Choromatsu! I need help! Σ( ° △ °|||)︴ And since you have experience with dealing with your brothers, perhaps you'd also be able to help me! You see... I've been having a bit of a depressive episode, and while normally I'm able to plan my days and actually manage to do a lot of my to-do list, for the past two weeks or so I haven't even been able to make a list at all, let alone follow it!! ໒꒰ྀི˶ × ༝ × ˶ྀི꒱১ I get overwhelmed by the slightest of things and just generally don't feel like doing anything... so... how do you get your brothers or yourself motivated to participate in life again when everything is just bleh???? This NEET could learn from fellow NEETs!!! Thank you in advance and don't worry about it being good advice or not! I trust you Choromatsu-sensei!! ✧\( • ̀д•́ )ง✧
((While everything I say here is true, you don't have to worry about giving me actual advice if you feel like you can't! Good Luck with the askblog and I hope you get many wonderful asks! (,,> ᎑ <,,) ♡))
I mostly shame them into doing what they need to. They respond best to being stared at in uncomfortable silence and forced to relive all their shortcomings and ways they've failed in life. It reminds them that they can do better. I wouldn't recommend this tactic for anyone else, let alone entry-level NEETs, but when it works, it works.
It depends on what you need to be doing. General motivation can be a nice treat or a long soak in a bath. A new book, a ball of yarn, a cold drink... Something you've wanted but haven't let yourself get. If you can't buy anything a struggle we all face at least once in our lives you can always go simple and cook yourself something you don't usually eat or give yourself an extra hour to do something that's just for fun. Self care like doing your nails or a foot face mask can also be a mood boost. Promising yourself late night events or things you can only do at very specific times under specific circumstances makes the pressing tasks more tolerable.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by everything, it's best to take it in small bursts and just do what you can. Prioritize based on your energy and what's the most pressing. Parallel play can hold you accountable to what you're doing without making it feel like you're being pressured. Make your bed completely unusable so you can't lay down. Store your futon and keep the floors occupied.
For hygiene tips, cleaning yourself can improve mood and make other taks easier. Never trust your brain when you're unwashed. It absolutely goes for the throat and its not fair to judge yourself based on what you feel at your lowest. Listen to a podcast you like to make it feel less painful if its hard to get yourself to start. Go to cheap stores and get a nice scented soap. Use things like dry shampoo to skip a whole bath. Wash your face at the sink. Don't force anything but at least try to take care of yourself.
Chores? Set a 15 minute timer and pick a room to work in. Once the 15 minute timer is up you can stop or choose to keep going, just keep a timer going if you do as a way to stop and check in on your body. Make piles for things that belong in other rooms to take tham all at once instead of in multiple trips. Your goal is to organize and make it liveable, not fix all of the problems at once. Make sure to give yourself a little reward to remind yourself that even if it was just a start, you still did it.
Ready made meals are your friend in these times. Don't feel bad about eating "junk food". It's still sustaining your body, and that's what matters. If cooking is a problem or you really don't want to make more dishes after all that time spent washing them and your brother is demanding everyone use disposable plates and cutlery, eat all the separate parts of a sandwich like it's a charcuterie board.
In the end, motivation is all about finding that one thing in the day that makes staying awake worth it. That rare moment when the house is quiet and you can hear yourself think without someone else making the world's most obnoxious sounds and gross smells... Getting to go to sleep at a decent hour... Finally living on your own and having privacy... If doing something I really don't want to can give me those, then who needs anything else!
