Get Out of a Semester Rut or Setback with These 5 Tips

So, you started a new school year or semester pumped and full of motivation. Your creative juices were flowing, you were tackling your assignments on time, and sticking to the exercise and diet plans that you had planned out as the term began. But something happened somewhere in the semester that caught you off guard and threw you off that good mental space that you were in just a few weeks before.

It may have been a bad break up, or the end to a flourishing friendship. Maybe you received some bad news from home. Perhaps, you flunked an important test in your favorite subject, and thoughts are just not working out in your academics as you had hoped.

Whatever the reason, you now seem to have lost that state of awesomeness and that mental clarity that you had at the start of the semester. Your morale has taken a huge dip, and nowadays, you can barely make it out of bed without being dragged down by your roommate or snoozing the alarm button plenty of times.

You are a completely different person. You are now officially in a flunk, otherwise known as a rut.

Not Doing the Things You Ought to and Doing Those You Ought Not To

These are the most common symptoms of a depressive rut. If you used to love going to the gym or exercising, all of a sudden you will not feel like it, and may even totally abandon it. Likewise, if you had made it a point to meet your social circle every once a week, you will now prefer hibernating in your room. All things fall apart.

You may take up terrible habits like eating extra junk food, possibly listening to depressive mood music, and binging on videogames, alcohol, and other intoxicants. Your cheerful personality will turn into irritability, and such good habits like cleaning your room and doing your laundry will quickly be tossed out the window.

A single setback, however small, has the potential to flip your semester upside down completely. The great gains that you made in a couple of months might be overturned within a matter of days, and you may even start to fail your courses.

Therefore, if you feel yourself falling into such a place, consider these 5 practical strategies, and you will be back to your usual self in no time.

Seek Counselling

The problem with many students and people who go into these pseudo-depressive ruts is the fact that they may not be aware of their mental states, even before something major happens. A visit to your school’s guidance and counseling department may reveal whether the issue should be handled lightly or with a great abundance of caution.

The last thing you want is to be carrying around clinical depression and not knowing it. If your counselor does reveal that such is the case, you may be directed to a therapist who might help you deal with the problem from the root.

Take Some Time Off Your Regular Schedule

It is quite difficult to do the things you are used to in such a state of flunking. Instead of fighting it, why not embrace it? It may not be entirely possible to set yourself free from the burden of classes. But you can minimize the load by, say getting some help with your assignments. For example, a reliable essay writing service could help you work on those tough assignments that you just don’t have the mental capacity to tackle.

Freeing up some time will ease the pressure, and one less thing to worry about is always good for your mind.

Stay Proactive and Do Something

Don’t fall into the trap of slumping around and staying in bed all day. You don’t need to be motivated to take action. On the contrary, you may find inspiration from just taking any action, even if you don’t like it. The motivation to action sequence doesn’t need to be linear. You can go to the gym in your state of a slump and end up having the best darn workout of your entire life.

Talk or Vent to a Friend

At this point, you may be thinking, “Thanks genius, I don’t even want to look in the mirror, let alone talking to someone about my problems.” One of the reasons we go into such depressive states is because we feel quite alone. When you share your burden with someone, it’s like the valve being eased off a pressure cooker, and you never know. Maybe they’ve been through the same thing themselves and can offer you some good advice.

Break from Tradition and Try Something New

You might never have pictured yourself going to a dance class. Or maybe you had purposed to take a hike to the nearby hills but had never found the time to. Inspiration comes from the strangest and most unexpected places. Try something different, and you might just get your good juices flowing again.