6 Warning Signs Your Life Needs a Serious Change

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Handling something that is making you unhappy is rather simple in theory. You avoid whatever is making you unhappy and cut it out of your life. Sometimes, this is easy. After all, if you no longer like the group of people in your exercise class, you can change classes or do something different to workout. If you find the morning commute miserably boring, you can carpool with someone else so you have someone to talk to or find an audiobook or podcast to listen to on the way in to work. These are rather simple fixes for small problems. Unfortunately, the thing or person that is draining you emotionally is not always so easily handled. Rather than a few unpleasant people, you might be trapped with an unbearable boss or a job you loathe. It could be family members or coworkers who drive you crazy or your job itself that is making you perpetually unhappy. It could even be your very lifestyle that is hurting you. Whatever the cause, however, you need to fix it. You cannot go through life miserable or making those around you unhappy. If you are dealing with these six warning signs, your life needs a serious change.

You dread going to work every day.

There are few people in the world who wake up every morning and look forward to going to work. Those lucky few may pop right out of bed bright-eyed and bushy tailed, but most people would prefer not to need to go into the office each morning. Even those who like their jobs usually have other things they would prefer to be doing. If nothing else, they would like to be able to roll into the office at 10:00 a.m. and stroll out at some time around 3:00 p.m. rather than working a traditional nine to five. As such, there is nothing wrong with not being excited for work or having the occasional day where you would prefer to simply roll over and turn off the alarm instead of going in to the office. There is a problem, however, when you loathe going to work each day. If the mere thought of going to work is enough to wipe the smile off your face or if you spend Sunday afternoon dreading Monday morning, there is a problem. You spend more of your waking hours at work than anywhere else. If you hate your job, you spend most of your week miserable. Changing jobs may not be easy, but it is a better choice than hating how you spend the majority of your time.

You are not sleeping well.

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Sleep is one of the most important bodily functions you possess. It is also one of the easiest for the modern world to disrupt. Most people start to lose sleep when they are stressed, frustrated or dealing with something going wrong in their life. Worrying about the next day and racing thoughts are two of the most common reasons people report not sleeping. If you are dealing with circumstances that continue to keep you awake at night, you need to make a change. You should not be trapped in a job or situation that forces you to sacrifice your health.

If you are struggling with sleep for no discernible reason, check your habits. You might be inadvertently keeping yourself awake by using your phone until the last minute before bed, eating a large meal late in the evening or simply having a restless bed partner. If there is still no apparent cause of your sleeplessness, go see a sleep specialist. You may have an undiagnosed sleep disorder.

You are constantly arguing with your family and friends.

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One would think that people would do their best to avoid letting unhappiness in another area of their life effect their family. Unfortunately, people often have a tendency to take their misery out on those that they care about the most. If you keep arguing with your friends and family, you need to make a serious change in your life. Those are the relationships that matter the most to you. Nothing is worth potentially damaging them with constant fighting.

Make sure that you know what is actually causing you to lash out before you start overhauling your life. If financial woes are the source of your stress, quitting your job is not a good idea at the moment. If you are feeling taken for granted by your spouse, the answer is not to spend more quality time with your friends. If you try fixing something that is not a problem in the first place, you may only make things worse.

You are always envious of others.

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Everyone has moments where they are jealous of others. You might envy a friend’s wonderful relationship after your own has crashed and burned, your sister’s incredible financial windfall or how your spouse truly loves their job. These are all normal and usually momentary. Your jealousy toward your friend will fade as you get over your ex, and your envy toward your sister will soon subside into happiness for her. Envy and jealousy are not pretty emotions, but as long as they are temporary and do not affect how you treat the person you envy, the emotions themselves should not cause issues. The problem comes when you are constantly envious of others or begin to show your jealousy in unpleasant ways. Constant envy means that you are forever comparing your life to others’ and finding your own life wanting. This means that you are unsatisfied with your own life and likely need to make a major shift in order to return to a state of contentment.

You keep getting sick.

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Constantly getting sick is a warning sign on every level. If you keep getting sick, your immune system is overwhelmed and unable to fight off invaders that it would normally handle with ease. This is a sign that something is seriously wrong, and you need to find out what the problem is swiftly. Constant illness could be the sign of severe medical problems including cancer, thyroid problems, a hidden sleep disorder or an autoimmune disease. Getting sick all the time could also be a warning that your stress levels have reached the point that they have overwhelmed your body’s normal functioning. You could also be trapped in an environment that contains some sort of inescapable contagion such as an office infected with black mold. In any of those cases, something serious needs to change. If there is an underlying medical problem, you need to have it identified and treated. If your constant illness is caused by environmental factors or stress, you need to find a way to limit or remove the stressors and contagions. It is not worth compromising your health.

You cannot bring yourself to care about anything.

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Apathy is perhaps the most damaging force in a person’s life. You can move past anger and let go of hatred, but apathy is much harder to escape. Negative emotions such as rage and sadness are at least still emotions. You are still feeling and reacting to the world around you. You are unhappy because something you care about has gone wrong. Apathy means you do not care about anything at all.

If you are feeling apathetic about and in your own life, you need to make a serious change. Apathy sneaks in when you feel so helpless or miserable that you simply give up. Anger at your circumstances at least goes hand in hand with the hope that you can change them. Apathy means you have lost hope.

Sometimes apathy can be fixed by serious but individual changes such as leaving a soul-sucking job or abandoning a toxic relationship. Other times, however, apathy signals medical depression and needs the help of a professional. If you are uncertain about your ability to handle things alone, do not hesitate to seek professional assistance.