Why I Don’t Feel Like Myself And How To Deal With It — Inside 5am

Have you ever woke up one day in the morning, going through your usual routine, having your coffee and something struck you out of nowhere? “I don’t feel myself like myself today’ or “I dont feel like myself anymore.”

I’m sure most of us have had the experience of feeling really out of place or not ourselves on some days for no particular reasons. Sometimes it is just a little bit, and other times it can be overwhelming. The best part is that it can be difficult to explain why you feel this way, and you cannot even reason why you feel that way.

Many reasons and factors may contribute to these feelings, affecting how you feel and perform. However, I want you to remember that you are not alone, and you are not the only one dealing with similar issues every day.

In this article, I’m going to give you some great ways to help you get rid of this vicious cycle and learn to enjoy the feeling of positivity without letting your mind get too distracted.

When and why I don’t feel like myself

So why I don’t feel like myself?

When the “I don’t feel like myself” kicks in, sometimes it does take a while to get back into the flow. Personally, I feel myself going through a couple of steps to get myself back on track. Here are some steps that can help you identify the issues and move forward from the negative thoughts.

Step 1

Acknowledge the symptoms indicating that you are not yourself. That you are not where you want to be, and you are not willing to compromise at that moment.

Step 2

Look around and identify what part is not right. What part of you is not being where you want to be, and what could have possibly triggered the feelings? Is this related to stress or lifestyle changes? What is creating your negative thinking?

Step 3

Be clear on what it is that you don’t feel like doing. No bullshit, right to the point, you don’t want and do not feel in the right frame of mind to do it.

Step 4

It is simple, identify what you want to do at this moment.

The thing here is that it is normal; everyone has bad days in our everyday life, and what is important is, to be honest with yourself at that moment so that you can help yourself move forward.

Look around, identify what is wrong, what is not working for you and what is your goal for the day; you will get back after a while, but you need to”make peace” with yourself for that moment, it will not help you if you chose denial because it will simply lead to more frustrations and you will not be productive.

In other words, you still go about your daily chores and work but in a slightly different approach.

For example, when you normally bring your kids to school, you will wave and greet other parents, or when you go to work, you will call your colleagues and get them coffee along the way. This very moment requires you NOT to do that, as you are just not feeling right. Life goes on, just a small alteration in the routines, that’s all.

Signs that you don’t feel like yourself

We all have times when we have low self esteem and feel out of sorts when the sun seems a little bit lower than usual and the rain looks colder. Your emotion can be triggered by your loved one, the weather or even a possible traumatic event that creates negative feelings. Usually, you will see very clear signs you may not feel like usual yourself and not normal.

Starts to lose interest

You begin to lose interest in things that you are usually passionate or enthusiastic about. You start to feel a lack of energy and motivation to do things you used to enjoy, and your mood swings are very clear. You start becoming less productive and decrease overall performance.

Feeling exhausted

You start to feel tired and may experience possible insomnia and irritability symptoms. The negative thoughts cause you to become anxious and create plenty of unnecessary overthinking of the situation. Due to the lack of sleep, your energy starts to decrease, you start to lack concentration, and you may not be able to focus on any of your work.

Easily Irritated

When you don’t feel like yourself, you are irritable. There is probably a lot of emotion and negative feelings running through your head. Feelings of anxiety, frustration, anger, and depression are all common when someone feels like they’re not being their best self. You will also be more likely to make a rash decision in the face of stress, and you tend to lose control of your temper more easily.

What should I do if I don’t feel like myself

So when you are not feeling right, what can you do and how to turn your feelings around?

It may seem silly, but a big part of becoming comfortable in your skin is being able to identify when you’re feeling uncomfortable. Sometimes we don’t realize that something about ourselves isn’t quite right, but others can pick up on it easily.

If you’re not sure whether you’re feeling anxious, insecure, or stressed, it may be a good idea to talk to someone you trust, and maybe even a professional counselor or therapist to help you identify the possible causes and issues you are facing.

You can also try some of the steps provided below and control the situation to the best of your ability.

Focus On What You Can Control

When you’re feeling unbalanced, it’s important to take care of yourself. So don’t stress about what you can’t control. When you’re feeling a bit off, try to stay focused on what you can control.

You have to figure out how to make the best of whatever comes your way in your everyday life. The secret is that it doesn’t matter whether you control the events of your life or they control you. The important thing is that you decide what’s going to happen. You get to choose the outcome, and allowing you to keep the negative thoughts in check is all that matters.

Getting grounded

When you are not yourself, your moods, feelings, perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors change all the time, and you have no idea when and how these changes will happen. They appear out of nowhere, and you find yourself reacting or acting in ways you would never have expected just a few moments earlier.

