When You Feel Low and Don’t Know Why: A Gentle Journaling Approach with the one day reset
This morning, I felt really low.
Like my emotions had just drained out of me. Sort of like I didn’t have an emotional compass any more and I couldn’t work out how to navigate what I was feeling.
I didn’t really know why I felt like I did, and neither could I work out why.
So I felt low, confused and bereft. Bereft of feeling like me.
I sat with my coffee and spent some time thinking, trying to work it out, and hoping that something might click into place, but it didn’t.
I kept thinking, “I should feel fine.” And yet I just didn’t.
I’ve just started a new growth spurt in my work. Exciting, yes, but also intense and unfamiliar.
Yesterday, I went to a funeral. I didn’t know the deceased, but I know their family and I went to support someone I love.
At home, everything feels a bit out of order. Things that need tidying, tasks I’ve been meaning to finish. Rooms that are messy and disorganised.
I usually go for a morning run and walk the dogs around this time. Today, I didn’t. I just didn’t have the energy. And I knew something was wrong at that point.
The Invisible Weight We Carry
None of those things on their own explain why I felt so low.
But together, they painted a quiet picture of emotional load.
That’s the tricky thing about low moods. They don’t always come with a single, obvious reason. Sometimes they arrive slowly, built from little things we didn’t realise were draining us.
It’s easy to dismiss it, to push through.
But today, I didn’t want to brush it off. I wanted to understand it. Or at least meet it with some kindness and compassion and be understanding towards myself.
I also really wanted to not feel like I did. It was such a feeling of emptiness. We want to run a mile away from those feelings don’t we, those feelings of confusion, of loss, of sadness, of emptiness.
A Simple Prompt That Helped Me Reconnect
So I reached for my journal. And instead of writing pages, I started with three simple lines:
- Right now, I feel…
- I think this might be because…
- What I need most today is…
That was it.
It didn’t fix everything. But it gave shape to the thoughts I was having. It reminded me that there is a way through, that this moment can be navigated, it’s not a road block. I just needed to pause, notice, and care for myself in the moment I was in to start navigating myself through it.
So, instead of rejecting that feeling I opened myself to it through journaling. Journaling became the medium through which I was able to observe how I was feeling and actually understand it and then move on, move forward.
You can try it for yourself.
Right now, I feel….. how do you feel? And the answer doesn’t have to be polished:
Tight in my chest … frustrated … scared …stuck … cornered
Just try and describe that feeling – it sometimes helps to think of where the feeling is sitting in your body. For me it was around my chest and my rib cage.
Write the words and breath through the feeling.
Then, next question,
I think this might be because … just list out the thoughts that come to mind … I feel broke … I’m stuck … again …. I want life to be simpler … Life is going too fast … I miss my family … I’m worried about finances … my husband’s health is not good …
And then the next question, which I found really surprising because I feel like I should be ‘fixed’ already, I feel like I should be ‘perfect’ right now. And I think those feelings/thoughts are often the ones that are swirling round in the back of our brain, unhelpfully, and they are quite condemning and judgmental. So asking yourself what you need right now is beautiful because it gently circumvents those thoughts. It goes straight to what you need. So,
What I need most today is … a hug … a walk … a bath … a cup of tea … to call my mother … to exercise … to go for a run … to sit quietly … to read a book … time … space … to reconnect with a loved one … to not feel stressed …
If You’re Feeling Low too…
If you’re reading this and what I have written and described feels familiar, I want you to know this:
- You’re not alone in feeling off for no clear reason.
- It doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you.
- Emotional weight isn’t always loud or dramatic. Sometimes it’s subtle, and still heavy.
- You’re allowed to feel low without needing to justify it.
Try the prompts. Let yourself write just a few lines. In your journal, on a scrap of paper, in the notes app on your phone.
And maybe just say it aloud. Whisper it to yourself, or declare it out loud.
Right Now, You Don’t Have to Fix Everything
You don’t have to tidy the whole house.
You don’t have to run a mile. Or do yoga. Or weights.
You don’t have to be cheerful or productive.
You just have to be a little gentle with yourself.
Maybe take your coffee outside. Or sit quietly with your pet. Or wrap yourself in a blanket and breathe deeply for a few minutes.
Low moments pass but when we meet them with softness instead of pressure, we move through them in a kinder way. We release the feelings out of our mind and out of our body.
And that matters.
The one day reset
As a result of that day, I’ve created a one day reset guide. I love the prompts above and something that I really love about them is that they are an indicator of your general state of being. I think, for me, feeling low and bereft of emotion, those feelings come from a state of depletion. I’ve given out too much and my body has had enough. And even though I think, ‘Really, you can’t keep going for just one more day like this?’ I know that the answer is no, I can’t. Something is out of balance.
Of course the journaling prompts help but there are times when this feeling is an indication that you need to be compassionate towards yourself and understand that we just need space and time.
So I decided to create a one day reset guide to relieve myself of the pressure and burden I put myself under but also to be able to continue with my day without having to withdraw and wait until I feel restored.
However, before going any further, I do want to say that if you feel like you just need to wait a day until you feel restored then this is exactly what you should do. I have those days myself. Rest is really important and if your body is telling you that you need a quiet day at home then that is what you should do.
So the one day reset is when you’ve journaled your way through your emotions and then want to go about your day, but set the tone of your day such that you stay calm and in a state of peace in your body and mind and not lose that sense of one-ness with yourself that you gain through the journaling prompts but still go through your day. It’s also a great way of getting through your day without being fearful that you are going to fall back into those feelings that you had earlier.