Why Can’t I Get Out of Bed?: Mental Health

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Do you often wonder, “Why can’t I get out of bed?” People with poor mental health often struggle to feel motivated to start their day. They might lie down for a nap and then feel it’s not worth the effort to get up again.

Taking to a person’s bed habitually can be a sign of a mental health disorder. Mental illnesses like depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety often make sticking to bed feel more comforting. Renewal Oasis helps people shift toward a more energetic and hopeful place, decreasing the urge to spend most of their time in bed. Our outpatient and residential programs identify patterns like excessive bed rest and replace them with healthy coping skills. Our highly skilled staff works with each person to meet their unique needs and improve their mental health.

Possible Reasons Why You Feel Like You Mentally Can’t Get Out of Bed 

The answer to, “Why can’t I get out of bed?” isn’t the same for everyone. It can be for a variety of reasons. Mental health disorders like depression often include symptoms such as lethargy and excessive sleeping. When a person habitually stays in bed for too many hours each day, they lose energy and struggle to feel awake and motivated.

Additionally, if the individual feels hopeless or lacks urgent reasons to get out of bed, they stay stuck in their lethargic routine. They may feel like their lives are a mess and there’s no reason for getting up. A person living alone, without a partner, children, or roommates to urge them, may find it easier to cling to their blanket and pillows.

What to Do When You Can’t Get Out of Bed Guide 

Professional therapy helps with getting out of bed, but self-help techniques can also be beneficial. Some will take time to become a habit while others prove effective fairly quickly. Here is a guide to getting yourself out of bed more often:

Don’t Keep Your Bedroom a Cave: Open the curtains and also the windows, when the weather is pleasant. The presence of daylight and views helps people feel more motivated. 

Make a Plan: Before going to sleep, set goals to accomplish the next day. Don’t create an exhausting list but rather a few doable tasks. When you wake up, review your list and decide in what order you will do them. Focusing on a goal can help put your feet on the floor.

Move Your Body: You may get tired of hearing that exercise gives a person energy, but it’s true. Choose an activity at your level, such as going for a walk, doing aerobic exercises, or swimming. Carve a block out of time several days per week to move your body so it feels more well-rested.

Baby Steps: If just the idea of sitting up taxes you, break down what you need to do into baby steps. For example, you have to stand up, use the bathroom, brush your hair, feed your pet, brush your teeth, get dressed, etc. Give yourself credit for each step you achieve.

Use an Alarm Clock: Getting out of bed at the same time every day helps a person stay focused and relieves that tired feeling that makes them want to burrow under the covers all day. You can set an alarm, including on your phone, and leave it across the room. This will force you to get up to turn it off. Sometimes just the act of getting out of bed will motivate you not to return to it.

Get Your Jam On: Listening to invigorating music first thing in the morning helps you feel energized. Choose lively and positive music to fill your ears and encourage you to start your day with tunes you love.

Can Therapy Help? 

Using these methods to get out of bed can improve your situation, especially when combined with therapy from a licensed counselor. Start with making an appointment with your doctor or get a recommendation for a therapist. They can provide a thorough assessment to determine if you have a mental health disorder that contributes to wanting to stay in bed all day. This allows you to set up therapy appointments that will drill down on your symptoms and how to improve them.

If you already attend therapy, tell your therapist about your difficulty getting out of bed. Together, you can brainstorm ways to tackle this problem. 

Multiple types of therapy can help someone who lacks energy because of their poor mental health. This includes individual, group, holistic, and family therapy. Many treatment facilities like Renewal Oasis offer several therapy modalities as part of their programs. 

Contact Renewal Oasis Behavioral Health About Our Treatment Programs

Do you know that something is off-balance in your life, and you stick to the sanctuary of staying in your bed? If you want help answering the question, “Why can’t I get out of bed?”, Renewal Oasis is there for you. We employ compassionate and experienced therapists who specialize in helping people understand their patterns of poor mental health. Moreover, we use evidence-based therapy to teach people how to develop healthy coping skills and improve a variety of mental illnesses. With our assistance, you will experience a renewed vigor for life and won’t fall victim to the desire to stay in bed and avoid life. Contact us now to find out how our programs can meet your needs. Our admissions staff can answer all your questions and get you enrolled quickly.