The problem is sometimes, you cannot even begin to identify and understand your patterns of behavior and thought.

Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D., CRNP, it is recommended that the proper use of grounding techniques help keep yourself grounded and help you identify what is going on and what you are feeling. Give yourself a reality check. What you are experiencing is real, and some people can help you deal with these problems and feel better if this gets out of hand.

Reconnecting activities

Start by listing all of the important things to you and start doing the things you enjoy, even if it’s just for a week or one day. If you are stuck at home, there are lots of ways to keep yourself busy:

• Start cleaning out your house and decluttering your life.
• Call, visit your friends or family members.
• Look into your personal interests
• Find a hobby or craft that you enjoy.
• Visit a local park or library and read.
• Do something creative, like cooking, knitting, painting, sculpting, woodwork, embroidery or other arts and crafts.
• If you have children, take them to the playground or to an activity that they enjoy.
• Read a book.

The point is to keep your mind active by learning new things, whether a language, a skill, a musical instrument or another hobby or even simply to improve your social interaction, do something to keep your mind off things.

Breathe and meditation

Feeling not yourself when you’re doing something can be frustrating. A great way to deal with this anxiety is to breathe and meditate to help your mental health. Breathing exercises and mindfulness practices can help you calm down, refocus, and recharge your energy.

Meditation is also a good practice that focuses on stillness and relaxation. Learning how to meditate can have many benefits, including helping you relax, deal with stress, improve your mood and health condition, manage your emotions, and get you a better night’s sleep.

Stay away from toxic people

Toxic people take a large toll on your mental health and can take lots of energy and effort to be around, and if you’re not happy with yourself, it’s going to be draining. When you are already in a mood that is not ideal, they are the last type of people you want to be around. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad, and focus on what makes you happy and ignore them.

Evaluate your comfort zone

Some of these thoughts can be triggered by how you feel towards your life, your environment, and your relationship with people around you. You may feel that you are doing the same thing repeatedly, or you may be trying to please others, or you may have expectations from yourself or other people.

It is important to recognize when you are going through a pattern and to make improvements. Evaluating your comfort zone helps you identify the problems that exist in your everyday life and helps you find ways to change them.

Ask yourself, “What has been the outcome of these actions? Do you feel happy? If not, what do you want? Are you having a hard time?

Think about what you want to be doing in your life and think about the outcome you want from this new action. What will you feel like if you start doing the things that you want? Evaluate and make changes.

Give yourself some self-care

Remember always to take time for yourself, treat yourself with compassion, and take care of your physical and mental health. It is a key element of self-care as it positively impacts your overall mental well-being, which means taking time to think about yourself and your needs.

There are many ways to give yourself some TLC and always make sure to eat healthily, exercise, establish a good morning routine and have a good night’s sleep which could be just what you need to set yourself back on track.

Step away from Social Media

When we are faced with real-life situations where we don’t feel like ourselves, social media can take us away from reality. We begin to see the world through the lens of our friends and family rather than those around us in real life. You start to rely on social media for your emotional support and replace real-life interactions with those around you. It is not a place to be as there are just too many trolls around, and some can be very toxic and negative, which will do you any good, so it is highly recommended that you take a social media break.

Write your thoughts down

Sometimes you feel like something’s wrong with you. You’re not yourself, but you can’t pinpoint why. You feel like you’re not “present,” like you’re missing something, or like you’re acting out of character.

In these situations, it can help to write down your thoughts and feelings to understand better where they come from. When you start writing, you may realize that you’re just feeling stressed, or that there’s a reason you’re not yourself, and that you’re going through a particular period in your life.

You might be able to see the situation a little more clearly when you’re looking at the written words, too.

When should I be concerned that I don’t feel like myself

What should I do if I don’t feel like myself and the steps are not helping?

If you are having depressive symptoms, constant suicidal thoughts, and you cannot control your negative emotion, you will need to do more than just read my blog. Constantly having such thoughts and feelings can mean many different things if the negative feelings are not controllable. Then you might want to look into seeing a doctor or therapist to seek treatment and medication.

Have constant thoughts about how bad your life is, how hopeless you are, and that you can do nothing to change. Such symptoms are possible signs of depression which you will need professional help.

Final thoughts on I don’t feel like myself

If you’ve ever felt that you don’t feel like yourself, it could be because your brain is being flooded with too many thoughts and not enough of your thoughts. If you’re thinking more than feeling, you are not really in control of your life. And, this is a recipe for feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or unhappy. So, the key is to start thinking about your thoughts, which will help you become more in control of your life.

Originally published at https://inside5am.com on November 25, 2021.