picking oneself up off the floor

Verb

pick oneself up off the floor (third-person singular simple present picks oneself up off the floor, present participle picking oneself up off the floor, simple past and past participle picked oneself up off the floor)

1. (figuratively) To resume normal activities after a period of being incapacitated by grief or circumstances.
   • There will be a time when you need to pick yourself up off the floor and get moving, but that time is not right away. If you did not let yourself have a time to grieve, you would cripple the sadness and loss within you, stifling the natural healing and your ability to progressively repair.2012, Lisa Cypers Kamen, Harvesting Happiness for Heroes
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pick up, off, floor.
   • More maniacal laughter ensued as John quickly picked himself up off the floor and scooted on hands and knees back to a sitting position against the rough stone face.2013, Erik Yeager, The Narrow Road: A Pilgrim's Progress, page 89