Maybe you feel stuck in a job you hate or a relationship that long ago went stale. Feeling trapped is like being at the bottom of a well where you can see the sky but realize that you can’t get out. You give up—why bother? You get depressed.

While the situation is real and your feelings make sense, staying in this one-down position where the job or relationship is controlling your life only continues to fuel those feelings of powerlessness, resentment, and depression. Here are four tips for breaking out and reclaiming your power:

On an average day, the job is never great but tolerable—a 5 on a 10-point scale; ditto for the relationship, but you also know that being a steady presence for your kids is your priority. But then there are those other days where you’re miserable, hitting an 8 or 9 on the miserable scale.

If these feelings come and go, you want to be curious about why today and not yesterday: What might trigger you? Sometimes, it has nothing to do with the situation itself but something else—as........

© Psychology Today