How to get out of a funk, for me, comes down to taking care of the basics in every part of my life at once, because they go hand in hand. I eat better, get outside in the sun, move my body, spend time with people, watch for the complaining loop and clean one small spot of the house a day. None of it works overnight. I’m in a funk right now and slowly coming out of it.
What does a funk look like for me?
It’s happening right now, so I don’t have to remember far back. I’ve been pretty low and eating too much, and I haven’t wanted to do much of anything. I skipped Pilates for 12 days.
The small stuff goes first. I haven’t even wanted to chop up the lettuce in my fridge, which is a tiny thing. A funk for me isn’t one big bad day. I just stop doing the things that usually keep me steady, like Pilates, and stop wanting to do much else.
Why does a funk spread into everything?
Because it’s all connected. My mood, my eating, my energy, my house and my work all move together, so when one slips, the others follow it down.
The good news is the same rule works in reverse. When I take care of myself in one area, the others start to come up too, and that’s how I’m getting out of this one. I’m not fixing my whole life. I’m planting small seeds in each part of it and letting them help each other.
What gets me out of a funk?
These are the things I’m doing right now, in roughly the order they help me.
Eating better, first
When I eat like crap, I feel like crap. Eating better is usually what snaps me out of a funk the fastest, so I start there.
I had to get the junk out of my house and be strict with myself about it. In the dopamine swap post I wrote about the quieter reward losing to louder hits, and junk food is one of the loudest. If the urge is about wanting something to do, a dopamine menu written on a good day gives you a list to reach for.
Getting outside and moving
I’m going for walks, getting outside more and making sure I get some sun. I’m also getting back to Pilates after skipping it for a long stretch.
Walks are also how I step away from stress, which I wrote about in How to Rest Without Guilt When You’re Spiraling. In a funk they do a second job, because they get me out of the house and into the sun.
Being around people
When I’m not around people for a while, I get weird. Pilates is movement, and it’s also a class full of people.
I go on my walks with my sister, and she’s great to brainstorm with. We talk about what we’re each working on and trade ideas, and it sparks creativity in both of us. A lot of it is business, and a lot of it is just life. It helps my energy as much as the walk does. Connecting with people is on my list of high-vibration habits for a reason.
Watching the complaining loop
A funk makes it easy to get stuck complaining, and the complaining keeps me in the funk. So I try to catch it and turn toward gratitude and the good things that are still happening.
I don’t do this perfectly. Low-Vibration Habits: How to Catch Them Before They Spiral is where I wrote down what to look for. If you want a simple place to start, my daily gratitude practice takes a few minutes. Part of it is also choosing what I let in, which is what How to Protect Your Peace covers.
Clearing one small spot with feng shui
A doom spiral is a good time for me to try something new, so I’ve been getting into feng shui a little. I saw something saying round objects in the southwest corner of your house can make you eat too much. So I cleared that corner. Because why the heck not? It needed clearing anyway.
Then I added a feng shui tip of the day to my daily dashboard, the one with my horoscope on it. Yesterday’s tip was to scrub the stove. I can’t remember why, and I scrubbed it anyway. Today’s tip is to sweep the porch, which is supposed to open up new opportunities or something like that.
Whether or not the tips do what they promise, they get me cleaning one small spot of my house every day. A cluttered, dirty house brings me down, so a clean stove and a swept porch help me either way.
| Area | What it looks like in my funk | What I’m doing about it |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Eating too much, mostly junk | Got the junk out of the house and I’m strict about it |
| Body | Skipped Pilates for quite some time | Walks, sun and back to Pilates |
| People | Not around people enough, and getting weird | Walks with my sister, a class full of people |
| Mind | Caught in a complaining loop | Catching it and turning to gratitude |
| Home | A corner and a stove that needed attention | One feng shui tip a day, one small spot cleaned |
How do I know where to start?
I start with whatever snaps me out the fastest, and for me that’s food. Your fastest one might be different, and the way to find it is to pay attention to which change makes the next day easier.
If you can’t tell what helps, How to Track Your Energy walks through a one-line daily check-in that shows the pattern after a few weeks. I don’t need every area fixed before I feel better. One area moving gets the others moving.
Today’s action
Plant one seed in each area this week
- Pick one food you’ll get out of the house, and get it out today.
- Get outside for a 10 to 20 minute walk, in the sun if you can.
- Text one person and make a plan to see them, even if it’s a walk.
- When you catch yourself complaining, name one thing that went right today.
- Clean one small spot of your house. A counter, a corner, the stove or the porch is enough.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get out of a funk?
I get out of a funk by taking care of the basics in every area at once: eating better, getting outside, moving, seeing people, catching the complaining and cleaning one small spot a day. They go hand in hand, so a little progress in each one adds up faster than a big push in one.
What’s the fastest way to get out of a funk?
For me, eating better is the fastest. When I eat like crap, I feel like crap, so getting the junk out of the house helps me sooner than anything else. Your fastest fix might be a walk or a call with a friend, and the only way to know is to try one and notice the next day.
Is a funk the same as depression?
No, and I’m not a doctor. The National Institute of Mental Health says a depression diagnosis means symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for at least 2 weeks, and it says to talk to a health care provider if signs of depression persist or don’t go away. If your funk looks like that, please talk to someone.
Why do I feel weird when I haven’t seen people in a while?
I can’t tell you why it happens for everyone. I only know I get weird(er) when I’m not around people for a while, and a walk with my sister or a Pilates class fixes it faster than more time alone.
Can feng shui help you get out of a funk?
I can’t promise the tips do what they say. What I can tell you is that a feng shui tip of the day gets me cleaning one small spot of my house every day, and a cleaner house lifts my mood whether the tip works or not.
Where I am with this
Getting out of a funk means taking care of the basics in every part of your life, a little at a time, because they all go hand in hand. I’m not all the way out of mine. I’m walking with my sister, eating better and sweeping the porch today, and it’s working slowly. Pick one small seed from the action list and plant it today.
A book I made
Sell It or Shed It
A declutter workbook for making money from what you don’t use. One closet or drawer at a time: dump what’s in it, mark each thing sell or shed, list five, and set a thirty-day check date.
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