For me, one of the hardest parts of life has always been figuring out how to move forward
when I feel like I’ve truly hit rock bottom. When I talk about hitting rock bottom,
I’m talking about those times when you feel like your life can’t possibly get any worse,
or you’ll never be lonelier than you are today, or you couldn’t do anything right at all even if
your life depended on it. And when that happens to me, in addition to being really depressed,
I also just feel really lost. Because in moments like that, it’s not just about knowing
what to do or how to do it — it’s also about finding the motivation to do anything at all.
Situations like that don’t just make me feel really depressed. They also make me feel powerless
and helpless, like no matter what I do or how hard are try, it’s just not going to get better. I feel
stuck in a really horrible situation, and even though I think that I can’t take it anymore, I
also think that I’m just too tired to do anything about it. And that’s a pretty tough place to be.
Unfortunately, most of us are going to feel like this as some point or another in our lives.
Whether it be because of school, money, our situation at home, or our relationships,
or some combination of all of the above, we’re probably going find ourselves in a situation
where we feel like everything that could have gone wrong
actually has gone wrong, and we’re going to wonder: what am I supposed to do?
As someone who’s struggled with mental health for a long time,
I can tell you that while it’ll never be easy to dig yourself out of this kind of situation,
it can definitely become a lot easier than it is now. In this video I’ll share with
you some of the best strategies I’ve learned to make that happen.
For those of you who’ve hit rock bottom,
here’s the ultimate guide to getting your life back on track.
When I hit rock bottom, I always try to reset myself mentally and give myself clean slate.
I’ll try to do a few different things that make me feel like I can start from scratch, without the
burden of past failures or disappointments. And most of the time, the first thing I do is clean
up my room – because when I’m feeling depressed, my bed doesn’t get made, clothes pile up on the
floor, and my desk just gets covered in papers. And when that happens, I almost start to feel
claustrophobic – like there’s so much stuff piled up that there’s no room left for me.
But cleaning my room makes me feel refreshed and gives me a sense of control over my own space.
Psychologist Sherrie Bourg describes it like this: “unlike a cluttered space, an uncluttered room
won’t overstimulate your senses, distract you, make relaxation difficult or trigger guilt for
letting things get out of control”. And I agree. When my room is clean, I can actually relax and
direct my thoughts towards what really matters, which helps me start to get my life back on track.
after all, a decluttered space equals a decluttered mind. and that also applies to your virtual space!
so this is what my homepage for notion looks like, and let's take a closer look!
as you can see, I like to keep my notion pretty simple but other people like it more complicated
notion is super customizable so you can tailor it to fit how you want
or what your team wants because you can actually collaborate on it too.
sooo how I use notion is I have a set of weekly tasks and then afterwards I have categories for academics: university and mcat
I've actually known about notion for a long time and I used notion to specifically study for my mcat
because they have a really cool toggle feature. So instead of just writing regular notes, I would actually ask myself a question
and then write the answer within the toggle feature
another example would be my projects category, for example my YouTube in which I just have two pages
one for video ideas for this YouTube channel, and one for video ideas for my second channel which doesn't exist yet
but will in like, a month.
also on my front-page, I have my personal category which includes my habit tracker, reading list, job applications,
and my journal, so this is an example of my habit tracker. if it looks really complicated to set up, I got it from a template
there's plenty of templates online or on the notion website itself
notion allows you to take notes, manage tasks, set goals, habits and so much more.
and you can save time and increase productivity and make it easy for everyone to find the information that they need
sign up for notion with my link in the description box, or sign up with this link right here:
another thing I like to do is to actually get dressed, even when I dont have anywhere to
go. I know I’m not the only one who likes to spend all day in my pyjamas watching Netflix.
And honestly, when you don’t have anything to do, chilling all day can be pretty great.
But when you hit rock bottom half-way through the semester, you can’t afford to just lounge around
all day – you have to get up and get things done. Whether its homework, chores, or just getting out
of the house to see some friends, putting on some clothes is actually a pretty effective way
to get going. According to Dr. Aurore Bardey, our outfits actually prepare our mind for whatever
we’re doing and give us a sense of control over our environment. So even if we’re not actually
leaving the house, getting dressed in the morning can put us in the right mood to get stuff done.
