WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Have you ever experienced a stressor or situation that left you feeling unmotivated to perform day-to-day activities? If you are thinking, “Yes, I have felt that way,” you may be experiencing situational listlessness.
For the last several weeks, many individuals may have experienced feelings of listlessness due to environmental changes. Being unmotivated doesn’t necessarily mean you are depressed or experiencing symptoms of depression. You may simply be adapting to a change in your life and adapting to something new takes time.
Listlessness due to the current environmental changes may bring emotions of fear about the future. This may consist of isolative behaviors brought on by fear or simply because of requirements to socially distance yourself from others, difficulty focusing and changes in eating/sleeping patterns.
While some of these changes mirror symptoms of depression, they are simply examples and normal reactions to current times.
Just like your situation can be influenced by environmental changes, so can your psychological health. If before the stressor or the COVID-19 pandemic you were more motivated in your day-to-day activities and now find it difficult to engage in any activity because you lack motivation, you can take small steps to help.
Below are some of the steps you can take:
- Set an alarm to wake up at a specific time every day. If you are back at work, this is not an issue but for tele-working folks this is a great start. Try to pick the time you would normally wake up for work.
- Attempt to create a schedule with breaks or exercise built in. Take a short walk for 15 minutes. Garden or engage in meditation.
- Connect with others by inviting someone to your home while practicing social distancing or skype/video chat. Connection is important. PEOPLE NEED PEOPLE.
- Schedule time to engage in something you enjoy: reading, listening to music, watching a movie. This is about you relaxing.
- Maintain health by eating healthy and getting the amount of sleep your body needs (6-8 hours is recommended for adults).
- Find your focus. Being home can come with a lot of distractions, but try to create an environment for work production that has as few distractions as possible. Earbuds may be an effective way to stay focused or noise cancelling headphones.
For confidential assistance, call 937-701-1124.