Hi, I'm Doctor Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist
and I make mental health education videos.
Today, I'm talking about how to stay motivated
and positive while you're stuck at home
and this is based on a viewer question from Kelly.
And she says,
I was diagnosed with bipolar two and anxiety disorder
almost 10 years ago.
Right now my work is shut down due to COVID-19,
so I'm finding myself with a lot of extra time on my hands.
I have a general list of things that I'm working on
that I may or may not get to from one day to the next,
but generally nothing that needs to be finished ASAP.
The biggest issue I seem to be having, however,
is that some days I get a lot done
and have tons of energy, not mania,
but a similar shorter term energy burst
and then other days I get absolutely nothing accomplished
and just want to lay in bed and watch TV
or be a bump on a log.
It frustrates me because I wish my energy levels
could be more consistent from one day to the next
so I might be able to plan out longer term projects
over the next month
and know what I can realistically accomplish.
Any thoughts on keeping consistent energy levels
and avoiding the ups and downs as much?
Or is this something that is expected
given the current environment
and I just need to roll with it?
Thanks a million.
Thank you, Kelly, for this question.
I think what's likely happening with you
is that the effect of stress from the pandemic situation
is wearing you down
and affecting your motivation and energy levels.
And also the lack of structure from not working
is also having a negative effect.
The mind is powerful, and stress and muscle tension
can make you exhausted and have little energy to do things
and lessen your stamina to be able to complete things.
And this may account for why you have these ups and downs
and an inconsistent level of energy.
And this can be the case for anyone
with this current level of stress that we're all in.
You may start your day feeling good
and have a plan of what you wanna do
and then you may hear some bad news
or some situation in your household derails your enthusiasm
and sinks too into a low state or an anxious state.
Some people respond to this level of stress
with a lot of anxiety, but some people can respond
by feeling more low and helpless.
Boredom with your routine task
can also sink your spirit and your motivation.
So here's what I suggest.
If you aren't doing this already, set a routine each day
to bring back some structure to your days.
It doesn't have to be the same set of activities,
but you should aim for as regular as a schedule as possible.
And I'm glad you have some projects
but they don't have to be short term projects necessarily.
And what I mean by this is you could schedule every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to noon
to be the time that you work on projects.
If you're not done by noon, put it away
knowing that you'll get back to it in two days.
And this is just an example of how you can integrate
an ongoing project into a regular schedule.
You may have things that just can't be spread over two days,
and that's okay.
The more important thing though,
is that you set aside a consistent time for your projects.
If you finish your project and need something else to do
use that time for project planning.
Then maybe one to two is a time for house chores,
in two to three physical activity time and so on.
On the days, when you feel like a bump on a log,
have a reserve list of activities
that you'll force yourself to do,
and we call this behavioral activation.
Behavioral activation is an actual therapy
used for depression to pull people
out of the downward spiral of inactivity.
Getting up and getting moving actually improves your mood,
even if the activity is something small.
So in your case, you already have days
when you're active, and that's good.
You can take that one step further
by creating a routine that you stick to,
then create a list of small completable activities
that you can fall back on when you feel void of motivation.
Because sometimes when you get like that,
your mind can just go blank
when you start thinking about what you can do.
So you want to have a list ready for those days.
Plan to do at least one to two things on the list
to get you moving.
What kind of activities am I talking about?
I'm talking about things like do a jigsaw puzzle.
If you don't have one, ordered one from Amazon.
Do something self care related,
like give yourself a pedicure,
take a virtual tour of the Smithsonian online,
explore the planets and constellations
on the solarium website or app.
You can turn your home into a planetarium
and learn what's in the sky where you live,
or what it looks like from other places,
or you could do something good for someone else,
like tell someone you know how much they mean to you,
or call someone and check in on them.
I'll have some resources on my website of activities
that you can do.
The idea is that you get moving,
doing something that gives you pleasure
as a way to keep active,
and activity begets more activity.
And it doesn't have to be something that involves exercise,
even though that's good, too.
In this case, mental activity,
like a virtual trip to the museum, counts as activity.
And then the second part of what I've suggested
is using acts of kindness to lift your mood.
In this time of threat and fear.
showing love and kindness to others is another way
to give yourself a mental boost
while making someone else feel good too.
It's like a two for one.
So hang in there, Kelly.
Thanks for your question.
I'll see you text time.