Sometimes you just don't feel like yourself.

You're not necessarily going through some enormous life crisis. Nothing particularly terrible has happened. But something feels off, and you can't quite figure out what it is.

Maybe you've been in a bad mood for a few days. Maybe something happened at work that you can't stop thinking about. Maybe someone you were dating rejected you, a friend disappointed you, or something you were really looking forward to didn't work out.

Or maybe you don't even know why you're feeling this way.

You just know that you're not feeling like the version of yourself you want to be.

You're less motivated, less excited, and less interested in doing the things you normally enjoy. You find yourself spending more time in your head, overthinking little things, and wondering when you're finally going to feel normal again.

I think one of the most frustrating parts of being in a funk is knowing how you want to feel but not knowing how to get there.

You remember what it feels like to be excited about your life, confident in yourself, and genuinely happy about where things are going. You just can't seem to find your way back to that place.

But here's what I want you to understand: Just because you don't feel like yourself right now doesn't mean you've lost that version of yourself.

And while there's no magic switch that immediately makes everything better, there are things you can do to start getting out of whatever you're in.

First, Stop Convincing Yourself That You're Going to Feel This Way Forever

When you're in a funk, it's easy to start believing that the way you're feeling right now is how you're always going to feel.

A bad day becomes a bad week. A frustrating experience turns into something you think about constantly. And eventually, you start wondering whether you're ever going to feel like yourself again.

But feelings change. Circumstances change. Your life changes.

The fact that you're having a difficult time right now doesn't mean that this is going to become your permanent reality.

I talked about this in my Guyset Podcast episode, How to Get Back Up Again, because I think one of the most important things to remember when you're feeling down is that you don't have to stay where you are.

You can acknowledge that something sucks without deciding that everything sucks.

You can have a difficult period without turning it into a judgment about your entire life.

And you can recognize that you're not feeling your best without convincing yourself that you're never going to feel good again.

That doesn't mean you should ignore what you're feeling. It means giving yourself the space to experience a difficult moment without assuming that it's going to define everything that happens next.

Get Outside and Physically Change Your Environment

One of the simplest things you can do when you're feeling stuck is to get up and go somewhere else.

Seriously.

Get off the couch. Get out of bed. Close your laptop. Put your phone down. Walk outside.

When we're in a funk, I think we have a tendency to stay in the exact same place, doing the exact same things, thinking about the exact same problems.

We sit in our apartments scrolling through our phones, replaying conversations, and thinking about whatever is bothering us. And the longer we stay there, the harder it can feel to get out of that mindset.

Sometimes the first thing you need to change is your physical environment.

Go for a walk around your neighborhood. Grab a coffee. Sit outside for a few minutes. Get some fresh air and sunlight.

You don't need to have a destination or a particularly productive reason to leave the house.

The point is to interrupt what you're doing and give yourself a different experience.

Research discussed by the American Psychological Association in its coverage of the benefits of nature suggests that spending time in natural environments can support psychological well-being, including improvements in mood and reductions in stress.

Getting outside isn't going to solve every problem in your life. But it can give you a break from sitting in the same environment with the same thoughts.

And sometimes that's enough to start feeling a little better.

Move Your Body, Even If You Really Don't Want To

I cannot recommend exercise enough when you're having a bad day or going through a period where you don't feel like yourself.

Go to the gym. Lift weights. Go for a run. Take a long walk. Do whatever kind of movement you enjoy.

Personally, I've found that lifting weights can be one of the best things for me after a frustrating day.

Maybe something happened at work, somebody said something that bothered me, or a bunch of little things didn't go the way I wanted them to.

Getting into the gym and lifting weights helps me shift my attention toward something I can actually do.

Instead of sitting around thinking about everything that went wrong, I'm focusing on moving my body, challenging myself, and doing something that feels good.

And there's research supporting the mental health benefits of exercise.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guide to the benefits of physical activity explains that physical activity can help reduce short-term feelings of anxiety, improve sleep, and support long-term mental health.

You don't have to do some intense hour-long workout to benefit from moving your body, either.

