Introduction To Motivation And Why We Sometimes Lose Motivation If you've been asking yourself, "Why do I have no motivation?", you're not alone. Many people today are finding that they have little to no motivation and always tired. Many factors can contribute to someone having no motivation.
Feeling Unmotivated and Can't Get Through All The Things You Want To Accomplish?
Undiagnosed medical issues or issues with underlying mental health challenges are often contributing factors to feeling a lack of motivation. In this article, we answer the question - "Why do I have no motivation" and provide examples of what to do when you have no motivation so you can start feeling motivated and get back to living a life you truly enjoy.
No Motivation And Always Tired Have you been feeling exhausted lately, unable to get motivated, and can't seem to get enough rest (no matter what you do)? If you've been experiencing these symptoms for an extended period and there's no apparent trigger for these feelings - there could be something bigger going on.
The first thing to do when you have no motivation is to get a complete checkup with your primary care physician to rule out serious medical issues and other physical ailments. Once you have a clean bill of physical health, the next step is to move on to mental health care. When is the last time you spoke with a counselor or licensed mental health professional about the challenges and successes in your life?
Mental health care is just as important as physical health care. If left unattended, both physical and mental issues can be the reason why you've felt like "I have no motivation." So what can a mental health professional help you when you feel this way? We'll address that in the next section.
Motivation And Mental Health Issues When you have your initial session with a licensed mental health professional, you can expect to spend 60-90 minutes at your therapist's office. The beginning of your appointment will start with you filling out insurance and other paperwork for your therapist to register you in their billing system. After your insurance or payment method is verified, the next steps are for you to complete behavior screening questionnaires that help your therapist to gauge your current mental health state.
Your therapist will recommend one or more screening questionnaires based on the reason for your initial visit. Screening questionnaires supplement other diagnostic tools and indicate whether the presence of a mental health condition is more or less likely based on the results of the inventory. The following are examples of screening questionnaires organized by the corresponding conditions they treat. Sample inventory questions are provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA).
Depression The most commonly used depression screening tool is the PHQ-9. This widely used questionnaire asks patients questions related to having trouble staying or falling asleep, feeling down, depressed or hopeless, or having little interest in activities that used to be of interest to them. It's not uncommon for depressed people to have issues in these areas of their lives. The depression screening tool helps doctors and mental health professionals to recognize, diagnose, and treat depression.
Depression is the most common mental health condition that causes a loss of motivation and interest in activities. According to Centennial Science, 16 million adults in the US suffer from depression annually. If that number comes as a surprise because depression is the third most common mental health concern that US residents suffer from. Depression falls third behind 30 million diagnosed cases of eating disorder at number two on the list and 42 million cases of anxiety reported by US adults topping the list.
Drugs and Alcohol Common screening tools for excessive alcohol use include the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. The test was developed by the World Health Organization and had a 95% accuracy rate in categorizing participates into "alcoholic" and "non-alcoholic." Doctors, mental health professionals, and other qualified professionals administer this test in a variety of clinical settings.
When it comes to the severity of diagnosed cases related to the Centennial Science research referenced above - 20.2 million adults in the US suffer from alcohol addiction and substance abuse-related disorders.
Bipolar Disorder Screens for Bipolar Disorder include the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ). The MDQ asks questions like "Has there ever been a period when you were not your usual self - and you got much less sleep than usual and found that you didn't miss it?
The inventory consists of 13 similar questions related to eating habits, sleeping habits, and participation in daily living activities. A person who scores high on the (MDQ) has the potential for a later diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder. The MSQ scale isn't designed to screen for other versions of Bipolar Disorder at this time.
Suicide Risk The screening tool used to assess the potential for suicide risk is called the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). This rating scale is available in over one hundred languages and is used as an assessment tool for professionals and non-professionals alike. The (C-SSRS) is used by doctors, mental health professionals, psychologists, social workers, teachers, and the clergy.
Anxiety Disorders The GAD 7 and the PC-PTSD are two screening tools widely used as screening tools for anxiety. Clients who score high on these assessments are recommended for more in-depth anxiety screenings as the potential for an anxiety disorder is likely based on the initial screening results.
Trauma Screening Clients are screened for trauma using screening tools like the Life-Event Checklist. (LEC) This checklist lists difficult and stressful events that happen in everyday life that are likely to result in physical or mental trauma.
Some traumatic events that the inventory highlights are hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Other traumatic events include the unexpected loss of a family, witnessing, or being a victim of a violent assault or attack. Scoring high on the LEC screening indicates the likelihood of the patient suffering from severe physical or emotional trauma.
Feeling Unmotivated and Can't Get Through All The Things You Want To Accomplish?
Next Steps And Moving Forward To Improve Your Motivation By now, you should have a much better idea of the answer to the question of "Why I have no motivation"? If you're diagnosed with a chronic mental illness, there are three main components for managing your illness.
We've already talked about one of the first critical components of mental health care - assessment. Following assessment and diagnosis, there are two other common methods used to manage mental health-related conditions. The following is a brief overview of the three primary components of mental healthcare in order of their likelihood to occur.
Assessment We've already touched on the assessment here. The assessment stage of a mental health disorder is where screening tools and more advanced diagnostic tools are used to determine the presence of and diagnose a mental health disorder.
Medication The first component of treatment is medication. Medication is often prescribed in cases where symptoms are persistent, ongoing, and debilitating. Psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and primary care physicians (PCP) can prescribe mental health medications.
Therapy Talk therapy is a critical form of mental health treatment that helps clients talks through their behaviors and feelings. The goal of talk therapy is to help clients understand what their conditions are, what triggers negative symptoms of their diagnosis and provide coping strategies and life skills that lead to better outcomes.
Other Reasons Why You Don't Feel Motivated Motivation has a strong link to mental disorders, including depression and other abnormal psychology disorders . However, there may be other reasons why you feel that way. There's a probability that you feel unmotivated because of a certain level of pessimism. In other words, when you have a goal ahead, you may have lost interest in achieving your goal and ambition before getting on the train to start your journey. For this reason, you don't believe in the success of any project. You also don't see the need to begin work on any project. Psychologists see that as a low level of self-efficacy, which is the ability to influence the result of a certain venture.
It's also crucial to set realistic goals. You must understand that success is a series of small goals and not something that happens overnight. If you find the lack of motivation is affecting your life, it might be helpful to consult a therapist to help give you support and guide you through important steps to take to stay motivated.
Get Counseling Services Online To Help Improve Motivation People who are suffering from a lack of motivation due to related mental health issues should seek counseling with a licensed professional counselor or therapist as soon as they realize they have an issue that they can't handle on their own. A mental health professional has the education, training, and expertise to help guide chronic mental health sufferers through mental health challenges that are affecting the quality of their lives.
Clients can attend online sessions via video, chat, SMS, and phone therapy to connect with licensed professionals for sessions that typically last from increments of fifteen minutes to an hour. The best part about attending therapy online is flexibility.
Clients can schedule sessions at times that are convenient for them without having to worry about the added stress of long, frustrating commutes that can discourage mental health clients who suffer from depression, lack of motivation, and other debilitating mental disorders that limit that zap motivation.
Final Thoughts On Motivation Today's options for managing assessment, medication, and talk therapy are more convenient than ever before. Online therapy allow clients to connect with primary care physicians and mental health professionals via audio and video for non-emergency-related conditions. If you're ready to take advantage of the online therapy services provided by one of the United States' leading therapy platforms, contact a BetterHelp expert today to get started.
FAQs
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