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My List of meaningful activities

When we’re feeling low in mood or anxious, we can sometimes fall into a cycle of avoiding or stopping doing things that are important to us because we feel nervous or unmotivated. This means we are missing out on doing things that bring us enjoyment, we might feel isolated or we might stop feeling a sense of achievement. This can then cause us to feel worse and even more unmotivated. We call this the ‘vicious cycle’. The longer we’re stuck in the vicious cycle, the lower and more unhappy we feel. This then makes it more and more difficult to do things and means we get even less out of life. To break this cycle, or to stop us getting caught up in it to begin with, it can be helpful to have a toolkit of activities we know can help make us feel better.

Everyone will have different things that help them feel better. Some people will need to be active, others creative, or for some people spending some time outside. Some people might need to have some time alone, for others they may need to feel a sense of connection. There are lots of ideas here in this activities menu from We Heart CBT.com, or you may have other things that you know work for you.

It’s good to have a mixture of things that you can do alone, with other people, activities for inside, activities for outside, maybe even activities for different moods, so that you always have something that you can do.

The important thing is that they are meaningful to you!