Even a short walk is better than doing nothing.

The important thing is recognizing that you don't necessarily have to feel motivated before you start moving.

Sometimes the motivation comes after you begin.

Stop Letting One Bad Thing Ruin Everything Else

I think one of the biggest reasons we get stuck in a funk is that we allow one bad experience to influence how we feel about everything else.

Maybe you had a frustrating conversation with your boss.

Now you're questioning whether you're good at your job, whether your coworkers like you, whether you're on the right career path, and whether you're doing enough with your life.

Or maybe someone you were dating stopped responding.

Suddenly, you're questioning your appearance, your personality, your confidence, and whether you're ever going to find someone.

One thing went wrong, and now you're using it as evidence that everything else is going wrong, too.

But those things aren't necessarily connected.

"Something is allowed to suck in isolation. That doesn't have to mean that like everything sucks."

I really think this is one of the most important reminders for getting out of a funk.

Something can be disappointing without becoming a reflection of who you are.

You can have a bad day at work and still be great at your job. You can experience rejection and still have plenty to offer someone. You can feel lost in one area of your life while doing incredibly well in another.

Don't allow one frustrating experience to take over your entire perspective.

If this is something you struggle with, How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Everyone Else explores the importance of separating your own progress and self-worth from what you think everyone else is experiencing.

Sometimes feeling better starts with recognizing that things aren't quite as bad as your thoughts are making them seem.

Stop Replaying the Same Negative Thoughts

Have you ever had something happen that bothered you, and then spent the next three days thinking about it?

You replay what somebody said. You imagine what you should have said back. You think about why it happened and what it means.

Then, just when you think you've moved on, you start thinking about it all over again.

This is one of the things that can keep you stuck in a funk long after the original situation has passed.

In the podcast, I compared this to putting yourself inside a blender.

You fill it with all your frustrations, disappointments, insecurities, and negative thoughts, and then you press blend.

Everything starts spinning together until you can't really distinguish one problem from another.

But there's something I said in the episode that I think is worth remembering:

"Don't forget to pour it out."

You don't have to keep revisiting everything that's ever bothered you.

You can recognize that something happened, acknowledge how it made you feel, and work toward letting it go.

Psychologists refer to repetitive negative thinking as rumination. Psychology Today's explanation of rumination describes how repeatedly dwelling on distressing thoughts can contribute to anxiety and depression and make it harder to move forward.

The goal isn't to suppress every negative thought. It's to recognize when thinking about something has stopped helping you understand or solve it.

One exercise I like is imagining the thought sitting on a cloud.

Picture whatever is bothering you floating across the sky. You can see it, recognize it, and allow it to move past without following it.

It's a simple way to remind yourself that not every thought needs to become something you spend the rest of your day thinking about.

And if you frequently find yourself stuck between thinking and actually doing something, How to Overcome Analysis Paralysis is another useful place to start.

Start Counting the Things That Are Going Right

When you're feeling down, it's easy to become incredibly focused on everything that's going wrong.

You think about the opportunity you missed, the person who disappointed you, the mistake you made, and the things you haven't accomplished yet.

But how often do you give that same amount of attention to the things that are going well?

Think about it.

Maybe you have a great group of friends. Maybe you've been doing well at work. Maybe you're getting stronger at the gym. Maybe you have a trip coming up, something you're excited about, or a goal you've been making progress toward.

Those things still exist, even when something else isn't going the way you wanted.

I talked about this in the episode using an analogy about bricks.

Imagine every frustration or disappointment as another brick being stacked on top of the last one.

Eventually, the pile becomes so tall that it feels impossible to see past it.

But those bricks don't have to stack up. You can lay them alongside each other, recognize them as individual problems, and deal with them one at a time.

And while you're looking at everything that's gone wrong, don't forget to look at what's gone right.

If you're going to count your losses, you owe it to yourself to count your wins, too.

That doesn't mean forcing yourself to be positive all the time. It means giving the good parts of your life the same opportunity to influence your perspective as the difficult ones.

