By Halle Rider
Sigma males are known as pillars of inner strength but that doesn’t mean he is immune to feeling shitty. Some days are just harder than others. No matter who you are or what type of personality one has, whether you’re an alpha, beta, gamma or sigma male, everybody goes through difficult times and experience sadness and despair from time to time. It could be from a difficult work or home environment, tension with a partner, dealing with the loss of a loved one, or perhaps for no particular reason at all – but all the same, having to manage feeling shitty is never easy. There’s no simple answer, and no miracle cure that can make the feelings go away. For each unique individual, the things they do to help themselves feel better will vary. But when it comes to the sigma male, just how does he deal with feeling so low? Here we will be looking at ten things sigma males do when they’re feeling like shit.
10
He will Isolate
When the sigma male is feeling down in the dumps, the first thing he will most naturally be drawn to doing is to go into isolation. For many people they feel worse when they are by themselves and require the warmth and energy of others to bring them back up. But, as he is more naturally introverted and introspective, being around other people and excessively socialising drains the sigma of his energy and depletes his happiness levels. It is when he is alone and has his own space that he thrives so it’s no wonder that when he is not feeling too great, he will retreat and withdraw to a place where he feels comfortable and secure – and that almost always equates to being alone. But what does he do when he’s by himself?
9
He reflects
For the sigma male to start feeling better, a good starting point is to look inward. By nature he is prone to being particularly introspective, finding a lot of value is to be had from self-reflection. He does this regularly anyway because as he is his biggest priority, it’s important for him to continue to improve in all areas of his life and to solve any issues he might be having. Therefore it’s unsurprising that the sigma male finds a lot of comfort in retreating inside his own head when he’s feeling like shit, in order to look at the facts of the situation and to begin work on rectifying them.
8
He checks in with himself
While he is introspecting, the sigma male will make it a priority to check in on himself. This means he will look at all the basic physical areas of his life first, to ask himself if his main needs are being met. Is he sleeping well and keeping hydrated? Is he fuelling his body correctly and getting enough exercise? He will ask himself these basic questions first so before he faces the risk of going on a downward mental spiral, he can catch whatever might be wrong if there isn’t such an obvious answer. Starting with the absolute basics, if he’s exhausted, dehydrated, or starting to feel negative from a lack of exercise or not eating enough fruits and veggies, then these are easy problems to solve.
7
He creates a support system… of sorts.
The sigma male loves being by himself, and highly values his alone time. We know this because of his introverted nature, and we know that he gets a lot out of having his time in isolation. While the sigma will spend more time alone when he is feeling down, that doesn’t mean he isn’t human and isn’t just as in need of some kind of support system as the rest of us. He is not the type of man to have a huge circle of friends, not only due to his introversion but also as he finds more meaningful connections with a smaller group of people, valuing quality over quantity. It isn’t that he totally relies on his friends and family as he believes wholeheartedly in meeting each of his own needs, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional – but he knows that when he is feeling shit, he can create a support system of a select few. He knows who he can go to if he simply needs to vent because no matter who you are, sometimes a friendly ear can do wonders, even if you don’t need any advice. Despite being so self-reliant, the sigma male isn’t afraid to ask for help when he really needs it. Or ask for a hug.
6
He does things he enjoys
He might want to stay curled up in the foetal position when he’s feeling like shit, but the sigma male knows the importance of being proactive and taking small steps to feeling better. So he will force himself out of bed in order to do something that he truly enjoys doing – whether it’s for twenty minutes or four hours. But he is smart enough to know that whatever he decides to do shouldn’t be something that requires any extra effort, mental energy, or that has the potential to frustrate him. Perhaps he finds comfort in painting, cooking, listening to music or even playing video games, but he knows that he needs to do something to balance the chemicals in his brain by releasing a dose of serotonin. And that means doing something relaxing that he enjoys.
5
He moves his body
We all understand the importance of regular exercise and of course, there are plenty of physical and mental benefits to it. Despite knowing this, when you’re feeling crappy, it can be pretty difficult to motivate yourself enough to get in a full workout. As someone who puts his overall welling as one of his top priorities, the sigma male still experiences those difficult days in which moving is the last thing he wants to do. But, he is also extremely self-aware, and knows that he will instantly feel better if he moves his body even a little bit. He may not go all out and hit the gym for two hours or run a marathon, but some gentle stretching, yoga or a simple walk can do wonders for happiness levels. His body will be more relaxed, his thoughts will no longer be racing, and this will help him to create a better mind space in which to deal with the things and feelings that are bothering him.
4
He goes outside
Speaking of exercise, the sigma male enjoys the benefits of being outside generally, so if he can get in that all important movement outside and particularly in nature, then then even better. A good hit of sunlight on the skin along with some gentle movement is all he needs to start feeling better. He’s aware of the benefits that getting both doses of vitamin D and oxytocin brings – vitamin D to help support healthy bones, and oxytocin to help relieve anxiety and feelings of depression. If he’s feeling particularly low he may just go for a walk in the park, but when he starts feeling up to it he loves nothing more than taking a long hike in the forests, mountains, or whatever natural area he has access to. When he’s in outside (especially in nature), he finds that he is able to clear his thoughts and take his mind off whatever might be negatively affecting him.
3
He works on his mental wellbeing
And when we talk about clearing the mind, the sigma male is particularly partial to working on all aspects of his wellbeing, not only his physical health but his mental and spiritual health too. He may enjoy practicing mindfulness or meditation, finding peace and calm when he is able to clear his mind and focus on being in the here and now. It has been proven that mindfulness and meditation can help enormously with stress, depression and anxiety. He might even travel to some far-flung place to find a different type of calm, such as spending some time at a Buddhist temple! He is eager to step out of his comfort zone and try something totally new, eager to have new experiences and that includes when it comes to dealing with negative feelings or simply exploring his spirituality. As an open-minded and curious individual, when he’s feeling like shit the sigma male will experiment with anything that might nourish his soul and help to get his mind to a better place.
2
He does some spring cleaning
When the sigma male feels depressed or low, he will motivate himself to do some cleaning or organising. It has been shown that a cluttered, dirty environment negatively affects the mind and when he feels like shit, the sigma male is aware of how much worse he feels when things aren’t clean and tidy. He feels more confused, tense and anxious when he’s around mess. Therefore he will make a conscious effort when he is feeling low to break out the vacuum cleaner and the feather duster, knowing that once he’s done he’s going to feel a lot better and more in control. Whether if all he can manage is ten minutes to declutter a draw, or he feels up to spring cleaning the whole house, the sigma male knows that a tidy house is a tidy mind and he’ll thank himself later.
1
He searches for inspiration.
The sigma male is naturally a curious and intelligent guy. When he’s not feeling like huis usual self then he will likely experience a dip in this natural curiosity, but he will still be proactive in looking for ways to inspire himself, especially when he’s feeling like shit. He might read a book that piques his interest or start researching a new skill that he wants to learn. Luckily, in the modern day we have all the information and potential inspiration we need at the click of as button. So the sigma male is likely to take advantage of this wealth of information and spend time scouring the internet for sources of inspiration, reading articles, journals, and drawing inspiration from his role models or finding new ones who motivate him and help him to be inspired.
