Okay, let’s talk about this. That feeling of being in a dark place mentally. It’s something I’ve definitely walked through, and it’s rough, really rough.
For me, it wasn’t like a switch flipped. It was more like a slow creep. I started noticing I just didn’t have the energy for things I usually enjoyed. Getting out of bed felt like lifting lead weights. Simple tasks, stuff I normally wouldn’t even think about, suddenly felt like climbing a mountain. It was heavy, you know? A real physical weight seemed to settle in my chest.
I tried to pinpoint why. Was it work? Stress? Something specific? Sometimes there wasn’t a clear reason, which almost made it worse. It felt like being lost in a fog without a map or compass. Just drifting and feeling… numb, mostly. Or sometimes, overwhelmed by everything and nothing all at once. Conversations felt draining. I found myself wanting to just pull away, be alone, even though that often made the feeling stronger.
Getting Through It (The Practice)
So, what did I actually do? It wasn’t a magic bullet, believe me. It was more like trying things, day by day, sometimes hour by hour.
- Forcing small actions: Even when I didn’t want to, I’d force myself to do one tiny thing. Like, just get up and make the bed. Or walk outside for five minutes. Sometimes that small win was enough to break the inertia, just a little bit.
- Talking (eventually): This was hard. Really hard. I felt like I didn’t want to burden anyone, or maybe they wouldn’t understand. But I eventually reached out to a close friend. Didn’t pour out everything at once, just mentioned I was having a tough time. Just saying it out loud helped crack the isolation.
- Trying to be kind to myself: This sounds cliché, maybe. But I realized I was beating myself up for feeling bad. “Why can’t you just snap out of it?” I had to consciously try to stop that negative self-talk. Okay, today is a bad day. That’s allowed. What’s the minimum I can do?
- Finding tiny distractions: Sometimes just putting on some music, watching a simple show, or doing a basic chore could pull my focus away from the dark thoughts for a little while. It wasn’t about fixing the problem, just getting a moment’s peace.
It was a slow process. Some days were better, some days I slid back. There wasn’t a big “aha!” moment where suddenly everything was fine. It was more like the fog slowly starting to lift, bit by bit. I started recognizing the early signs better, those first feelings of heaviness or withdrawal. That helped me try to use those small actions earlier, before I got too deep into it.
Looking back, the main thing was just continuing to try. Even when it felt pointless. Even when progress felt non-existent. Just putting one foot in front of the other, metaphorically speaking. It’s not easy, and it takes time. But getting through it, even slowly, is possible. That was my practice, my journey through it.
