13 steps to take if you’ve lost the will to study/work

Naivety is expecting that things are always going to go smoothly and you’ll always have the motivation & the energy to study/work!

In reality, you’ll go through some highs and lows. And when lows hit, you most probably will lose the will to study (or do anything, for that matter).

I personally struggle with this; from time to time, I get overwhelmed,  start catastrophizing, and things stop making any sense!

But how do you snap out of it?

I’ve come to peace with the fact that “lows” are a part of life and that everybody has them! And so, I started to understand myself and acknowledge when I hit a low and start dealing with it by following the below:

1. Acknowledge that you’re feeling sad/depressed.
2. Cry out loudly if you want (if you can’t, just listen to a sad song. That should do the trick), or you could hit the bag at the gym.
3. Now, do something to disconnect. Avoid social media because it will increase your depression/sadness state. I tend to avoid people as well; as they have the same effect on me! You can watch a movie or go out for a walk with headphones and loud music! Remember, you want to disconnect. The idea behind disconnecting is about you disassociating yourself from the problem and looking at it as an observer.
4. Now, I prefer you sleep and not think about it.
5. Spoiler alert: This might take a few days, don’t worry. But don’t let it take more than 3 days. The more your mind is stronger, the less time you’ll need to reboot and get back to your normal routine! But it’s totally OK and fine to take time. Don’t be harsh on yourself, please!
6. Ok, after you took your time, it’s time to start journalling/writing/recording a video/voice note. You need to discuss the triggers with yourself. Why did you get into this state in the 1st place? Keep asking why to each question until you get to the root(s) of your sadness/depression.
7. After that, you can start by dealing with every single point alone.
8. Write on a piece of paper: “MY VALUES”: WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME?
9. Then close your eyes and imagine your happy place. This is something that helped me a lot in therapy actually. You close your eyes and you imagine your own heaven (who’s in it with you, where is it, what are you wearing, what are you doing, how are you feeling in your happy place).
10. Now, start writing down your goals. They don’t have to be FANCY goals. They could be something like waking up at 7 am every day. Fun Fact: your goals need to be aligned with your own values and will make you one step closer to getting to your own HAPPY PLACE!
11. Learn more about breathing. It really helps with snapping out of the emotional state you’re in!
12. Please be kind to yourself. You’re on a journey it’s totally fine & ok to not have everything figured out. We don’t come with a manual, lol. We have to discover ourselves every single day.
13. Finally, connect your goals (education, career,  job, body) goals with an emotional reason for why you’re doing this; and remind yourself of that reason every single day. Be honest with yourself about the reason; because the only way you really arrive at your happy place is by setting (and achieving) goals that are aligned with your values and what you really believe in!