Oh, what a privilege it is to wake up and try again. Sometimes I honestly forget that the world is not ending in this very second. Lately I've been feeling really overstimulated, and very uninspired. I have about a million things going on (which I'm extremely grateful for), but overtime when you push yourself too hard, or start only creating things for likes, views, audience growth...you become overwhelmed and not keen to do anything.
When you get into this headspace of feeling uninspired, having a full on existential crisis, and trying to figure out your entire life direction in one day, it's literally overwhelming. I think I've reached my peak of noise, and I've just decided that instead of trying to figure out my entire life in one day, and just stressing myself out, or wanting to quit everything, I'm going to take a pause, and figure out ways to reset, and take a break.
Old me, would've heard "take a break" and freaked out, and say "um no, that means I'm giving up and I'm a failure", but this version of me, is thinking about taking a break as strategy. I sat down and wrote down what I was feeling, so I could figure out if I actually do just want to quit, or if maybe I need to recenter, and stabilize things before I completely burn out, so that's what I did, and sometimes being so self-aware sucks. It's good to be aware of how you feel etc., but the level that I overthink and research is just unnecessary.
A few things I started doing to just feel ok again:
- I've deleted all social media apps (Instagram + TikTok) from my phone. When I feel overstimulated, it means my brain is fried, and I don't need more content to consume. I'm sort of aiming to take a full break for 30 days, but taking it day by day, and I already feel mentally good, and I've found that my brain craves good, educational content, so I've been swapping a scrolling session to watching a really good educational video or podcast.
- Enjoying a slow morning routine. Every morning, I wake up at either 6:15AM or 7AM, and then I make myself a cup of coffee, then I brush my teeth, rinse my face with ice cold water. After that, I put on my workout clothes, I attend a barre workout class (it's the best!). I tried going without it for a week, and I'm not even kidding, but mentally I just didn't feel as focused or good, so it's a non-negotiable for me, I need to workout. Once my workout is over, I shower, do my skincare routine (very minimal), and then I get dressed, and go grab a coffee. This routine has allowed me to feel like a functioning human, instead of a robot.
- I will start working. I will either go and work in a coffee shop once or twice a week for the morning, otherwise, I sit down at my desk, put my headphones on, and get started. By changing up my environment, it helps my brain feel less stuck if that makes any sense. Sometimes you get stuck in a really boring routine, and it makes you feel like you aren't moving forward or you're some robot, and I think switching up your environment can really help a lot, when you feel a bit overwhelmed.
- Going for walks when the weather is good. I LOVE nature, the outdoors and breathing in some fresh air. Therefore being outside, and going for a short walk does wonders for my mental health, I need it, it recharges me and makes me feel human again.
- Reading instead of just watching hours of tv. Last weekend, I started taking a break from my screen, and instead of watching a movie marathon, I decided to jump on my bed, and read two chapters of a book that's currently sitting on my nightstand (animal farm by George Orwell lol), and it's helped me feel more present in daily life, instead of just escaping all the time, and feeding my brain too much stuff.
Hopefully all of these things don't feel overwhelming to digest, I just wanted to share a few things I'm doing right now to feel good mentally. I'm a very driven, highly-motivated person, and when I don't feel like I'm being authentic, or creative, or productive, I feel lost.
What I had to understand is that it's strategy to come back to yourself, by just slowing down and choosing to take a break, so you can come back so much stronger.
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