I thought this article on Languishing: What it is and How to Help Yourself was a pretty good read that helped me identify a pattern in the blah-ness I’ve been feeling as of late. Full disclosure that I am formally diagnosed with clinical depression, but I fall into a category of “moderate depression” that sometimes seems to hit the same snags as languishing; it’s seemingly not obvious to everyone when I’m suffering. Sometimes it feels like I need to have a catastrophe, completely break down, to get the help I need. But this article gave me some concrete (and better) ideas for how to get help & help myself. A few I particularly liked are

• Get into the flow! A flow state – doing something just challenging enough to call your attention but not frustrate you – can help break up the languishing and stimulate confidence. For me, I like to doodle or make collages.
• Gratitude practice! I have an app called Morning! that reminds me each day to say thanks for three things and list three things that would make my day great. When I do this regularly, I really do feel better. It just reminds me about the things that make me smile, and reminds me to do them during the day!
• Finding a new challenge & setting small goals My current new challenge is training for a sprint triathalon! I’m excited about it – it gives me something to look forward to – and I’ve been very stringent about setting small, attainable goals like running three times a week (I know I won’t do more than that) and buying myself a bike to train with (I’ve wanted one for a while, so it’s a 2-for-1 goal that’ll also bring me that post-shopping dopamine hit).
• Connecting with other folks As much as it’s hard for me to socialize sometimes, I do find that sharing things like this brings me a bit of meaning and happiness.