Occasionally feeling stuck in life is understandable and normal. Some people may feel trapped by a toxic relationship, financial struggles, or burnout. But making positive change by building a support system, re-evaluating your goals, and seeking professional help can allow you to overcome “stuckness” in your life.
Depression Is Treatable With Therapy
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Is It Normal to Feel Stuck in Life?
It’s not uncommon to feel stuck at times. Life can be challenging, and facing obstacles that make you feel trapped is natural. Sometimes feeling trapped can be easily remedied by doing something new, but change is not always easy. When feeling trapped becomes a persistent problem or makes you feel hopeless, you may need to re-evaluate your goals. What starts as negative thinking can eventually lead to anxiety and depression when not treated properly.
Why Do You Feel Stuck in Life?
Feeling stuck in life is a common experience but can be disheartening and isolating, and can be for a variety of reasons. You may be struggling with depression, anxiety, or another mental health concern. Or, you may be in a situation where you feel misaligned with your values and goals. Whatever your unique circumstance, recognizing the cause behind your feelings is essential for getting “unstuck.”
Below are reasons why you may feel stuck in life:
You Are Struggling With Depression
A common symptom of depression is anhedonia or a reduced ability to experience pleasure.1 This and other symptoms can easily make you feel stuck in your life. Struggling with fatigue, loss of motivation, and sadness may leave you dissatisfied with your current situation.
You Are Experiencing Anxiety
Anxiety disorders can disrupt your life by impacting your relationships, self-confidence, and ability to complete daily tasks.2 Along with anhedonia, these struggles can make you feel mentally and physically stuck in an inability to change your life.
You’ve Outgrown Your Current Situation
We all change over time. That perfect job you landed a year ago doesn’t provide enough stimulation now that you’ve mastered it. Perhaps your relationship has lost its spark. Any of these situations can leave you wondering what direction to go next.
You Fear External Judgment
Sometimes, we worry a lot about what other people think about us and our lives. Input is helpful and can keep you on track. But investing too much stock in others’ opinions and viewpoints can be paralyzing.
You Feel Disconnected From Your Values
Life can lose its spark when you feel misaligned by your values. People tend to make choices based on their health (physical, mental, and spiritual), relationships, autonomy, and physical surroundings.3 You may feel trapped when your environment does not honor these desires and needs.
Help For Depression
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You’re Too Comfortable
Sometimes making a change could enhance your quality of life. Even with that knowledge, you may hold on to what is comfortable. For example, your current job offers perceived security and stability but could be more exciting and challenging. Becoming too attached to your routine may leave you feeling intellectually understimulated.
You’ve Lost Hope for the Future
Your thoughts are powerful. Negative thoughts, in particular, can be very influential and create sadness and anxiety. One study found that adverse circumstances can significantly limit our positive beliefs about future success.4 Perhaps you’ve had a rough year or are struggling with finances, relationship struggles, or similar situations. These challenges may dampen your ability to see a bright future, leading to feel hopeless, stuck, and unmotivated.
You’re Overwhelmed or Burnt Out
Even if you know you would like to make changes, the possibility and pressure of your next move can cause stress. Fundamental and significant tasks can take a psychological toll, and the promise of a new life gets buried in red tape and prioritizing needs.4 Additionally, you could be experiencing burnout. Keeping your nervous system on high alert for extended periods can blur the lines between what is and isn’t harmful.
You’re Comparing Yourself to Others
Even though most of us try not to, we’re all guilty of comparing ourselves to others. This thought pattern is often unconscious but can lead to negative self-talk about your life and future. For instance, you may feel stuck when your friends or family members achieve or reach milestones you may have missed.
What to Do When You Feel Stuck in Life
Pushing past feeling stuck to make positive change can be challenging. You may feel indecisive, paralyzed by fear, and trapped by money, a job, people, or situations. However, tremendous progress is on the other side of your fear, as long as you have the courage and energy to go after it.
Here are eight ways to stop feeling stuck in life:
1. Build a Support System
When you feel trapped or stuck, building a support system is essential. Surround yourself with positive people who will help you embrace change. Take in their honest feedback so you can make adjustments if there are areas where you can improve.
Depression Is Treatable With Therapy
Would you like to feel more happiness and joy? BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $65 per week. Take a Free Online Assessment and get matched with the right therapist for you.
2. Identify What You Truly Want in Your Life
“Stuckness” can be a difficult-to-define feeling but often stems from something not being “right.” When you notice these feelings, allow yourself time to clarify what you can change. Is it a relationship? Are you unhappy in your current job? To identify what you’re actually wanting to change, you could say, “I want to increase my salary,” rather than, “I don’t want to take a pay cut.”
3. Take a Look at Your Life From a New Perspective
Remember that feeling “stuck” can simply be a mindset—although admittedly oppressive. But, with introspection and conscious effort, you can change your inner voice and perspective to be more flexible. Open yourself to new people and ideas. These changes will help you gain a new outlook on the future and what is possible.
4. Stretch & Get Regular Exercise
Exercise has many mental health benefits, and being active allows positive chemicals to flow through your body. Being outside and in nature also improves your well-being, so consider starting a walking meditation or pursuing walk-and-talk therapy.
5. Don’t Make Important Decisions too Quickly
Give yourself space to clear your head, set a date to re-evaluate your situation, and allow yourself to live in the present until then. This practice will enable you to fully commit to change when you’re ready to do so, without questioning yourself and your future.
6. Take Small Actions to Avoid “Analysis Paralysis”
When combating feelings of “stuckness,” try breaking your goals into smaller, more manageable tasks. Ask yourself, “What’s the next smallest step I could take?” Identify any potential roadblocks or obstacles and devise a plan to overcome them. These small steps might feel minuscule, but imagine the pride and success you will feel when you see your progress!
7. Take Care of Physical & Mental Health Conditions
Symptoms of physical or mental health conditions may add to your feelings of being stuck. When you manage these conditions with therapy or medication, you can regain your motivation and sense of purpose. Positive change is hard to achieve when you struggle with constant fatigue, brain fog, or chronic pain.
8. Determine Your Life Purpose
When feeling stuck, take a step back and assess the situation. What is your “why”? What is your life purpose? This perspective may help you choose your path. Your life purpose is not just your job, responsibilities, or goals—it’s what makes you feel alive.
When to Seek Professional Support for Feeling Stuck
Some people may feel embarrassed when asking for support. In fact, mental health stigma often leads many to avoid treatment due to judgment or fears of being deemed incompetent.5 However, professional support allows you to acknowledge these human emotions and experiences in a safe, positive environment.
If you think you may have depression, start by making an appointment with a primary care provider, psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker. These individuals can provide an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. An online therapist directory can help you find a therapist, or various online therapy options are available if you prefer at-home treatment. Feeling stuck in life shouldn’t last forever—hope is just around the corner.
In My Experience
Additional Resources
To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.
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Online Anxiety Test
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How Does ERP Help With Intrusive Thoughts?
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition marked by the presence of obsessive thoughts, images, doubts, or urges, followed by compulsive behaviors or acts aimed at easing the distress caused by the obsession. While the content of the obsessions can take many forms, they are always repetitive, persistent, involuntary, and intrusive, and they often result in a great deal of anxiety for the person experiencing them.