897 | How I Get Out of a Funk (when you're just feeling low)

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• Emotional lows, even those feeling like depression, can stem from physical issues like severe anemia, emphasizing the need to check physical health before assuming purely mental causes.  Copied to clipboard!
• When feeling very low, utilize the 'minimum effective dose' approach to manage responsibilities—doing only what is necessary to maintain progress without pushing for more.  Copied to clipboard!
• Actively reaching for tools like specific music playlists, intense exercise, checking supplements, and focusing thoughts (by 'don't think, just do') can help pull you out of a low state, even if you don't feel like using them in the moment.  Copied to clipboard!

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Internal Struggle with Low Moods

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(00:01:32)

• Key Takeaway: Depression creates a conflict where the inner wisdom remains calm while the nervous system and younger self experience intense distress.
• Summary: When feeling depressed, there is a mental conflict between a calm inner spirit that knows things will be okay and the rest of the nervous system experiencing intense sadness and inability to cope. This internal battle highlights the intensity of the low feelings experienced during these episodes.

Podcast Subscription Request

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(00:02:25)

• Key Takeaway: Subscribing to a podcast is one of the best ways to support the host and staff, ensuring consistent episode delivery.
• Summary: Subscribing to a regularly listened-to podcast is a crucial action that supports the show and its staff. It also guarantees that the listener will never miss a newly dropped episode.

Episode Context and Low Moods

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(00:03:52)

• Key Takeaway: The episode addresses intense, short-lived low moods, distinct from long-term clinical depression, which require active tools to overcome.
• Summary: The conversation focuses on personal experiences with feeling intensely low, which are not classified as low-grade depression because they do not last long. When these intense feelings appear, significant effort is required to pull oneself out of that state.

Physical Causes for Emotional Symptoms

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(00:05:05)

• Key Takeaway: Physical conditions, such as severe anemia, can manifest as significant emotional issues like depression and hopelessness.
• Summary: Emotional or mental health crises can be directly caused by underlying physical issues within the body. It is vital to investigate physical causes, like blood work results, before solely attributing symptoms to mental health conditions.

Advocacy Against Misdiagnosis

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(00:10:57)

• Key Takeaway: Women are often overdiagnosed and quickly prescribed medication without thorough physical investigation, necessitating self-advocacy for comprehensive testing.
• Summary: Doctors can be dangerously quick to prescribe medication for women based on mental health symptoms without fully checking physical health via blood work. Listeners are encouraged to seek second or third opinions and demand every possible test before accepting a prescription.

Importance of Cycle Tracking

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(00:12:58)

• Key Takeaway: Tracking menstrual cycles is essential for all women to correlate emotional or hormonal swings with predictable physiological patterns.
• Summary: Knowing which day of the cycle a person is on allows for correlation checks when experiencing emotional swings or hormonal changes. The first day of the period is defined as the first day of heavy bleeding, not spotting.

Separating Self from Temporary Feelings

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(00:17:06)

• Key Takeaway: Recognizing that low feelings are temporary and linked to a cycle allows one to separate from the feeling, countering the fear that the depression will never end.
• Summary: When low moods are known to be cyclical (e.g., hormone-related), it becomes easier to separate oneself from the intensity of the feelings. This separation counters the fear associated with recurring mental health symptoms, which often stems from the belief that the bad feeling is permanent.

Tools to Combat Low Moods

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(00:19:16)

• Key Takeaway: When feeling low, the inner wisdom must override the immediate resistance to using known self-care tools to initiate recovery.
• Summary: When experiencing low emotions, the natural inclination is to avoid the very tools that could help, such as getting up or showering. Recovery begins when the voice of reason can overcome the negative internal narrative and initiate the next right move.

Minimum Effective Dose for Responsibilities

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(00:24:37)

• Key Takeaway: When low, manage responsibilities by determining the ‘minimum effective dose’—the least amount of action required to avoid backtracking on progress.
• Summary: The minimum effective dose (MED) is the smallest action needed to maintain responsibilities without losing traction, such as only handling essential childcare or keeping critical work commitments. For the speaker, a personal MED includes ensuring children do not perceive her struggle, based on her upbringing.

Music as Medicine

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(00:29:45)

• Key Takeaway: Music serves as medicine by providing a necessary shift in mental focus, whether through hype, crying, or calming playlists.
• Summary: Music can be medicine, and listeners should explore various genres until finding a playlist that genuinely lightens their spirit, even if it means listening to sad songs for a necessary cry. The goal is to challenge oneself to find something that shifts the current emotional state.

Workout Energy Shift

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(00:31:20)

• Key Takeaway: Intense workouts, especially in a high-energy environment like a busy gym, are more effective than simple walks for breaking through emotional stasis.
• Summary: While general movement is helpful, a vigorous workout that generates sweat is necessary to kick past the inertia of a low state. Being around the high energy and vibration of others working out can elevate one’s own state, leading to feeling better upon completion.

Self-Assessment and Lab Work

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(00:32:32)

• Key Takeaway: Regularly check supplements and get lab work done to understand physical deficiencies that might be triggering emotional symptoms.
• Summary: When low feelings reappear, self-assess what changed in diet, stress, or sleep, and check supplement routines against known deficiencies. If affordable, having recent lab work done is crucial to know baseline vitamin and nutrient levels, preventing one from ‘flying blind’ with supplementation.

Focusing Thoughts Over Doing

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(00:35:12)

• Key Takeaway: When the mind is hyperactive with negative thoughts, the strategy is to ‘don’t think, just do’ by engaging in activities that force mental focus away from spiraling thoughts.
• Summary: The brain, trying to keep one safe, can become hyperactive with fear-based thoughts when feeling low, making every thought worse. To combat this, engage in activities like hard workouts or focused tasks that force the brain to shut off circular thinking patterns.

Fighting Back Against Falsehoods

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(00:43:47)

• Key Takeaway: Admitting feelings is crucial, but fighting back against the emotions by choosing actions aligned with one’s true identity (optimism, joy) prevents the feelings from becoming destructive.
• Summary: While experiencing sadness is real, allowing those feelings to dictate behavior leads to worsening conditions, such as choosing to stay in bed. Fighting back means choosing actions that align with one’s core beliefs—like optimism and faith—even when the body resists, leading to incremental improvement.