How To Stay Strong When You Feel Weak

Feeling fragile is a condition that affects your body and your mind. Here is how to stay strong when you feel weak, no matter the situation.

Be Strong When You Are Weak

Life can be exhausting – we’ve all been there. When you feel like you have very little left to give and the psychological weakness is creeping in. Whether you are feeling weak because of your career, parenthood or a relationship, we all have moments when we feel extremely tired of it all.

You are not alone, and because it is cyclical, the feeling likely comes and goes over time. We all have those moments when we feel we won’t have enough strength to get through the day, much less out of bed, showered and dressed. While feeling weak is completely normal at times, it is best to acknowledge you’re feeling this way.

When you know what is happening to you, you can utilize different ways to cope. Sometimes you are looking not to be strong, but to feel strong. Here are some ideas to help get you through those weak moments so that you can start to embrace your inner strength. 

Make Healthy Food Choices

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but opting to eat healthier foods when you are feeling weak will give you more emotional strength than you can imagine. Wanting to dive into a tub of ice cream and break open a bag of chips is completely understandable – and you should allow yourself to do that for a few days. It can be a great way to comfort yourself during hard times. But then it’s time to get back on the ball.

Look to citrus fruits, like oranges, that are a great mood booster and will give you a little extra energy. Salads, kale, and other greens will make sure your body is staying up to par with proper levels of vitamins so that you can bolster your nutrition. Fish like salmon and avocados will give your brain some extra omega-3 to help you feel sharper.

Don’t forget the water! It seems like a ton, but actually drinking eight glasses of water per day will help flush your body of toxins and keep you properly hydrated. 

Honor your Past

Sometimes our current weakness are connected to memories from our past. A situation that happens today – even something that may seem innocuous to someone else – can trigger a sadness from something that happened a long time ago. This is normal and something that happens to us all, but if you find it happening to you on the same date each year or consistently throughout, you need to get to the root of it.

What is it that happened? Did you go through a breakup or divorce? Did you lose someone dear to you? Did something traumatic happen? When dates or occurrences come up, the best thing that you can do for yourself is to honor your past. Remind yourself that it is okay to be sad. It is okay to mourn a person or what could have been – and in fact, you should.

You will never truly honor the lessons that you have learned from this situation if you don’t mourn it, take something from it, and move past it. You owe it to yourself to find ways to cope with what happened, really think about it, share it with others if that is helpful, and feel less of a weight each year. You are here and stronger for having survived whatever happened in the past, and while you’ll likely never completely let it go, it doesn’t have to be a source of complete despair and emotional turmoil each and every day. It doesn’t have to be the only thing that you think about. 

Talk It Out

When there are lots of emotions inside, it is incredibly important to get them out – and really make it count. When you dwell on the little things time after time and year after year, you never get to the root of the issue. Without attacking the root, that weed will continue to spread and grow into other cracks and crevices. You need to get it all out. 

This is the time to turn to a trusted friend, family member or therapist. You will want this person to be someone who won’t judge and who you can trust with the information you are sharing. If you don’t have anyone like that in your life or aren’t comfortable talking in that way, write it all down. Share what happened, how it made you feel then, and how it makes you feel now. Share the letter with someone you trust and lean on that person. Don’t go through this alone. 

Once you are able to express how you feel about what happened – all of the insecurities, hurts, sadness, embarrassment, and/or anger – it strips some power away from the instance. Over time, if you feel like you’ve really gotten to the core of the issue and your feelings, you will find yourself feeling stronger than you were before. Particularly if you can look back and see how it has impacted your current life and your past choices. 

Force a Smile

I’m sure most of you have heard of the saying, “fake it till you make it.” Well, old sayings are still used because they usually come from truth – and it applies to forcing a smile. When you fake a smile because you are feeling weak, you are not only telling the world that you want to be happy, but your body receives the message as well. The simple act of forcing a smile on your face will help trigger strength like no other.

Once you’ve developed this habit of faking a smile every day when you wake up and through the painful moments, it should eventually become a habit. You may not be able to imagine it now, but over time, you will actually begin to feel the load lighten. Your body will remember how to smile, you’ll find yourself doing it naturally, and you’ll start to feel stronger.

Remember You Are in Control

One of the most important ways to begin feeling stronger when you are weak is to remember that you are in control of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. This means that – when you choose to – you can rise up and find the strength. It is absolutely okay to let yourself wallow for a little while after something has happened. But there comes a time where you need to put your big person underwear on and put things in perspective.

Stop telling yourself that you’re too tired, that you’re too sad and that you simply cannot do anything. If that is the message that you are sending yourself, you are enabling yourself to make it true. But the only person who can make a better life for you is you. Start telling yourself that you are amazing, that you’ve got this and that you are strong. Sometimes the only way to believe something is to hear it from yourself. These positive affirmations will go a long way in making sure you stay strong no matter how weak you may feel right now.

Be sure to read about how to build confidence and overcome self doubt to continue getting in the right head-space. It is not just deciding how to stay strong when you feel weak, but making an action plan for yourself. 

Deciding to be strong when you feel weak is ultimately a choice, and it’s one you can make. Hopefully these ideas will get you on the right path to making that decision.