… can feel like too much at times.
And let’s face it, it’s pretty demoralising to feel unable to take even the first step to start off your day. Sigh. But hey, it happens. Some days getting out of bed is too much, so I’m going to suggest some tiny little steps you might be able to take towards this goal.
You may find that once you’ve read them you don’t actually need as much help as you thought and you can manage to get up and get on your way – great, well done!
You may find that you can only do a couple of these little steps, or maybe only one for now, and that’s ok too – you’ve still made some progress, however small! Wait for a bit, relax and regroup. Try to get a bit further a bit later if you can. Or accept that you’ve made a start and that might be it for today. You still made some progress and on days like this – take that win!
And it might be that none of these are accessible to you today, in which case, I’m so sorry that you are having such a horrible day. I want to reassure you that I have been just as incapable at times. I know it’s horrendous. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But as I write this I am thinking of you, with deep empathy in my heart for you and the pain you are feeling right now. I hope you can feel even a tiny bit of that care as you read this. Please come back and try again tomorrow x
If you need urgent help, please use one of these links to get some support:
Samaritans if you are in the UK, or
International Mental Health Charities if you are elsewhere.
Moving towards getting out of bed
- try lying with your eyes open for a while
- try opening the curtains/blinds to let some light in
- try kicking the covers off for a while
- try sitting up for a while
- try reading a book or playing on your phone for a while (but please don’t look at stuff that brings you down, that won’t help right now)
- try deciding to stay in your pyjamas for a while after getting up – this removes the next stage of decision-making about getting washed/dressed etc
Those are my ideas for now. Feel free to try one or more and let me know how it goes / whether it helped / what else I should add to this list in the comments.
It’s also really important you know that after each suggestion it’s absolutely ok to lie down again / stay in bed longer anyway etc. You’re not on this page because one tiny tip will make things magically better, and that’s not my experience either. Do what you can. Take your time. Give yourself that time. And remember, it’s ok to accept that it might be too much for you today – in which case, take care, and please come back and try again tomorrow x