I’m sure many people can relate to the feeling of waking up and, as the day gets going, nothing seems to be right. When these days happen, everyone gets on my nerves. Maybe it’s gray outside, but maybe it’s not. I find myself grasping for explanations, things to blame for this sudden low.
I know I am not the only one who experiences funks. I fluctuate between periods of positivity and hope, and then a series of events will occur to facilitate a certified funk. Maybe it’s understandable, but maybe I am just suddenly feeling negative. I can find it really easy (unfortunately) to slip into funks, and they can last for weeks, often much harder to pull myself out of than it was to land in.
When I’m in a funk, I am fully aware of it. I get discouraged, thinking, all I have to do is think positive and I won’t feel low anymore. However, that is much easier said than done. When I’m in a funk all of my insecurities and worries culminate in a cycle of thought in my head. It can take me a long time for the voice encouraging me to look on the bright side to actually kick in. And sometimes it doesn’t.
Positive and negative moods are just part of feeling emotions. People always say you need to experience the bad to appreciate the good. But it can still feel so weighty and suffocating to be stuck in a bad mood. I often wonder why I can be having a perfectly positive day, and with the flip of a switch, everything turns negative. Homework: boring. College: useless. Friends: nonexistent. Clothes: horrible and unflattering. Hair: awful. The list goes on.
It’s a bit shameful admitting how negative I can get, but I suppose it helps to realize these thoughts in order to snap out of them. Eventually something will remind me that I have great friends who are supportive. Something will happen to make me see that the work I find tedious can actually be interesting and useful. Somebody will restore my faith in people.
It seems that after so long of slipping into funks I should be able to prevent it or have a set technique to get out of it, but I don’t yet, and that’s okay. Sometimes it’s hard to change our situations and mindsets, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. That’s what I tell myself, because I know it’s true deep down. Don’t get me wrong, it can get very disheartening feeling like I’m unable to turn things around and getting disappointed in myself when I don’t. But it’s just a matter of time to find that hope again, to not sweat the small stuff, to believe in a brighter future, or simply even a brighter tomorrow.