Do Something That Makes You Feel Like Yourself

When you're in a funk, you might stop doing the very things that normally make you happy.

You cancel plans. You stop going to the gym. You spend less time with friends. You don't feel like going anywhere or doing anything.

And while sometimes you genuinely need rest, other times withdrawing from everything can make you feel even more disconnected from yourself.

So ask yourself a simple question: What do I normally enjoy doing when I'm feeling good?

Maybe it's going to the movies, playing basketball, cooking, listening to music, seeing your friends, or walking around your city.

Whatever it is, make an effort to do some version of it.

You don't need to wait until you're feeling completely better to return to the things you enjoy.

In fact, doing those things might help you start feeling better.

This connects to a psychological approach called behavioral activation, which involves intentionally engaging in meaningful or rewarding activities rather than waiting for your mood to improve first.

The idea is simple: Your actions can influence your mood, just as your mood influences your actions.

So instead of asking yourself whether you feel like doing something, sometimes it's worth asking whether doing it might be good for you.

You might be surprised by how much better you feel after doing something that reminds you of who you are outside of whatever has been bothering you.

Don't Try to Handle Everything by Yourself

I think guys have a tendency to keep a lot of things to ourselves.

We don't want to complain. We don't want to make something a bigger deal than it needs to be. And sometimes we don't even know how to explain what we're feeling.

So we say we're fine and keep going.

But if you've been feeling off for a while, talk to someone.

Call a friend. Talk to your brother or sister. Tell your girlfriend what's been bothering you. Reach out to somebody you trust.

It doesn't need to become some enormous, serious conversation.

Sometimes you just need to say, "I've been feeling a little off lately, and I don't really know why."

You might find that the person you're talking to has experienced something similar. Or they might offer a perspective you hadn't considered.

And even if they don't have a solution, simply talking about what's been on your mind can help you feel less alone.

I've talked about this before in How to Stop Doing Everything on Your Own, because I think learning to ask for support is an important part of becoming more confident and comfortable with yourself.

If you've been feeling persistently low, have lost interest in things you normally enjoy, or are struggling to function in your everyday life, it's also worth talking to a mental health professional.

You don't have to wait until things become unbearable to ask for help.

And Here's The Thing

I think the hardest part of being in a funk is how easy it becomes to forget that you have the ability to start making changes.

You feel down, so you don't do anything. You don't do anything, so you feel even worse. And eventually, you start convincing yourself that you're stuck.

But you don't have to change your entire life to start changing how you're experiencing it.

You can get out of bed and go for a walk. You can go to the gym. You can call a friend. You can stop replaying the conversation that's been bothering you. You can recognize that one disappointing experience doesn't mean everything else in your life is disappointing.

And you can start doing the things that make you feel like yourself again, even before you fully feel that way.

"If you're in a place where you're looking for how to get back up, just know that you will."

I think that's worth remembering.

You might not feel better immediately. You might have another bad day tomorrow. And you might need more time, support, or help than you originally expected.

That's okay.

Getting out of a funk isn't necessarily one big moment when everything suddenly changes. Sometimes it's a series of smaller decisions that gradually bring you back to a better place.

The version of yourself that feels happy, excited, confident, and motivated hasn't necessarily disappeared.

You might just need to give yourself some time and take a few steps toward feeling that way again.

You don't have to feel like yourself today to start finding your way back.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get out of a funk quickly?

Start small. Go outside, exercise, take a shower, or talk to someone you trust. A simple change in your routine can help improve your mood.

Why do I feel like I'm in a funk for no reason?

Stress, poor sleep, burnout, loneliness, or small frustrations can leave you feeling off, even when nothing seems obviously wrong.

How do I start feeling like myself again?

Get back to the routines, activities, and people that make you feel good. Focus on small steps instead of trying to fix everything at once.

How do you stop being stuck in a negative mindset?

Recognize negative thought patterns, challenge assumptions, and focus on what you can control instead of everything going wrong.

How long does it take to get out of a funk?

It depends. Some funks last a few hours or days, while others take longer. If you're feeling consistently down for two weeks or more, consider seeking professional support.