Things to Do When Life Feels Heavy

A short list of things that I like to do on days when it’s hard to get out of bed.

A sad snowman

These first two months of 2022 have felt really heavy for me. I don’t know if it’s my grief, the winter, the world, or a combination of all of the above, but I’ve found myself in some pretty numbing routines. I don’t get to all of these things every day, but I’ve found that on days that I try to do all of these things, I feel a teensy bit better. I understand that these things don’t work for everyone, but I like to refer to this list when I’m feeling down to help me get out of my rut.

1. go outside — this is probably one of the most powerful things I can do during the day. I can almost immediately feel a difference in my mood when I leave my apartment and go on a walk.
2. move your body — exercise, walking, yoga, literally any form of movement has helped me so much. That feeling I get after moving my body is really really nice on days when I feel stagnant.
3. eat a warm meal — even better if I can cook a meal that day. I find cooking relaxing, but I know not everyone does. If anything, getting some warm takeout is always grounding for me.
4. drink a glass of water — sometimes, I’ll reach the middle of the day and wonder why I have a major headache. It’s most likely because I drank little to no water that day. I find that drinking water on days that I’ve cried a lot is also very grounding. It’s also something I do when I want to get myself out of my crying cycle.
5. eat something sweet — I eat sweet things all day long but I especially love having something sweet on a day when I’m a little sad.
6. clean your space — having a clean space just changes my whole mood. I am definitely not the type of person that allows myself to have a messy space, but finding a surface to clean or declutter gives me piece of mind. Making my bed is always the best start to this process.
7. take a shower — it sounds somewhat basic but washing your body under some hot water can be so rejuvenating. It’s actually such a basic task that I sometimes forget to do when I am sad.
8. read something — an escape into another world for an hour or two can also be nice when the world feels heavy. I like to do this before bed because I feel like reading calms my thoughts. I’ve noticed I sleep better when I read before going to bed.
9. listen to some good music — I like to have a playlist of fun music on hand. When I’m sad, I tend to listen to sad music and sometimes it’s good but sometimes it does not help me feel better.
10. call or hangout with a friend — this is the hardest one to do when the world feels heavy for me. Sometimes on days when I am especially sad I prefer to be alone, but I always forget that talking to someone makes me feel 10x better. I guess this is just a reminder to myself to reach out on days when I’m feeling down.