What has become harder in your usual day?
Think back over yesterday, from waking up to the evening. If you can, compare it with a time before your mood became low: what felt easier then? If that time is hard to remember, start with what is difficult now. Here are a few things to notice:
- Did you wake up feeling rested, or thinking you had to get through another day?
- Has it become harder to get ready for work, start studying or make breakfast? What used to be possible without extra effort?
- When people close to you send a message, do you want to reply? Or do you put it off because you feel drained and find it hard to explain how you feel?
- How do you feel during a walk, a get-together or an episode of your favourite show? Do these activities bring as much enjoyment as before?
- How have you been eating lately? Has your appetite changed?
- How have you been sleeping lately? Is it harder to fall asleep or wake up feeling rested?
- Has it become harder to concentrate on reading, work or a conversation?
- Do ordinary requests or small interruptions irritate you more often?
- Have you been blaming yourself more often for unfinished tasks or small mistakes?
Choose one or two main changes that cause the most difficulty. Think about when they started and whether there are hours when things get easier. For example: “For a week now, I’ve come home from work with no energy to talk to my family.” This approach will help you focus better on what matters most.
If your day now involves more sadness, emotional heaviness or despondency, you might describe this as low mood. Both your feelings and their effect on daily life matter. Let’s look at how different these changes can be.
If the changes you have noticed make everyday life harder, you can discuss them with a psychiatrist.
What might these changes look like in everyday life?
Imagine a few everyday situations in which low mood changes familiar routines.
You manage at work but have no energy left at home
Imagine Oksana, a teacher. She teaches her lessons, answers pupils’ questions and seems her usual self. In the evening, she sees a friend’s message but cannot find the energy to reply. These conversations used to bring her joy. Now she eats in silence and goes to bed, putting everything else off. She still gets her work done, but her social life and time to rest have changed.
Talking helps, but difficult mornings keep returning
Taras wakes up feeling weighed down and struggles to get ready for work, even though he knows it is time to leave. After a call from his sister, he feels a little more engaged, gets ready and leaves home. Yet the next morning, getting up is hard again. Both parts matter here: support brings some relief, but the difficulties return.
A small task starts to feel unmanageable
Iryna opens a work email and reads a simple question several times. She finds it hard to concentrate and put together a reply. By lunchtime, the email is still unsent, and she is blaming herself for a whole “wasted” day. The task has not become more difficult, but the effort she needs to put into completing it has changed.
Even familiar morning routines become difficult
Andrii wakes up feeling sad and distressed. He has no appetite in the morning. He leaves his breakfast almost untouched and puts off having a shower until the evening. These tasks used to take little thought. Now, even on a day off, he finds them hard to start. Notice both Andrii’s low mood and how much harder he finds it to care for himself.
If a situation feels familiar, look beyond whether you still get things done. Notice how much effort they take and which tasks you can no longer do or no longer want to do. That change can be a starting point for seeking support.
If it is hard to make sense of this on your own, you can discuss it with a psychiatrist. They can help explore what is happening with your mood and what support may be appropriate.
You can start a consultation with one change that makes daily life harder. You do not need a ready explanation or a diagnosis.
Why might your mood stay low after resting?
After a demanding period, you may expect a day off to put things right. But one day of rest may not be enough if stress continues, you have pain, sleep is poor or life remains difficult. It helps to explore what is still draining you.
Notice whether feeling worse is tied to a particular situation or stays with you on calmer days too. After a loss, difficult feelings can return in waves. Having an understandable reason does not mean you need to cope without support.
If your mood stays low, a doctor will look closely at your physical health, sleep and any medicines you take. Some illnesses and medicine side effects can affect mood.
When low mood persists alongside loss of interest, changes in sleep, fatigue or other difficulties, a doctor may consider a condition such as depression. This page explains which changes a doctor assesses together and why a few days of low mood alone are not enough to establish this diagnosis.
If feeling indifferent and lacking the motivation to start things trouble you most, the page on apathy can help distinguish these experiences from sadness and clarify what has changed for you.
What might make today a little easier?
Choose one manageable step for a difficulty you have noticed. You do not need to fix your routine, resume every habit or complete this whole list in a day.
- If starting a task is hard, reduce it to one step: open the email and write the first sentence, or get your things ready for the morning. Then decide whether you have the energy to continue.
- If cooking feels too difficult, choose a simple snack you have available or ask someone close to you to help with food. The aim now is to meet a basic need without adding pressure.
- If you are avoiding conversations, message one person you trust: “Today is hard for me. Could you spend a little time with me or give me a call?” You do not have to explain why straight away.
- If you have been indoors for a long time and have enough energy, try a short, gentle walk somewhere safe. Think of it as a chance to change your surroundings, not a distance you have to cover.
After trying one of the suggestions on this list, notice whether eating, moving, talking or finishing tasks feels a little easier. If it does not, you have not failed and do not need to demand more of yourself. These actions may support you through a difficult day. They do not replace help when low mood persists or worsens.
If even small tasks feel hard, you can seek support now. You do not need to try every suggestion first.
When is it worth speaking to a doctor?
Seek help if your mood is worsening, if these periods keep returning or if working, eating, sleeping or caring for yourself has become difficult. Even if you still get everyday tasks done, feeling worried about these changes is enough reason to talk to a doctor.
If you feel low for most of the day, nearly every day, for around two weeks or longer, discuss this with a doctor. Two weeks is not a waiting period before you can seek help: you can ask for support sooner.
Thoughts of death or harming yourself need urgent support: tell someone you trust and contact a healthcare professional. If you intend to act, cannot be sure you can stay safe or have already harmed yourself, call 103 or 112 in Ukraine. Ask someone to stay with you while help is on the way; do not wait for a routine appointment.
Where can you start seeking help?
If mood, thoughts and changes in behaviour are your main concerns, you can book with a psychiatrist. They will assess your condition and whether you need medical care. A psychologist can help you understand your feelings and find ways to manage everyday difficulties. If a medical assessment is needed, they will recommend seeing a psychiatrist.
To book, you can say: “My mood has been low lately, and everyday tasks feel harder. I’d like to discuss this with a professional.”
At the appointment, explain what has changed and roughly when. The doctor will ask about your sleep, tiredness, how you feel and how you are managing daily tasks. Notes about how you have been feeling and a list of medicines you take may help. You can also attend without preparing anything. If you need urgent help, do not delay seeking it to make notes.
A good place to begin is one specific difficulty: a hard morning, avoiding get-togethers or a task you no longer have energy for. That is enough to start a conversation and decide on a next step together.
You can learn about the specialists’ areas of work and experience before booking in our doctors’ directory.
Would you like to discuss these changes with a Dr.Zhyvago specialist? Send a request to arrange a consultation.
Common questions
Yes, you should. Tell the doctor about both the difficulties and the relief. They need to understand your whole day, not just its most difficult moment.
Yes. Someone may react more strongly to ordinary requests, lose patience quickly and also feel sad or empty. Tears are not a requirement. Irritability itself has various causes, so it needs to be considered alongside other changes. This one sign does not establish depression.
No, you do not need a test result to book. A questionnaire can help organise your concerns if the doctor suggests one, but it does not replace a conversation and assessment. If you have already taken a test, you can bring the result. There is no need to delay seeking help to repeat it.