Having a bad day?

Having a bad day

Some days things will not go your way. I’m not talking about those days when you may have some setbacks. I’m talking about those days when you just can’t seem to do anything right, when it seems that you can’t pick yourself up, brush yourself off and try again. When, no matter how you try, you can’t begin to do things the “right” way.

People describe feeling ungrounded. A general feeling of dis-ease descends into increasing anxiety. These feelings are amplified by trying harder and harder to accomplish something, which on other days, might be fairly easy to do. As a result you can begin to feel incompetent. This can spiral downward as the day wears on.

How do you pull yourself out?

Notice how you feel
Feeling somewhat anxious when facing the challenges of the day is not unusual but when the anxiety becomes sustained it can be counterproductive to continue to repeatedly try to get something done and not be successful. Tune in to how you are feeling. If your anxiety is increasing as the day goes on, back off and use some of the following strategies to help you feel more grounded and in charge.

Lower expectations
Being too hard on yourself won’t help you achieve your goals. When we are too anxious it is disabling. Back off from what you feel you have to get done. Bite off a smaller chunk to work on. Give yourself permission to NOT get everything done.

Take a break
Do something else. Get your mind off the task at hand for 15 minutes to a half hour. Take a nap (or take a powernap if a nap sounds too wimpy to you), take a walk or indulge in a conversation with a work buddy or a friend. Many people do their best work when they leave the task at hand and come back to it later.

Eat and/or drink something
You could be dehydrated or your blood sugar might be low. Either of these things can have an effect on your thinking, mood or energy level. You can become dehydrated even in the course of normal daily activities other than exercise. Regular small meals are also recommended to stay sharp.

Back on track (or not)
Recognizing you are off kilter and doing something about it may give you the chance to redeem the day. If not, surrender to the inevitable and remember, tomorrow is another day…….