Okay I've been thinking about this a lot lately and had to spit it out somewhere.
I used to run group therapy as a substance abuse counselor and we primarily used a cognitive behavioral therapy base. For those who have any interactions with the therapy world, you'll probably have an idea of what this is, even if you don't know it by that name. Essentially, this therapy model is based in the idea that our thoughts impact our feelings which impact our behavior and by changing one of these things, we can then improve the other area's outcomes. From this, we can gain many coping skills whether that's cognitive restructuring, behavioral changes and/or working on identifying feelings and how to cope with them when we are having them.
Circling back to the original point, I have been thinking a lot about behavioral activation lately. I have struggled in many ways throughout my life and I've learned a lot of things to help me get through the day without it being so scathing. This coping skill is my favorite because it can be applied to so many different areas of life. Especially when paired with other coping strategies.
Ever been down bad with an illness? You know the kind, where you've laid up in bed for days, barely cognitive with a fever? You feel less sick after the fever breaks but also feel gross from sweating and you don't really wanna move. But instead of listening to your bed's siren call, you forced yourself to shower and had more energy by the time you stepped out to dry off? Have you ever been in a really bad mood and then turned on a song you really enjoy and you felt a little bit better by the end of it?
Those are moments of behavioral activation.. It's little things usually that make the biggest difference in day to day life. (Especially when breaking out of patterns that are holding us back)
The trick to this is that motivation does not come from within like most of us assume. Most folks believe that they can wait for a "right time" to start doing something or they want to wait to feel up to doing the thing. Like we'll magically have more energy and excitement if we time it right. Typically action begets motivation. By moving our bodies and doing something (again, even if it's a small task) we will then be motivated to do more.
So, if you're a person who struggles with low energy levels or not wanting to get outta bed and do the things, maybe try some behavioral activation! (I fondly call it "doing the damn thing")
3 Behavioral activation things that help me (as a small list for examples and a place to start for anyone interested in trying to help themselves):
1. "Go Mode" Shoes. It's silly, but keep a pair of shoes that you only wear to do tasks. If you have a pair of sneakers you wear every day when you go out, you can use those. There's no need to buy a fancy pair of shoes or anything. But simply putting on those shoes every time you start doing tasks will train your brain to associate putting the shoes on with being active. So eventually, putting those shoes on will help cue your brain that you need more energy for tasks. (You can create other cues for your brain like this through repeated behavior with other things: i.e. drinking a specific tea before getting ready for bed every night)
2. Music and playlists. Most people can easily name a song that makes them happy, or sad. I have playlists for songs for different moods. (Protip: sometimes trying to go from irate/spitting mad or just super amped up upset to calm can be a trial; if you're a person who gets more irritated by super happy music when you're upset then try stair stepping in energy of the music until you can get to something mellow or happy)
3. It sounds so basic (like when an IT guy says to turn a thing off then back on) but bear with me: set realistic goals for yourself (you know, like SMART goals). It has to be reasonable goal for this to work though because we want to accomplish it and have that happy chemical release in our brain to help us want to do more. When I started, I'd use my phone's notepad and write down one thing I was grateful for and one goal for the next day. Eventually I started a system where I list three things I'm grateful for, and three goals (one for work/school, one for home/family, and one for self/fun). Again this is a start small and work up to bigger tasks situation. In addition, it's okay if you set a lofty goal and you don't achieve it as you'd have liked. Take a step back and reassess the goal then move forward. It's about giving yourself the chance to feel those achievements when you can. Especially if things that are considered basic tasks are sometimes insurmountable for you some days.
There really is so much more that goes into this as far as defining values and what brings a person joy in life, as well as breaking negative thought patterns and building new more positive ones. I love discussing therapy things like this and miss having discussions about them in a more professional/academic setting.
I hope someone out there finds something helpful in here, even if the suggestions seem cheesy
