Some feelings show up without warning – and without a name. You’re not sad, not exactly anxious, not even sure what’s wrong… but something feels off. And when you can’t explain it, the urge to fix it gets louder.

This short reflection is a reminder that not every emotion needs a label. Not every ache needs to be solved right away. Sometimes, the kindest thing you can do is feel it – even if you don’t understand it yet.

If you’ve ever woken up heavy for no clear reason, this is your permission slip to stop searching for the perfect words and just let the feeling be.

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Hey, this is It's Okay If, bite-sized permission slips. I'm Matt Gilhooly, and today's permission, it's okay if you don't have the words for what you feel. You know those days where you wake up and something just feels off? You're not sick, you're not exactly sad, you're just not yourself. I had one of those days recently. I opened my eyes and there it was. That heaviness, that...

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something. And immediately my brain went into fix-it mode. What is this? Is it stress? Am I anxious? Did I forget something? But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find the trigger. There was no neat label. No obvious explanation. And for a while, that made it feel worse. Because if I couldn't name it, how was I supposed to fix it? How could I justify it? How could I tell someone else what I was feeling?

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if I couldn't even tell myself.

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But here's what I want to offer you today. Some feelings, they don't come with clear instructions. They don't fit neatly into a sentence. And maybe they don't need to. That day, instead of forcing it, I just let it be. I let the feeling move through me without naming it, without fixing it, without apologizing for it. And by the end of the day, it had shifted on its own. If you're feeling something,

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today and you don't have the words for it yet? That's okay. You can still feel it. You can still honor it.

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So if you're up for it, tell yourself, give myself permission to feel, even if I don't have the words yet. That's your permission slip, friend. Tuck it in your pocket and I'll see you next time.