What to Do When You Feel Stuck

A cat stuck in a bird feed!

Feeling stuck in life can be absolutely debilitating. We don't know where to turn to next. More-so, being in the middle of therapy and feeling stuck in the therapeutic process can also feel frustrating and tiresome.

Feeling stuck could be linked to emotional burnout or a mental block you can't get over.

Unconscious or conscious stuck-ness happens to all of us. It might be that we don't know how to overcome repeated behaviours in a relationship, that we ruminate over the same thoughts day in day out... or perhaps we're at bigger life crossroads and know we need to move forward, but we're not quite sure where to start, or how to move forward.

How can therapy help when we feel stuck?

By coming to therapy feeling stuck, you're already on the right path. It could mean that you're conscious of your goals and what you want life to be like, but you're not there yet and you need some time and space detangling to reach some of your own conclusions.

We might explore your dreams and hopes for the future - what you would like your relationships or work to look like; where you hope to see yourself in five or ten years time.

We then might look at what has led to the point of you seeking therapy - what challenges or obstacles have you faced and how are you feeling about them.

In processing these challenges, it might be important to look further back into the 'why' you handled them the way you have. We might talk about your family, growing up or what things were like at school - all of these things play a big part in making us who we are today, and how we face challenges like self-doubt, decision paralysis, an inner-critic, or lack of motivation.

Exploring the root of our fear.

Exploring the root of our fear can sometimes help us unlock the feeling or action of being stuck. This is something that usually happens when we're in the swing of our sessions and is always client-led. As a therapist, I believe we move at the client's pace so talking about deeper things is always done in time and at the appropriate point.

What if I get stuck in therapy!?

If you're stuck in life - especially if you're unable to really articulate why, it's quite common to also feel stuck in therapy. Some clients have left therapy at this point because pushing through is too overwhelming and it doesn't feel like anything is "working". Others stick around, even if it feels like we're going in circles or nothing new is coming up. After a while a realisation or light-bulb moment can take place and we find ourselves at a new level in our work together. There is no magic-bullet for this, it just happens like any hard work - with perseverance and commitment.

Feeling stuck in life is hard, really hard; it can bring up painful things for us and even beginning to talk about those feelings can help things unravel.

I would love for you to get in touch if you resonate with some or all of these words so we can make space for you and you are able to offload and start talking about what has been happening for you, so you can start to feel a little less stuck!

Get in touch with David