motivation (lack of)

@peaceandblessings Hello! I hope you are doing okay! I am sorry to hear about how you are feeling and I understand how hard it can be to pull yourself up when you are feeling down. First, I want you to know that no matter how tough the situation is, nothing erases your progress! ❤️ Progress isn't linear and that's normal! I think something that can be helpful is trying to set small goals for yourself and cross them off a physical to-do list because that can help release endorphins and make you feel like you completed your goals! Even just one is great! They don't have to be mountain-moving goals, but drinking some water or getting out of bed are great! I hope this helps and please remember we are always here for you! 😊

@peaceandblessings I very much sympathize with the way you're feeling; it feels really hard to shake the "downs" sometimes. Lately, I'm trying to challenge my belief that "I don't have energy/motivation for this". If there's an activity that I know has helped me in the past (for example, playing Dance Dance Revolution to get some exercise), I say to myself "I'll try it for 5 minutes. If it feels like too much at that point, I'll stop." And usually, once I get started and the endorphins start flowing, I end up going for much longer than 5 minutes, and actually finish feeling more energy than when I started :)

I think a big key when you are in the hole is recognizing that your progress isn't completely erased by strong amounts of pain. You come back quicker than you did before even when the emotions are intense because you have learned coping mechanisms like coming here.

So when the bad hits reach out to others, do more self care without feeling guilty, give yourself lots of pats on the back for small victories, and consider trying something new to see if you can break the feeling of being down and out. @peaceandblessings