Lastly, here’s the most important thing – find a way to separate your present self
from the past by doing something that marks a new chapter in your life. Personally,
I like to do something that I haven’t done in a while. So, when I’ve been stuck inside for a
long time, feeling depressed and unmotivated, I’ll encourage myself to go for a run, go to the gym,
or just a walk – even a short one – and I’ll think of it as the first step in a new chapter
where I build a happier, healthier me. You’ve all heard the expression
“this is the first day of the rest of your life”. This is how you actually get there.
Often, I’ll come back from my run, gym session or walk with a lot more motivation than I had
before because I feel like I’ve done something to be proud of. Because when you’ve hit rock bottom,
even something as simple as going for a run is an accomplishment. And honestly, it doesn’t really
matter what you chose to do – the important thing is to force yourself to do something, something
that shocks you a little bit and snaps you out of the headspace you were in before. Because
if you’re able to jump over that first hurdle, what’s to stop you from jumping over the next?
If there’s one thing I know, it’s that nothing in life lasts forever.
So why should we keep digging ourselves deeper into a hole rather than trying to climb out?
And I know what you’re thinking: “climbing out is hard, and I’m tired. Every time I
try to climb out, life just drags me back down. I just feel stuck.” And I get it,
I’ve been there too. Sometimes climbing out of a hole is really hard – but it’s never impossible,
and there are always things you can do to make your job a little bit easier, one day at a time.
1. Treat yourself with respect.
It’s easy to be self-critical – I used to do this all the time, and sometimes still do. When I got a
bad grade, the first thing I would tell myself was that I was that I was too stupid to ever amount to
anything. And when I felt depressed, I would blame myself for my own depression. Sometimes I would
even tell myself that I deserved it. Until at some point I realized that, despite what I thought,
failure and disappointment were universal – no one goes through life without making mistakes,
even serious ones. It’s not something that I should be holding against myself.
Remember that so many successful people hit rock bottom at some point in their lives – what
matters isn’t how they fell, but how they picked themselves back up. The key is never to give up
on yourself or your abilities to succeed just because you’ve hit a low point in your life,
even when it's a really, really low one. Think back to all of the good things you’ve
done in life, all of your accomplishments and everything you’re proud of, and tell yourself
that you still have that same potential – if you did it once, then you can definitely do it again.
2. Put things into context
When you hit rock bottom, it’s really easy to think that your whole world is falling apart.
You feel like things can’t possibly get any worse and you’ll never know happiness again.
So how do we deal with thoughts like that? For me, the most helpful thing is to direct my thoughts
and intentions towards the future. I remind myself that my life is going to on for a really long time
and that nothing is completely decided in advance. The world is a really big, beautiful place with so
much to do and so many opportunities to find joy and happiness. When I think about things this way,
I see so much ahead of me: memories made with my closest friends, new places to
discover around the world, not to mention my entire career which hasn’t even started yet.
I realized that, when I consider my current problems in the context of my entire life,
they lose a lot of their significance. My life is so big, and my problems are usually
much smaller. But they feel really big because I’m focusing so much of my attention on them.
Just hink about it – does your bad mark on last year’s bio midterm
ruin your life like you thought it would? Probably not, even though it definitely
felt like it would at the time. When you put these things in context, you become a lot less
anxious and more optimistic. It becomes so much easier to take the good with the bad and
remember that life goes on, with each day being a new opportunity to work towards your future.
I used to think that I was the only one who understood my pain.
No one else is going through exactly what I’m going through,
so no one else can know exactly how I feel. I’ve got my own problems, my own insecurities, And
in a way, that’s true! All of our experiences are unique, and no one person is exactly like another.
But here’s what isn’t true: it’s not true that other people don’t have similar experiences and
feelings to me. It’s not true that people can’t ever relate to me or aren’t struggling as badly
as I am even if their problems aren’t exactly the same. And most importantly, it’s not true that
no one else can help because, in the end, people aren’t that different from each other. Even though
we come from different backgrounds struggle with different things, we all share the same goal – to
be healthy and happy with our own lives. And that’s something that none of us can do alone. So
don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends for support and let them know when you’re not doing
so well. Sometimes having a shoulder to lean on – or to cry on, haha – can go a really long way.
Just make sure that you’re there for them when they need you too.
Sometimes what we really
need is help from mental health professionals who have the knowledge and tools that most of us don’t
have to help ourselves. And guys, that’s okay. If you’re lucky enough to have access to resources
like psychologists, doctors, or guidance counsellors, never feel ashamed of using
them. These people are there to help us with problems that we all struggle with,
and there’s never any shame in admitting that we can’t do this alone – because no one can.