My mental state was all over the place last week. On Tuesday I just remember mentally feeling like I was in a fog and struggling to find sunlight. It was as though my mind was in control and could care less about what I wanted.
I should have known that I was going to be in for a rough one based on how the day started. I struggled to get out of bed and when I finally did, it was only for long enough to grab my phone and get back into bed and browse social media. Before I knew it, an hour had passed.
When I finally got moving, I said to myself that the first hour was behind me and that I would make good with the rest of the day. This was wishful thinking.
I did my meditation, ate breakfast, and finally made it out the door into the office only a few minutes later than usual.
The workday was a mixed bag. I couldn’t focus. I felt like I was moving around in circles trying to find the straight line. I didn’t really want to be around people. I was really quiet and worked most of the day with my door closed. During times where I had to be around people I found myself getting easily annoyed. I can only imagine what type of vibe I may have been giving off.
As much as I wanted to just snap my fingers and come back to life and feel like my normal self, the brain doesn’t function that way. So all I could do is just try to focus on one thing at a time and use a few strategies to overcome it.
One strategy involved setting 20-minute timers for each task and taking lot of short breaks. I made a deal with myself to keep moving and to try to focus on what was in front of me instead of the thoughts in my head.
I also worked out during lunch. There is something about moving your body that helps reset the chemical imbalance in your brain that originally put you in a bad mood.
Another strategy was practicing a lot of self-love. The act of silently repeating, “I love myself” helped change the thought pattern.
Eventually, late in the afternoon my brain and my body finally aligned. I was able to finish the workday on a good note and made plans for the following day to be better.
I had a productive evening and was able to complete some tasks that had been on my to do list for a while.
Tuesday was a reminder that sometimes you just have shit days. I am also aware that the definition of a shit day for me might be different for others. I think any day where your mental state hinders your ability to be your best self is a shitty day.
If you find yourself in a shitty day and constantly in your head, try some of the tactics listed above. They worked for me. Maybe they will work for you.
Originally published at medium.com