I'm in a slump - how do I get out of it ?

[Giraffestory]

I am just back to work today after a week away abroad. The week was very relaxing. My life is generally super stressful, but no stress as yet on my return, which has been bliss. I am now in a slump - tired (not jetlag, I went to France), eating anything and everything, sleepy, low energy, cant be arsed at work. If I carry on, things will slip around me (work and home) and then I will be in an even bigger slump (I need a clean and tidy home, to have a clean and tidy mind, so to speak).

How do I get out of this ? There are no specific triggers I am aware of that are making me feel like this.

I feel like someone who stays at home and lays on the sofa with no get up and go, no energy .. so they lay on the sofa even more .. so they then have even less get up and go/energy .. and so the cycle continues

In my case, mood follows action. If I'm in a slump, and just wait for the slump to pass, it will get worse. And I will feel worse for being lazy and unproductive.

So I force myself into action - be proactive at work. Exetcise. Clean the bathroom.

My mood improves when I take positive action.

Sometimes that 'cycle' has to complete its go-round. Let go as best you can and wait for signs you're reviving, they'll come.

Years ago I dreamed a really good friend (who lives on another continent) told me, "Sometimes you just have to let it go to get it back." I was in a real slump (circumstantially deeper than yours, from what you've described) and I realised I had no option but to surrender to the pendulum. Once I trustingly did that, things gradually took an upswing and I soon found myself in a much better place than I'd been struggling to leave behind.

Usually drink black coffee in the morning which kickstarts an energy and don’t eat digestion tires you out - tea works in the afternoon

Or set small targets
Not going to make anything to eat until kitchen/recycling/bins/compost cleared

Or when back from holiday try and install a bit of it that made life nicer at home

So say walking around an average place which feels different but is probably just as boring as home to locals
or find time to read
or eat bread with oil instead of butter
or have fruit on the table

It’s your first day back from holiday. It’s a transition blip, not the start of a downward spiral. There’s nothing to suggest that every day will be like this, so it’s not helpful to catastrophize about slipping into slovenly habits and ruining your life. Acknowledge that it’s always a bit overwhelming to come back after a holiday, and there will be a refractory period where things seem to suck a lot, and then you’ll snap back and adjust.

Also, think about whether there is any way daily life could become a bit less stressful. Anything you could drop, any standards you don’t need to hold yourself to so firmly. Holidays can give you some helpful perspective.