Here's What To Do When Nothing In Life Is Going Right

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by life’s challenges and wondered, “How did I end up here?”

Whether you’re grappling with stress, facing a series of setbacks, or just feeling stuck, you’re not alone.

Life’s ups and downs can be intense, and finding effective ways to manage them is crucial for your well-being.

In this article, we’ll explore essential strategies for handling stress, overcoming feelings of helplessness, and maintaining a positive outlook during difficult times.

Discover practical tips to improve your mental resilience and navigate life’s roller-coaster with confidence.

1. Don't Let Stress And Anger Control Your Life

Stress

Whatever is causing you the trouble, be it anything, try not to stress over it.

I know it first-hand, it’s easier said than done. It will require a lot of practice and patience, and can never be achieved overnight, but it can be done.

You have to start by understanding that stress will never yield you anything. Stress might even give you several other issues you didn’t ask for, like acne, anxiety, weight gain, chronic fatigue, and other long-term health issues, but never the solution.

It can even ruin any chances of you coming up with a solution.

A constant high level of cortisol will only cloud your judgment even more. The brain fog that comes with chronic stress is no joke!

Anger

If you are angry with someone, remember that they will never feel the anger you harbour for them, but you will 24/7.

The anger that lingers within you will break YOUR mental peace, not theirs.

If you can direct your anger into something productive, great. But if it's causing you unnecessary stress, try to find ways to overcome it.

Acceptance is one thing that can help you here.

Stress and anger will only make your life more sad and difficult. Neither is a pleasant emotion to be in for a long time.

A few things can help you get started with moving towards the solution:

accept the reality,
Acknowledge that you can’t control others,
Recognise the problem that needs your attention,
Embrace your role as the hero of your own story, and understand that only you can overcome the challenges life presents.

By accepting what you can and cannot change, and concentrating on solutions, you’ll move away from seeing yourself as a victim and instead view yourself as a survivor. This shift in perspective is crucial and can set you on a path toward positive change.

2. Don't Fall Into The Traps Of Learned Helplessness

If things are not going well for a while, you are at risk of developing learned helplessness.

Learned helplessness is the belief that you are helpless in a difficult situation, even when there is a way to escape the misery.

It usually follows repeated trauma, and it eventually creates a false belief that nothing is under your control.

As a result, you develop this mindset of — Why even try?

It is the reason why many victims of domestic violence stay with their abuser, even when others can see they can choose to get out. Or, when people fail to quit smoking or lose weight in a few attempts, they think it is impossible to quit smoking or lose weight.

You can apply this concept to practically any situation you are struggling with.

Consequences of learned helplessness

Remember: It is a false belief.

There is always something you can do in any situation, and again, living with such a negative belief will eliminate any chance of you coming up with any possible solution.

Here's how to prevent learned helplessness

Keeping hope and doing your best to stay positive will help you from falling into the pit of learned helplessness.

You can cultivate a positive attitude by:

Practice independence, ideally from a young age, but whenever you start is the right time to do so.
Actively engage in problem-solving. Don’t sit and crib about the problem. Make a habit of dealing with even small things with a positive attitude. Instead of diving into the blame game, take action. In short, start taking responsibility for your life.
Remind yourself you CAN get out of any situation with a little bit of effort,
Try to be more resilient. Practice patience, self-love and compassion towards yourself and others.

P.S. Learned helplessness can lead to mental health issues like depression and anxiety. So be mindful of it.

3. It Might Be A Good Time To Take A Break

If you are one of those who think taking a break is equal to — wasting time — then you could not be more wrong.

It is, in fact, quite possible that not taking a break is why your output is below your expectations and capabilities despite giving your best. As a result, things are not going so well.

A brilliant mind will never be efficient if it is tired.

Burnout (and emotional exhaustion) is a term that refers to chronic fatigue and exhaustion that results from excessive demand for energy, strength, or resources.

In other words, it means emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion resulting from chronic stress.

I must add, it is a very soul-crushing thing!

Burnout results in a dislike towards your work, a loss of meaning and purpose, and doubt regarding the ability to do the job well.

Basically, you start feeling everything sucks because your body is extremely tired and overwhelmed — mentally, emotionally, physically — and not necessarily because things actually suck.

