Low Motivation: Online Therapy, Counseling and Treatment

What Causes It?

Low motivation can make you feel stuck and crippled to take action. But you are not alone. Individuals have suffered from low motivation at some point in their lives. The reasons and causes of low motivation can be small or big or affect one for months and years. Either way, it is important to know what causes it, so the sooner you can identify it, the better you may be able to plan to tackle it.

The causes can differ for Individuals but some of the common causes are:

1. Depression Depression is a mental health condition that can make you feel low or not motivated to do anything. It is hard for the one who is facing it. It is true even with low or mild levels of depression. When you are struggling with depression, it is hard to keep up and perform normal daily routine activities of life. That means it is a struggle to get up from bed, exercise, shower, pay bills, go out for grocery shopping, and so on.

2. Feeling overwhelmed Sometimes when you have a lot on a plate with all little things, you start feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and not motivated. Your body and mind don't feel like doing anything and instead of identifying what could be done, one feels it is better to do nothing. And, doing nothing can drive further low motivation. When you feel like there is so much to do, you feel like it's better not to do. It happens.

3. Having a fixed mindset There are two types of mindsets: Fixed & Growth. When you have a fixed mindset, you tend to believe and underestimate your abilities to do tasks. You feel like you are in no control to make changes and do anything better. It affects your self-esteem and confidence and as a result, you feel less motivated to do or try things.

4. Do not know what you want When you are doing something but do not know why you are doing it is the problem. It causes you to feel low or not motivated to take any action. This is one of the common causes because many do not have clear and defined goals.

5. Feeling contented Feeling content with what you have is a mindful practice. But it can also cause a lack of motivation to try something new, learn something different. You feel like you have what you have and it is okay to not have what you don't have. And as a result, you do not make any efforts to try to get them.

Mental Health. The Effects on your inspiration

Researchers suggested that interventions like medication and psychotherapy are vital steps towards treating a person's mental health. Lifestyle, positive habits, and other wellness steps and measures can improve the symptoms of low motivation. It also helps a person to progress towards recovery from mental illness. Study shows that when you are feeling inspired and motivated, your responses become positive which reflects in your mood and relationships with your family members, partner, colleagues, and friends.

One can improve the inspiration levels by improving mental health and vice versa. To improve it, support from your friends, family, and mental health professionals are quite helpful. Taking interest in walking, exercising, socializing, journaling, or simply seeing a doctor reduces the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.

The Physical Symptoms

When you have low motivation, along with cognitive and behavioral symptoms, you also experience physical symptoms.

The common physical symptoms that one might experience if they are struggling with low motivation are reduced or low energy levels that cause constant fatigue, one starts feeling like everything hurts more, i.e. reduced pain tolerance levels, feeling anxiety, muscle tensions, headaches, feeling sleepy, uneasiness in the stomach and weak immune system.

Healing From Depression

If you are experiencing depression or low motivation, it can be an overwhelming feeling. But, you can heal and deal with it by taking some concrete and much-needed steps.

1. Follow a daily routine When you try to follow your daily routine and complete the tasks, it gives you a sense of accomplishment and improves your well-being. The tasks can be as simple as getting out of bed, making your bed, taking a shower, going for a walk, etc. When you complete each task and mark it as done. It allows you to feel motivated and confident and prepares you to focus on completing other important and big or small tasks of the day too.

2. Avoid negativity Thoughts can be powerful. If you have a fixed mindset and feel like you cannot do something. You might be inviting negative thoughts to your brain. Your brain digests what you feed it and believes it to be true. To cope with it, you may start reading uplifting posts, books, or talk to positive people and try to reframe your negative thoughts into positive ones. Positive thoughts can reward you well.

3. Join Support Groups or Self-Help Groups You are not alone who is experiencing depression. There are many. When you join support groups or self-help groups, you are able to connect with these people and realize you are not alone. It makes you feel less alone and gives you the opportunity to try new things like others do in order to get better. It encourages and empowers you to take progressive steps to achieve your goals.

4. Get enough rest Depression can be draining. Sleeping a lot or no sleep impacts your overall cognitive, behavioral and physical well-being. This is why it is important to focus on getting enough sleep. You may focus on getting eight hours of sleep per day.

5. Don’t overschedule. Setting clear priorities and goals help you set a reasonable schedule. When you have a reasonable one, you are able to focus on each task and complete it without feeling overwhelmed or doubting your abilities to achieve them. It helps you feel productive and determined.

6. See a doctor The first step toward finding interest and motivation is to receive effective treatment for depression or any other mental health illness. Consult a primary care physician or a psychiatrist or any other mental health professional who may provide guidance, effective treatment and recommend further care as per need. A reduction in depression symptoms can motivate a person to take interest in their lives and focus on positive aspects of it. Other tools include psychotherapy, CBT, ECT, medications, etc. that help you develop effective coping mechanisms for difficult situations.

Healing is a process and to go through the process, you need to believe in yourself and continue to take your small steps. Every minute counts.

Overcoming The Mental Frustration

Frustration. All individuals felt it at some point in their lives. It can make you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and drained. When you are frustrated it feels like you are in no control of the situations of your life and everything is a clear mess.

Frustration can happen to anyone and the key to overcoming it is to understand and acknowledge your feelings and emotions and validate them. And then focus on setting a clear picture of what you are aiming for and what steps you need to take in order to achieve it.

You may not be able to avoid frustration in life but when you are mindful of your emotions and thoughts, you may be able to take the right steps to cope up with them effectively.

Dealing with Low Motivation Through Counseling

If you are experiencing low motivation, reaching out to a counselor or therapist for psychotherapy can be helpful. Online therapy allows you to seek all the support and guidance you need to feel motivated again. Also, it allows you to connect with someone and feel connected, comfortable, and supported by them. It would help you become more self-aware and mindful of your emotions and thoughts.

As low motivation can be caused by different reasons. An online counselor would help you provide the right framework to tackle it. They constantly work with you to plan correct steps and strategies to cope up with it. Some forms of therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy or group therapy help you cope up with the specific situations or reasons that might be causing you the feeling of not being motivated.

7 Cups offers you access to emotional support through its various programs. You can join us today by signing up easily and start exploring all the options it offers to provide mental health support. The various services you may access are connecting with listeners to seek support in 1-1 live chat, joining group live sessions in the user chat rooms, exploring various forums to post your questions, issues, or concerns.

You can access 7 Cups through its free mobile app at any location, anytime, and start sending messages to seek support. Finally, please know that you are not alone. We are all here with you to listen and support.