For those of you who have been in a rut that you can’t seem to get out of and have been asking yourself questions like: What should I do if I don’t feel like myself anymore? or How can I expect to feel like myself when I can’t bring myself to do the things that I enjoy? First, be grateful that you’re aware of the emotions that you’re currently feeling. Since you’ve named what’s going, you can now reflect, plan, and learn during your personal season of winter and prepare yourself for your personal season of spring, which will be filled with feelings of hope, new beginnings, and wonderful opportunities. So, let’s take a closer look at eight tips that will help you feel like yourself again.
8 Ways To Feel Like Yourself Again
1. Try To Pinpoint Why You’re Feeling Off
Some people aren’t exactly sure why they’re not feeling like themselves, but they know they’re in a funk, experiencing a general feeling of weirdness. There can be a lot of different reasons as to why you’re not feeling like yourself. Many people stop feeling like themselves after experiencing a major life event or major role change such as getting married, having a long-term relationship end, starting a new job, or moving to a new city.
It’s also common for people who are grieving the loss of a loved one or mothers who just gave birth and are experiencing motherhood for the first time to feel like they’re not themselves anymore, as well. And when you make decisions that aren’t in line with your values, habits, and actions, that can throw you off, too. So, try to pinpoint exactly why you’ve been feeling off of late so you can better understand what you need to do next to get yourself out of this funk.
2. Create A Life Pie
It’s hard to feel like yourself when you’re not exactly sure why you’re feeling off in the first place. So, if you haven’t experienced a major life event or a major role change recently, and still can’t pinpoint why you’re feeling off, create a Life Pie as Julia Cameron calls it in her book, The Artist’s Way.
To make a Life Pie, grab a piece of paper and a pen. Then draw a circle and divide it into ‘six pieces of pie.’ Label the six pieces: spirituality, exercise, play, work, friends, and romance/adventure. Once you have the six different categories set, place a dot in each slice at the degree to which you’re fulfilled in that particular area. The outer rim indicates great and the inner circle indicates not so great. Then connect the dots. Now, you’ll see where you’re lopsided. Don’t worry if you’re very lopsided at first since that’s why you’re making this Life Pie in the first place.
From now on, create a Life Pie each week, month, or quarter to help you focus on the areas of your life that are not so great and you’d like to improve. Then restructure your daily routine to include the things that are most important to you, and that help you feel grounded. And remember, you’re after progress, not perfection. So, even if the dot only moves a little bit from not so great to great, that’s still something to celebrate.
3. Focus on Getting Grounded When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
When you’re not feeling like yourself, it’s natural to want to do everything that you can to get back to feeling good in your own skin. However, it’s important not to rush to correct the distress that you’re feeling since rushing the process can lead to making rash decisions, which can then backfire and make matters worse. Instead, focus on getting grounded.
Grounding is a practice that can help you pull away from negative or challenging emotions and decrease discomfort. While grounding techniques such as breathing deeply, playing a memory game, or sitting with your pet can help to create space from distressing feelings, these techniques are especially helpful when you’re dealing with anxiety, dissociation, or traumatic memories. Therefore, try different grounding techniques out and use the ones that work best for you whenever you feel yourself getting overwhelmed and want to calm down quickly.
4. Develop Your Skills And Knowledge
Since your personal season of winter offers you a time to reflect, plan, and learn, make the most of this time by sharpening your tools and developing your skills and knowledge. Read relevant books, take courses that you’ve been meaning to in the past, but haven’t gotten around to, and research and connect with mentors and/or life coaches who can help you come up with an action plan moving forward.
We understand that making the time to develop old skills and learn new ones may present a challenge for many people. But this is a crucial step for every person who wants to get back to feeling like themselves. For example, if you’re a new mom, we get that it’s extremely difficult for you to take care of yourself postpartum since you’re constantly taking care of your newborn and not getting much sleep, if any at all. That said, there are helpful resources available that can teach you the steps for living a happier, more fulfilled life with less stress as a mother.
While carving out the time can certainly be challenging, take advantage of little windows that you have to learn new skills. Read a book for five minutes or watch an inspiring talk for three minutes, and then go back to it later. You don’t have to do everything all at once. A little effort here and there will go a long way in helping you to reconnect with yourself.
5. Prioritize Taking Care Of Yourself
It isn’t easy to take care of yourself when you’re not feeling mentally and physically well. Even if self-care is the last thing on your mind, good self-care is an essential part of well-being. That’s why it’s so important to prioritize taking care of yourself and making sure that you’re getting enough good sleep each night (or taking naps during the day, if needed), eating high-quality food, exercising, and relaxing at the end of each day. So, if you’re feeling down and not like yourself, get back to basics and prioritize your own well-being.
6. Take A Break From Social Media
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” While this quote has been attributed to a number of people ranging from former American President Theodore Roosevelt to author C.S. Lewis, the statement evokes a powerful sentiment that can be life-changing. When we compare ourselves to others, we may be left with feelings of inferiority or superiority.
It’s especially easy to compare our lives to friends, former classmates, colleagues, celebrities, and influencers when we see them constantly posting highlight reel type pictures and captions on social media. However, if you’ve noticed that you’ve been spending more and more time scrolling on social media and losing yourself in comparison as you scroll, it might be time for you to take a social media detox. Or at the very least, set a timer and limit the amount of time that you spend on social media.
By taking a break from social media or managing the amount of time that you spend using social media apps, you’ll be able to focus more on the things that are truly important in life, rather than the things that look great on our screens.
7. Do Things You Love To Do
You already know that all of us here at Purely Inspired want you to “Do What Makes You Feel Good.” But did you know that hobbies have physical and mental health benefits, too? That’s right, making time to do things that you love to do can help you ease your stress, lift your mood, expand your social circle, and manage chronic pain. Doing things that you love may also improve your heart health and add quality years to your life.
Reconnecting activities like cooking, dancing, reading, practicing yoga, gardening, taking a walk, or spending quality time with family and friends are all excellent things to do when you start feeling disconnected from yourself. You can also pamper yourself by doing a face mask, getting a massage, or enjoying a warm bath after a long day.
8. Don’t Lose Hope
Yes, you’re feeling down right now. And as bad as it may get for you, remind yourself that the way you’re feeling today or this week isn’t going to be how you’re going to feel for the rest of your life. You’re just going through a personal winter at the moment and spring is right around the corner.
So, don’t lose hope. Continue doing the work that you need to do in order to prepare yourself for spring. Then embrace the new opportunities that springtime has to offer. After all, if you’re still stuck in the past, it’s hard to move forward. So, start taking responsibility for your own happiness and success in life, and whatever you do: DO NOT LOSE HOPE!
*The links used in this article are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by Iovate Health Sciences International Inc. or any of its affiliates (“Iovate”) of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organization or individual. Iovate bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.
