a protocol for bad days
the smallest possible acts of self-preservation
I periodically have days when I find myself feeling very low or very anxious—or both. Whilst my mental health is generally good, and I’m proud of the work I’ve done to get myself to this point, these off days are still horrible. The best word to describe them is paralysing. I find it incredibly difficult to get out of bed, trapped in a loop of my own, harsh thoughts. The loop is self-perpetuating: I feel bad, and stuck, then I feel bad about being unable to unstick myself. The longer I am frozen, the harder it is to break out.
There is a lot of very irritating advice online about what to do when you feel like this. Annoyingly, some of it probably works very well, but I feel like it misses the point that when you feel crap, it becomes very difficult to force yourself into doing things that seem simple from the outside.
I understand why it’s hard to get that if you’ve never experienced that feeling. But saying “go for a run” is not helpful in those moments. If I had the energy to go for a run, I wouldn’t be feeling this way. Don’t get me wrong—lifestyle factors like running, better sleep hygiene, and nutrition can make a huge difference to our mental health.
But my point is that people need tangible, practical advice on how to make those changes in their low state, not just an instruction to go forth and just be better.
Here are the things that I genuinely find achievable and somewhat helpful when I am paralysed by worry or low mood. This is not medical advice, but a personal account of what works for me after some trial and error over the years. These are the instructions I give myself to have somewhat less of a shitty day when I’ve woken up with a knot in my stomach. I find it helpful to have this sort of personal protocol for bad days.
