When burnout, anxiety, depression, a health diagnosis, or trauma are part of your life, you might hear yourself saying more and more, “I have no motivation to do anything,” “I lack the motivation,” or “I have zero drive.” These sayings tend to point to what feels lacking, keeping your attention on what you aren’t getting done. That focus can begin a stress state in the body. Then a chore as simple as laundry can feel overwhelming.
In somatic psychotherapy, we break down the overwhelm and get curious about what comes up in the body during deficit talk and protective patterns. Below is a gentle way to try that on your own, along with what the research can and can’t tell us about it.
What deficit talk can do in the body?
When we find ourselves in deficit talk, our behaviours may mimic the language: avoiding, shutting down, going still. We may even push through the uncomfortable by giving ourselves a harsh pep talk into action. Deficit talk and these behaviours can show up at any time, even in difficult therapy sessions, and not only alongside a diagnosis. Throughout the day, we build protective patterns and ways of coping, and our body sometimes gets really tense about them. These patterns can be a place of curiosity rather than a place of shame and blame.
Is it motivation, or is it energy?
Motivation is often talked about as one thing you either have or lack. It can help to pull it apart into two: direction (a pull toward something you want) and fuel (the energy you have available right now). “I have no motivation” folds both into a single verdict about you.
Often, there is a small, specific wish hiding inside that verdict, like wanting clean sheets, a glass of water, or a quiet room. What is limited is the fuel. And fuel can be tied up in places we don’t always notice: shame about what isn’t done, bracing against an obligation, a pile of open loops, a background hum of worry, or unmet needs like sleep and food. So instead of asking “what is wrong with me?”, you can ask “what is using up my fuel?” The first is a verdict. The second is a question your body can answer.
What will serve you right now?
Laundry makes a good practice ground because it tends to arrive as a bundle: start one load and the whole pile comes with it. Yes, getting all of the laundry done is an image of accomplishment. But what will serve you right now, when you are feeling overwhelmed? Maybe you just want clean sheets to sleep on tonight and the rest can wait. Maybe the feeling of clean sheets against your skin will be more relieving and restful than the full bundle.
When “that’s enough” is genuine, you may notice your whole body soften, and the task may feel less like work and more neutral. Sometimes energy for something else shows up afterward, but that is a by-product and not the goal.
A practice: what do I notice?
The next time you hear yourself say “I have zero motivation to ___,” you can try the steps below. Go at your own pace, and skip any step you like.
Catch the sentence. Say it out loud or write it down. Notice that it is a sentence, not a fact.
Check in with your body as you say it. Where do you feel tension, heaviness, or bracing? You are only noticing, not fixing.
Ask, “What do I notice?” Let whatever shows up be enough: a sensation, an image, a thought, a single word. Sometimes a small, specific wish is hiding underneath, like “I just want clean sheets.”
Ask what would serve you right now. Not what should get done, but what your body might feel relief from. Often, it is one small thing with a felt payoff.
Do that one thing slowly, and let it be enough. Notice your body as you go, and give yourself real permission to stop there. If you only stop as a way to get more done, your body may sense it. This works best when “that’s enough” is sincere.
If noticing your body feels like too much
Turning toward the body is not always comfortable for everyone, especially with a history of trauma. If it feels like too much, you can look around the room and name a few things you see, feel your feet on the floor, rest a hand on something solid, or pay attention to just one small, neutral area, like your hands. Small doses are enough, and you can stop at any time. Working with a therapist can help you go at a pace that feels manageable.
If nothing comes up
“I don’t notice anything,” “numb,” and “blank” are all real answers. This is information too, and there is no wrong way to do this. You can try again another day, or come back to a step that felt easier.
When rest is the answer
Sometimes the tank really is low, after illness, grief, a long stretch of stress, or a season of life that asks a lot of you. In those times, this is not a puzzle to solve. Rest is allowed, and the practice above should never become one more thing to perform correctly. One way to tell the difference is to ask whether something is draining you, such as tension, pressure, or shame, or whether you are simply empty right now. Both deserve care.
When to reach out for support
Everyone has days without drive. If low motivation has lasted for weeks, or it is affecting your sleep, eating, work, or relationships, it is worth talking with a health care provider or a therapist. Support is not far away. I offer in-person sessions in Toronto’s west end at The Village Healing Centre in Roncesvalles Village on Tuesdays and some Thursdays, and at the Women’s Health Collaborative in the Junction on Wednesdays afternoon/evenings. I also offer online sessions across Canada. You can book a free consult HERE.
Research behind motivation: What the research says, and what it doesn’t
If you are overwhelmed by reading, stop here. You don’t need to continue unless you feel like it would serve you.
Research surrounding motivation is tied to basic psychology; more recently, the connection between body and mind has garnered more recognition in the field.
Reading our body’s signals can help guide our actions, and our willingness to put effort toward a reward depends on the body’s internal needs. When internal states are misread, motivation and emotion can be affected (Petzschner et al., 2022). Researchers describe motivation as weighing the effort an action takes against what we may gain (Chong et al., 2016), so when our energy is tied up, the same task can feel overwhelming. In one lab study, stimulating a body-signal pathway, the vagus nerve, made people start working for rewards sooner (Neuser et al., 2020).”
“In somatic psychotherapy, learning to pay attention to internal sensations is proposed to help us understand our stress state (Payne et al., 2015). This comes from a theory paper co-authored by the founder of Somatic Experiencing, so it is a proposal and not proof.”
“There’s a lot of nervous system language, memes, and influencer posts about this topic, and some of the science behind it is still debated (Grossman, 2023; Porges, 2023). In the end, if you are overwhelmed and using deficit language to describe how or why you can’t do something, perhaps tuning in and listening to the body’s wisdom can help you problem-solve where your energy is and how you might use it.
⚖️ Disclaimer: This post is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for therapy, diagnosis, or medical advice. Learn more about Sarah’s work at interocare.ca
Additional links you might find helpful
Read more about burnout
References
Chong, T. T.-J., Bonnelle, V., & Husain, M. (2016). Quantifying motivation with effort-based decision-making paradigms in health and disease. Progress in Brain Research, 229, 71–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2016.05.002
Grossman, P. (2023). Fundamental challenges and likely refutations of the five basic premises of the polyvagal theory. Biological Psychology, 180, Article 108589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108589
Neuser, M. P., Teckentrup, V., Kühnel, A., Hallschmid, M., Walter, M., & Kroemer, N. B. (2020). Vagus nerve stimulation boosts the drive to work for rewards. Nature Communications, 11, Article 3555. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17344-9
Payne, P., Levine, P. A., & Crane-Godreau, M. A. (2015). Somatic experiencing: Using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 93. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00093
Petzschner, F. H., Critchley, H. D., & Tallon-Baudry, C. (2022). Interoception. Scholarpedia, 17(5), Article 55569. https://doi.org/10.4249/scholarpedia.55569
Porges, S. W. (2023). The vagal paradox: A polyvagal solution. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 16, Article 100200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100200
