What to do if you feel bored or bland, self help tips

I hope you are enjoying the holidays! I wanted to do something a little different today, I wanted to write about what to do if you feel bored or bland or icky at any time of the year, it’s how to get out of a funk and how to improve your mood. Keep in mind these feelings are totally normal and essential at times, whatever your walk of life.

PS please note these really don’t intend to tackle the pain and complexity of conditions like depression, these intend to help only at surface level, but I hope you will find them helpful!

1. Look at what your response is to the feeling – you realise by wanting to get out of it you are only caring for yourself. Try to be proud of yourself for only wanting the best for yourself and for what you do for you, life isn’t about how you feel, you can’t help how you feel, but there’s a lot to be said for you looking out for you.

2. Don’t trust it – it’s only internal, it doesn’t reflect what is external and really going on, it’s a lie formulated by your brain. It’s actually contradictory to the lovely things around you like the loveliness of dark and bed, the comfort of rain on the roof, the promise of spring. Let it in but don’t trust it.

3. Wrap yourself up all cosy – in your ballet wrap sweater, with a hot bath and fairy stories. Curl up like a cat and watch a magical or historical film with a warm drink. It’s all about creating a nice little refuge, like a big cosy hug, with the things around you.

4. Look at your achievements – reach out and connect to solid surroundings and physical things around you that bring you joy. Often when we feel like that, we are floating about, we forget all about the things we did recently and the exciting physical projects we have on board that spur and generate a huge amount of inspiration. It’s rewarding to step back and reflect on the marks you are making on the world.

5. Set up a charity jar or create a plan to go green – is one of the most magical things you can do. We can make a little plan of things we can do, creating petitions in your area is a really great idea as operating in numbers is a great way to achieve goals, figure out where a new tree can grow, plan to create wildlife boxes, swap to using a bamboo toothbrush, even a litter cleanup is so much more powerful than you realise, helping to get plastic where it needs to go!

   Encourage life to bloom in forgotten areas, be a secret superhero and plant wildflowers, volunteer to tend to left behind spaces, find out who owns what in your area.

6. Plan, create and manage some wildlife boxes – full of wildflowers to create a little haven for butterflies and bees and even birds in your city, with so many beautiful natural areas being slewn over with concrete every day, your efforts will matter so much! I really recommend these 100% bee friendly wildflower seeds, they are so affordable and perfect for this.

6. Spend some time playing Scrabble with your loved ones in candlelight – how funny it is that we believe today that everything we do must have some specific, productive purpose – and how limiting that is! Spending time in soft mood lighting evokes a feeling of cosiness and relaxation and being with your loved ones means extra oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) and a great sense of belonging and familiarity.

7. Take away the stigma – and learn how common and often it is that people feel like that, we go about feeling everyone is happy all the time and end up measuring everything against this standard we have of ‘happiness’. We only ever see people at surface value, we only see what they want us to see. Instead, get rid of happiness and replace it with pride for doing what you do. Reaching out to others helps both them and you, to feel less lonely and to experiment and get creative in expressing yourself, you could create a different kind of instagram account that documents dark, misty photos, or anything that soothes your soul.

8. Sew your dream dress for summer by candlelight – find pretty fabrics and Gunne Sax style dresses on ebay or thrift them to make something totally new, a wedding dress works so well for this, something with a beautiful bodice.

9. Make and eat alcoholic fudge – or truffles or cake. Lick the spoon.

10. Lean back in to it – better understand your dark side, explore your emotions and explore this side of you. Just simply, let go and sink back in to it. By always seeking out of it, or trying to push it down, we struggle even more. Conserve the effort for better days, work with what’s here with you.

11. Roam somewhere – embrace that side of you, dwell where you need to and adventure where it’s taking you. Surround yourself in nature, visit a church or special place, sometimes I just long to be in the dark corridor of an old home or castle or dwelling, with staircases that kind of feel like ghosts climb them at night. The act of just going will release endorphins that help to make things feel exciting again.

You don’t have to be happy, it matters so little, as feelings are so temporary, just see what you can do and where you can go.

