Snap Out of It!
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Monday, October 25, 2010 4:59 PM
Sometimes, I get in a funk—a downward spiral brought on by who-knows-what, fueled by a whole host of silly little things and usually brought to an end by some good old fashioned mind-over-matter.
Do you feel my pain? A funk is not overwhelming sadness or depression. It’s just feeling blah (with a little blah on top).
The key to getting out of a funk, I must remind myself, is to BREAK the cycle. This is a deliberate choice. It’s not sitting around and waiting for the mood to change; it’s making the mood-change happen.
A few steps to help break out of a rut include:
1. Praying for grace. This is the most important step. God knows our hearts; he wants us to have joy.
2. Changing my view. Sometimes this is literal, sometimes mental. One way I know I’m in a funk is when I sit at the computer too long going from blog to blog (or Facebook page after page) reading everything and feeling more and more inferior. Not a good sign. I love to read blogs and most days I can read, be inspired and move on. When I find myself wasting too much time online, I force myself out of the chair and towards something active.
3. So I take a walk. Getting out in the fresh air gives me perspective.
4. I also play music. Music does something to the soul.
5. When all else fails, I phone a friend (or sister, or mom). It’s not necessarily about talking through the issues, though that is often theraputic. But sometimes just getting outside my head does me a world of good. Laughing with someone else or hearing a story about their day helps me think less on my own blah-ness and more on the beauty and bigger picture of life.
I hope this helps anyone out there who is in a similar boat. If you have another trick-of-the-trade, please share here!
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