How To Survive A Bad Day


What do you do when you have a low day?

I try to do morning pages every day so I can get all the negative thoughts out of my system but it’s always hard to start a new journal after I finish one, especially if it’s as beautiful as this:


Does this happen to you? The more beautiful the journal is, the more I resist writing on it, as if filling its pages would ruin it somehow. But then I think that’s the whole purpose of a journal. It’s meant to be filled with words or images, not with empty pages. It’s meant to contain life. And that’s exactly how I feel on a low day: like an empty journal. So I do my best to fill myself up.

I don’t believe in the positive vibes only movement. I believe each emotion has its place and time and it’s okay to feel low. It’s part of the human experience. But sometimes we end up stuck in that dark place, not knowing how we got there and not knowing how to get out. When we feel low for days and weeks on end we might end up falling into a depression. 

Once we start spiralling down it can be difficult to stop. This is why awareness is crucial and making a list of things that lift our spirits is a good way to remind ourselves where to go to feel at home again. Sometimes our morning pages reveal what we need on that particular day. Is it spending time in nature? Is it talking to someone? Is it reading a book or watching a movie that contains the message we need to receive? Is it walking or dancing? Is it, perhaps, something as simple as listening to music?

Today I have a low day. The sky is grey but there is no rain to wash away the heaviness and no thunder to shake my body to the core. Today I need something powerful to help me, so I turn to music that embodies that strength and power, and for me that music comes from the north.



There is a warrior within all of us, a warrior that can handle anything life throws our way, but sometimes we need extra help to access that part of ourselves; something or someone who reminds us we are more than the fleeting feelings we experience. 

If you’re having a low day right now, let these words be your reminder. Embrace those feelings knowing they’re part of the package you got when you started this human journey. Turn to music and poetry and art and nature, and think of the millions of people who are experiencing the same emotions. Because we might feel we are alone, but the truth is we are connected in ways beyond our imagination.

The sky is grey today but I know the sun shines furiously somewhere else, and above us, there’s silent darkness full of shiny stars. And the magnitude of this truth makes my problems seem smaller and puts some distance between me and them. Today is just one day, and all we’re asked to do is take one day at a time.

One day at a time. One word at a time. One breath at a time.

This is how we go on.

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