Decide you are going to feel excited about your life again. Then treat it as a project. Explore, experiment, play. Commit some actual time to it - even if it an hour per week. And take the pressure off - not everything you do has to be perfect or productive.
Allocate some money towards it, if you possibly can. Even a small budget will give you the thrill of investing in your own happiness. If you really can’t start the practical movement forwards, putting a small amount of money away every week/month into an ISA is a future promise and commitment to yourself. Turn your dreams into plans.
Give yourself permission. To choose, to rest, to like what you like… not what you think you should, or what other’s expect or require from you.
Make a list of all the times in your life when you have been happiest and notice what makes them so in your memory. People? Places? What was going on for you then? Were you learning new things? Enjoying the excitement of the unknown? Grateful for relationships/community around you at that point? On the edge of a new adventure? Notice and ask questions of yourself then and now. Be honest. Can you spot any patterns in terms of what you need to thrive and what is perhaps missing for you now?
Gift a bit of your time to helping others, outside of your immediate family. Whether an elderly neighbour, a local school, a charity or a community project, acts of quiet service boost our own wellbeing as well as making a practical positive contribution to the wider world and providing perspective and compassion.
Eat well. Enjoy your food. Deny yourself nothing, Moderating the booze and sugar to stabilise your blood sugar and maintain mood and increase protein for physical strength is generally helpful as we all age but it’s not a stick to beat yourself with.
Love your body now. It’s amazing. Look at what it can do and has already done. Be kind to it, treat it well, give it some time. The good bath oil, the shower gel that makes you happy in the morning, body cream that feels like a treat. Doesn’t have to be expensive, does have to make you feel good. Respect it, look after it, honour it. Dress it well - whatever that means to YOU.
HRT definitely. And some supplements - Vitmanic D, Magnesium, fish oils for starters. Book a general review with your GP, explain how you’re feeling, get them to do the standard blood and hormone tests so you know whether there is anything else going on.
Drink plenty of water. It is a simple but real game changer.
Walk outside every day. Even if it is only for 10 minutes around the block. 30 even better. Make it your time to think. Prioritise it and make it a treat, not a chore.
Keep learning. Read, listen to podcasts, play board games, do puzzles. Keep feeding your mind and be choosy about the quality of what you mentally consume.
Make yourself a mood booster kit. A playlist that makes you feel happy and energised, another for when you are relaxing and winding down. A notebook, a soft blanket, scent - candle, perfume, body wash. TV shows or movies that delight. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, gin. Whatever your preference. A kit you can draw on when you need a bit of nurturing or consolation and are feeling ragged.
Grow something. On a windowsill, on a balcony, whether in your own garden or helping an elderly neighbour with theirs. Alternatively, volunteer at a community garden or be a willing extra pair of hands at your local allotments. All life is a cycle - seeing it in nature is comforting, somehow. Puts everything into perspective.
Stay social in real life. Time on your own is healthy and restorative but never lose the ability to engage and converse with the wider world at all ages and stages. Small interactions with meaning keep you grounded and in the moment. Thank the bus driver, ask the sales assistant how their day is going and listen to the answer. Smile and wave back at the toddler. Meeting people where they are is a gift. Online has its place but isn’t a substitute for real life.
It sounds like you might be gearing up for your next chapter and are in the dispirited lull before it gets going. Make it happen. Enjoy shaping it for yourself.