12. Connect with olden times – learn about people over a hundred years ago and how they lived, get a real connection to them, whether that’s visiting old homes or an old church in your area or treasuring and caring for old artifacts. Learning about your culture can be powerful, even watching a documentary, or learning old stories!

13. Remind yourself you’re successfully handling it – and you’re doing better than you probably realise. You probably won’t feel like you’re handling it but know that you are handling it like a boss, as best you can, nonetheless. It’s one of your natural capabilities to handle it. Even if you don’t feel like you’re handling it, you’re handling it.

14. Connect to your roots – growing things is exciting, a nice little way to feel powerful and take getting food in to your own hands. Find out what grows best in your area, learn more and learn more and then give back to your community and help to feed it, donate to food banks and the homeless. A big part of human instinct is to nuture and protect.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope this was helpful ♡

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14 Comments

  1. the creation of beauty is art.
    December 29, 2019 / 10:56 pm

    This is such a powerful post. I've definitely been feeling that way the last few days (a combination of being under the weather and Christmas being over) so this really resonated with me. There are so many wonderful suggestions! Thank you!
    the creation of beauty is art.

    • elizabeth
      January 7, 2020 / 12:36 am

      Aw thank you so much! I'm so happy you liked it and found it helpful, sorry I am late to reply 😀 January is definitely a tough kind of month ♡

  2. Diana Maria
    December 30, 2019 / 5:00 pm

    This is such a lovely post, I find that I feel this way when I feel unmotivated or less confident, so letting myself feel and then looking at changes to make always helps. Thank you for sharing this! xx

    My Lovelier Days

    • elizabeth
      January 7, 2020 / 12:37 am

      Aw I'm so happy you liked it, thank you so much for the lovely comment! 😀 ♡

  3. Packers And Movers Ahmedabad
    December 31, 2019 / 12:13 pm

    Your site is truly cool and this is an extraordinary moving article. @ Packers and Movers Ahmedabad

  4. RoseBonniee ~
    December 31, 2019 / 10:20 pm

    Your photos are so soft, love it ♥ ☃❄❅

    Blog de la Licorne

  5. Moonsparkle
    January 1, 2020 / 5:45 pm

    Thank you for this, Elizabeth. I've been going through a depressive period this past year (I have depression and anxiety and find that sometimes one is worse than the other). At this time of year there's pressure to be all happy, but it's ok if we're not. I especially like Nos. 1 and 2 on the list, and I also enjoy learning about olden times.

    Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. 🙂 Happy New Year!

    Zania
    x

    livingseasonal.blogspot.com

  6. Packers and Movers Ahmedabad
    January 2, 2020 / 12:01 pm

    Excellent Blog! I would like to thank for the efforts you have made in writing this post. I am hoping the same best work from you in the future as well. I wanted to thank you for this websites! Thanks for sharing. Great websites! @ Packers and Movers Ahmedabad

  7. Julia
    January 2, 2020 / 4:19 pm

    The charity jar idea is wonderful! I should definitely do something like that this year. Knowing that you are helping others can only make you feel so much better, even when you don't feel so good. Thank you for sharing these Elizabeth, I hope you have a great 2020!

    Julia x
    Last Post: The Life Lessons I Learned in 2019 | juliaspeaksbeauty.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-life-lessons-i-learned-in-2019.html

  8. Mica
    January 4, 2020 / 6:48 am

    These are great tips to help get out of a funk !I find listening to music can be a real mood booster too! 🙂

    Hope that you have a lovely weekend ahead of you! 🙂 We will be having a quiet one.

    Away From Blue

  9. samkoba_
    January 5, 2020 / 5:21 pm

    hi, your blog is very inspiring. Greetings, don't forget to visit my blog at travelkoba.tk

  10. Gemma Etc.
    January 6, 2020 / 1:34 am

    Such lovely tips. I love the idea of setting up a wildlife box, that's such a cute idea xx

    GemmaEtc.com

  11. UpYourVlog
    January 31, 2020 / 4:59 pm

    Great tips! Good for days when you're bored!

    upyourvlog.com

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    April 7, 2020 / 9:30 pm

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