set up two screens, and put the exercise DVD on mute and watch Netflix with sound, says Garrard, president of the indie book publisher Dark Helix Press. Watching a show distracts me and keeps me going. Otherwise, I will not finish the exercise on my own.
Squeeze in a quick workout at home with this 10-minute walking workout:
Get Some Sunlight And Fresh Air
Sunlight releases serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a brain chemical associated with increased mood and feeling pleasant and calm. Less sunlight in winter has been strongly associated with the occurrence of seasonal affective disorder.
Boost your serotonin levels by going outside for a few minutes. The fresh air wouldnt hurt either. Perhaps you could strike up a conversation with someone next to you a neighbor or a passerby. At the very least, waving hello to someone and having them wave back at you is an acknowledgment that youre alive and can be a bright point in someones day.
If you find yourself near a bit of unadulterated nature, even better. Access to environmental spaces has been shown to reduce depression and other mental health issues. Going for a nature walk can clear your head and remind you that you are a part of an ecosystem, which can be affirming to your self-worth.
Best of all, trees dont care if you havent brushed your teeth or changed your clothes in a while. You dont have to worry about looking presentable, just about getting a mental reset from being surrounded by the great outdoors.
Don’t Miss: Side Effects Of Prestiq
How To Get Motivated When Depressed
Feeling down or depressed?
Suffering from a severe lack of motivation?
Here is the ultimate guide to finding motivation in life & getting things done when dealing with depression and if you cant get motivated to do anything.
In this lesson you will learn:
New Year’s Resolutions In Cancer Survivorship
The advantage of self-reward is that you are always there to give the rewards to yourself. You are always there to be the cheerleader that you need to keep you motivated in moving forward. Praising yourself, giving yourself credit for trying, and keeping track of your progresseven if it seems like small stepsis a way that can keep your motivation moving in the right direction.
You May Like: Fainting And Anxiety