[deleted]
Getting Out of a Rut
51–60 of 117 posts
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#52You're not being challenged in a meaningful way. Find a more challenging job.
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#53Try waking up at as early and walking a few miles each morning. Has improved my mental health a ton.
lifting is great but walking is so easy to get started and be consistent
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#54I see you mention over indulging gaming. This provides one of the biggest dopamine hits, and if you're playing non stop everything else will be a bit dull (including the stuff you need to do in order to have a base happiness- exercise, eating well)
Pasting in a previous comment I put on here (I have no affiliation) ---
Purchase + install "cold turkey", you can set time blocks to play, or block months out entirely.
I used to game all the time, I now block games for 2-3 months, have a good weekend blow out and repeat.
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Becoming a father should be able to help with that. Gotta admit, on the first read I missed OP's announcement that he's about to become father already. Just for the record, do not have a child as an attempt to escape depression :)
I disagree. Having a fulfilling life in service to others and your family drives away depression.
May _or may not_ drive away depression. In my case it helped to exploit myself more than I thought is possible. Which eventually turned out ok, but took a few hard years of burnout, escapism and delusions.
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#56Sorry to hear this. Same situation with 100lbs of extra weight -.-
Cut out video games and I seem to be doing better. But have so many more things to tackle including my health.
I'd like to blame covid and the whole wfh crap which has made a lot of ppl colder than usual (at least that's my impression).
I'm still grateful for my beautiful family and having a job but man is it a struggle.
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am a victim of bursts of motivation and then suddenly I have zero energy to keep up with what I have been doing which was good for me. And then I slowly slip into the bad habits I thought I had gotten rid off and then motivation comes back and the vicious circle continues. I read about how important energy is, how energy management is key to everything. And the best way I read is to manage energy and not crash by t…
It's because it's complicated, your energy is the product of your physical, mental and social environment, including your body and mind. It's a resource that affected by your health as much as you perception and abilities, and in turn all of these affect each other, they are interconnected, and it's all a big jumble. Eat right, think right, move right is all you can do, but if you have an underlying condition, you we…
> simply just live in the 21st century with all of it's stresses
All the listicles which talk about ways to replenish your energy talk about various healthy habits, and mostly psychological things which isn't possible in anyone who is struggling in this century or rich enough to delegate tasks and pass on the stressors.
If we cannot effectively replenish energy or manage our energy, I wonder where does it leave us?
And it feels like with certain healthy habits you can maximize your energy levels per day and achieving that likely means you have improved your life but beyond that there isn't much you could do to make the most of it. So eventually you comprise with yourself at some point?
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#58These things happen. As I have gotten older, one of the most important things I have learned is that productivity is not a straight line. It's waves for me. Sometimes I'll be very interested and do great work, other days.. I should spend some time managing Jira or something.
Don't beat yourself up. You're not a machine. Address the things that are bringing you down by finding better replacements. Take time to form habits you prefer and let the rest sort itself out. Try to work towards small daily goals.
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#59As someone in a "rut" recently, one of the things I realized was I needed to stop telling myself the story that I'm in a rut, because describing it as a "rut" focuses on a lot of externals I can't control. When you get a flat tire you can catastrophically repeat over and over to yourself that "I've got a flat!" and point at it and run circles around the car and wonder what you're going to do and "omg I've got a flat…
I really appreciate this because it's effectively the same advice as the "it's on you, stop complaining, stop feeling sorry for yourself, etc" stuff, except it's not at all condescending or demeaning, and it has more specific useful steps. I'm no longer in the rut I was in mid-to-late pandemic but this seems like a useful attitude for other areas in which I feel stuck.
Re: Getting Out of a Rut
#60Welcome to depression. You are burned out and fighting for a dopamine hit, hence the overindulgence. From time to time you become motivated to change, which too becomes a source of dopamine, dreaming about doing it, but never following through, because you never have the energy, and motivation is just as fleeting as the high you get from porn, games and food is. The first thing you can do for yourself is changing you…
Regarding the dopamine hit, I decided to cut my coffee consumption to once a week back in May. (Also basically quit Twitter, though that was both positive and negative stimulation, so maybe it doesn't quite apply here). I knew I took it as an escape from difficult parts of work. It sometimes worked, it helped me power through stuff in the moment, but I had a hunch that it somehow was holding me back in the long run. Good to hear a similar thing echoed here. Perhaps my decision is paying off now.