Burnout could also be one of the reasons for your melancholy, as several studies have proved that burnout causes both depression and anxiety. It is also a causative factor of learned helplessness. Meaning, if you are suffering from burnout, you are more likely to fall into the traps of learned helplessness.

So, how to prevent burnout

You need a fresh mind for a refreshed outlook, and for that, you need proper rest. So, please, take a break.

A few things you can do to ensure you get enough rest on most days is:

ask for help — your partner, kids, friends, and family won’t mind helping you out if you need them,
make realistic goals,
plan things roughly beforehand, especially if you are prone to getting anxious or stressed,
Spend a few minutes alone each day. You don’t have to do anything or meditate during this time. The aim is to calm the mind down. Doing this will allow you to put your responsibilities for a little while so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. You can do this while enjoying your coffee peacefully.
Most importantly, sleep well EACH night. Never compromise on your sleep if you want to be healthy and productive. No exceptions.

The more well-spaced off-time you’ll take, the better your output will be, and the less negative your mind will be.

So, sleep well without guilt. A night of good sleep is where you want to start if you are exhausted in all senses.

Take a break from the stressor, focus on your overall health, and spend time doing things that make you happy at least once in a while.

4. Drop The Tunnel Vision

I like to think of failure and rejection as protection. I got rejected because it was somehow not good for me. And I failed because I either needed to learn a lesson or something better must be coming up for me.

Ask yourself — what can you learn from this experience? Looking at your problems this way will strengthen you and encourage hope.

Life never offers just one opportunity. It will always present you with unlimited second chances. They are not that difficult to spot either. You will only miss them if you are drowned in negativity for too long.

Grieve. Take as long as you need. But don’t sit in the sea of sadness for too long.

Change your perspective

Failure is a much better teacher than success because failure gives you experience.

Failure, rejection and pain indicate that something is wrong. It tells you something. It may not imply that it is not for you, but it may indicate that some changes are needed.

It can be your attitude that needs a change or your surroundings that need an upgrade.

How you look at things is always a major deciding factor in how you feel most of the time and how quickly you bounce back from challenges.

If you are conditioned to have a negative outlook and to blame everything, get out of this conditioning by shedding old ideas and thoughts.

Instead of quitting on yourself, choose a positive perspective.

5. Gratitude and Kindness: The Two Things You Need To Hold On To

Gratitude

Gratitude is an extremely strong emotion. It has the potential to change your mindset. And if things suck for you right now, you need it more than ever.

When our mind is in deep sadness, it’s difficult to see and interpret things positively. Gratitude can help lighten you up because when you practice gratitude, you purposely remind yourself of the good things in life, and when you acknowledge the good, you can’t help but feel good.

Be grateful — for the people choosing to stand by you, to yourself for doing your best, and for the fact you can afford the internet. This can be an endless list because we have many seemingly small things to be grateful for.

I know this is a very cliche thing, but gratitude is a damn effective practice. You can practice it by writing down, or making a mental note — it will help shift your perspective to a more positive one, regardless.

Kindness

Be kind to yourself because it’s likely that others are not.

If you made a mistake, remind yourself that humans make mistakes and focus on moving ahead.

Set boundaries with people who don’t have the best wishes for you, and stay in touch with people who genuinely care about you. Show up for them, too.

Also, try to be kind to others because that’s one thing everyone craves. The anger and hate circulating in society can only be tackled by kindness.

Trust me, being kind to others will make you feel better. Protect yourself, but don’t let pain make you lose your gentleness.

Did you know that helping others is linked with reduced mortality rates associated with stress? Kindness is definitely good for your health and well-being.

The Bottom Line

The 5 major points I have discussed in this post are:

Don’t let stress and anger control your life.
Don’t fall into the traps of learned helplessness.
Take a break.
Drop the tunnel vision.
Gratitude and kindness are the two things you need to hold on to.

Start with these; you will figure out the rest.

I want to add, handle yourself with love.

No matter how crappy things are, don’t give up on your life and your dreams.

There is no right or wrong formula for life. Make multiple, horrendous mistakes — no problem.

Keep going, no matter what. You’ve come so far. You have what it takes to overcome it all.

Your rock bottom is when you stop digging.

Updated December 2025