“Why Do I Feel Weird? I Feel Off.”

Have you ever woken up, and things just feel…off? You can’t help but feel like something is terribly wrong, but you can’t put your finger on exactly why. Maybe it’s a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, and it makes you wonder “what’s wrong with me?” 

Sometimes the lack of a clearly identifiable source for your feelings can be even more frustrating than the feeling itself. However, don’t despair—we have some great resources available to help you determine what you’re feeling, and how to cope with those “weird” feelings. 

Get to the Root Cause of Your Feelings

Unfortunately, acknowledging that you’re feeling “off” or “weird” isn’t enough to remedy those feelings—you have to take action. Start by determining the root cause of your feelings. Here’s a few things you can do to begin. 

Are you taking care of your physical health?

There’s a strong link between your mental and physical health - if you’re not taking care of your body, whatever is making you feel weird is likely to be exacerbated. Here’s a few questions to ask yourself to see if there are steps you can take to improve your physical, and overall health. 

Physical Health Checklist

• Have I gotten an adequate amount of sleep lately? 
• Have I eaten today? What have I eaten lately? Am I eating balanced meals?
• When was the last time I drank water? Am I dehydrated? 
• Does any part of my body hurt? Am I sore? Where?
• Do I feel sick? Have I had any symptoms of physical illness? 

Use Galvan to Track Your Mental and Physical Health

Aside from answering your checklist questions, you will be able to use the Galvan app as a reference for your physical and mental health. Galvan is a free mental health app that is launching soon and will help you track your physical and mental health—and rewards you for doing it too! With Galvan you’ll be able to see a more complete picture of your health—the app will assess your heart rate, your exercise habits, and even the nearly-imperceptible nuances of your voice to help you track your mental health on a daily basis. Download the app here!

Prioritize Your Physical Health

If after checking in on your physical health you realize that you’re lacking in a few areas - especially sleep, food, and hydration - prioritize those areas first. Don’t be afraid to call in sick at school or work. It’s important to prioritize your physical health, especially if a deteriorating physical health is leading to difficulties with your mental health. 

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Retrace Your Steps

If you’re feeling “weird," try retracing your steps throughout the day to see if you can identify where things went wrong. Your environment and things that happen to you can be a trigger for negative thoughts and feelings. Here’s a few questions to ask yourself to help you determine a specific stressor. 

Self-Reflective Questions 

• What did I do today? How have I been feeling throughout the day? 
• When did this feeling start? What was I doing? What was I thinking about? 
• Has anything unexpected happened in my life recently? Has anything changed recently?
• What has been occupying my time and mental energy?
• What have I been doing or thinking about frequently?

Investigate the Usual Suspects

While negative feelings are unpleasant, they’re not uncommon. Be sure to evaluate other areas of your life as well, and determine whether one of those areas is the cause of stress or “feeling weird” at this time. 

Other Potential Stressors

• Relationships: How are my relationships doing? Do I feel connected to my family, friends, and loved ones? When was the last time I spent quality time with them?
• Work and School: How is work/school going? Am I excelling? Do I enjoy what I am doing? Do I feel overwhelmed with my workload? 
• Home life: Are all of my basic needs taken care of? Do I feel safe? Am I missing anything?

Name Your Feeling

After evaluating your physical health, your feelings throughout the day, and other potential stressors, it can be helpful to identify, and subsequently name, your feelings. Here’s a few common ones to reference.

Common Feelings

• Loneliness: I feel isolated and misunderstood by the people around me. I don’t feel like I have any friends or people who understand me..
• Low Self-Esteem: I don’t feel good about myself or my abilities. I don’t feel worthy of love or good things happening to me.
• Stress: I feel overwhelmed by everything happening around me. I don’t feel capable of handling the things that are expected of me. 
• Boredom: I don’t feel engaged or fulfilled by what I’m doing.
• Uncertainty: I feel unsure of myself or my future. 

While this list certainly isn’t comprehensive, it can be a good starting place to help you identify your feelings. You may also want to consider journaling or talking to a trusted loved one or a therapist to help you name your feelings. 

How Can I Feel Better?

After determining the cause and name of your feeling, there’s a number of things you can do to feel better and improve your mood. Here’s a few ideas to help you get started. 

Perform an Act of Service 

Oftentimes when you’re caught up in your head, feeling weird or off, one of the best things you can do to feel better is to focus your time and attention outward, instead of on yourself. Acts of service can help give you a sense of purpose, foster a greater connection with those around you, increase your gratitude, and fill you with positive emotions. 

Move Your Body

Physical exercise can help you feel better by improving mood, reducing stress, increasing energy, improving sleep quality, and boosting self-esteem. It is an important component of overall health and well-being, and the endorphins from exercise are a nearly-guaranteed mood booster. 

Do Something You Love

When you’re in one of these moods, the things you usually enjoy may not sound as appealing. Challenge yourself to do them anyway. Put on your favorite show, play a video game, or start a new knitting project. It might feel like you’re just going through the motions at first, but give yourself a chance to get into it.  

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that even though you might be feeling “weird” or “off”, it’s nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of. It’s important to prioritize your health, no matter what that might look like for you. 

While it’s not uncommon to feel “weird”, be sure to remember that these feelings are supposed to be occasional occurrences, not the everyday, normal feelings. If you find yourself with that not-quite-right feeling more often than not, it may be a sign of anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues. If you think this may apply to you, consider reaching out to a mental health hotline, such as the one found here.