Feeling Stuck? You’re Not Alone

Stuck. That’s how we know lots of our readers have been feeling lately. Whether it’s the oppressive summer heatwave and travel chaos, or anxiety ahead of an uncertain winter, there’s certainly a lot going on at the moment to take up brain space and make us hesitant about being active and productive. 

Everyone is going to have their own reasons for feeling stuck, so solutions for getting unstuck are likely to be personal too. However, we’ve rounded up our top 3 favourite ways to switch things up, straighten your mindset and make the changes you need to get going again. 

1. Walking

Yep, there’s a reason this one has topped every wellness list imaginable – it’s because it works. We love the idea from Clemmie Hooper’s book about motherhood where she tells new mums to live by the mantra “If in doubt, get out”. 

There’s no point sitting at a computer if you can’t get started. Equally don’t just hang about in the kitchen opening and closing the fridge debating whether you want a snack. Grab your shoes, take your kids with you if you need to and leave the house. Walk on pavements or head to a park – but walk. 

If you do have the luxury of a little solitude on your walk, check out a podcast from someone calming and inspiring – we love Happy Place with Fearne Cotton and Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee. 

2. Cooking 

Remember when we went into lockdown and the whole of the UK rushed to bake banana bread and start off their sourdough? There’s something incredibly comforting and therapeutic about cooking – and certain recipes are ideal for helping you to get present and switch off from the chatter. 

Our favourite recipes are the ones that engage you and reward you, so why not try: 

• Minestrone Soup – quite literally, a hug in a bowl. Make it veggie if you want to, and see it as the perfect excuse to limit food waste by adding in anything you need to use up. 
• Risotto – this requires you to stand and stir, stand and stir. Put your phone away and get mindful. 
• Easy Bread – seeing something through is a great way to get ‘unstuck’. Starting projects that go nowhere feels really unfulfilling – making your own loaf of bread from scratch is the perfect antidote. 

3. Movement 

We’ve been chatting about this alot with readers and found that it’s useful to think about the type of movement you’re doing. 

Lots of us agreed that we did the same type of movement – the same classes at the gym, the same online yoga video, the same run around the block. Switching it up is another brilliant way to free up some headspace and move forwards. 

Yoga is so readily available online now that you don’t have to worry about getting to a studio or booking onto a class. We alternate between the fiery flow classes like this one from Class Pass and some of the slower paced options from Yoga with Adriene.  

Oh, and if you’re needing to channel some anger, frustration or extra energy into something really sweaty, The Body Coach has a challenging 7 Days of Sweat ready and waiting for you.