A reflective journal

The Month-3 Dip

For the stretch when the shine wears off — and you wonder if you made a mistake.

Created by Stephanie Johnson, LICSW · The Grounded Expat

Somewhere around month three, the excitement quiets and the ordinary-hard arrives. You start wondering if you made a mistake. You didn’t. This dip is one of the most predictable parts of the whole arc of moving abroad — and it passes, usually right after it feels worst.

This isn’t a fix. It’s a gentle place to set the heavy feelings down and look at them honestly, one page at a time.

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This is an educational, self-reflection resource — not therapy, diagnosis, or a crisis service. If you’re struggling beyond what journaling can hold, please reach out to someone you trust, a licensed professional, or local emergency services. You deserve real support.

Part One

The Dip Has a Name

The honeymoon fades and the ordinary-hard sets in. This isn’t failure. It’s a phase with a name, and naming it is where it starts to loosen its grip.

What does the dip feel like for you right now — in your body, your mood, your days? Just describe it. No fixing required.

Finish this sentence honestly: “Lately, the story I keep telling myself is…”

Part Two

Grief, Not a Mistake

Grief and “I made the wrong choice” feel almost identical from the inside. But they’re not the same thing — and learning to tell them apart changes everything.

What are you actually missing? Be specific — the people, the places, the small easinesses of the old life.

Read that back slowly. Does it feel like grief (missing what you love) or genuine regret (this was truly wrong for you)? What do you notice?

Part Three

Two Things, Both True

You can be homesick and glad you came. Struggling and growing. Holding both isn’t confusion — it’s the honest shape of this.

One thing that’s genuinely hard right now:

One thing that’s quietly good — even now, even small:

Part Four

Why You Came

The dip makes the old life look golden and quietly hides the reasons you left. Let’s put them back in view.

When you chose this, what were you hoping for? And what did the life you left behind not have?

One small sign — however tiny — that some of what you hoped for is here, or could be:

Part Five

Small Footholds

You don’t climb out of a dip in one leap. You find footholds — small, repeatable, real.

One small win from the past week (ordering a coffee in a language that isn’t yours counts):

One tiny anchor you’ll keep this week — a walk, a ritual, a song, a person:

Part Six

Your People

Connection is a regulator. You were never meant to carry a whole new life alone.

Who is one person — here or back home — you can be honest with this week? And what will you tell them?

Part Seven

A Note for the Next Dip

The dip will visit again. When it does, you’ll be glad you left yourself something kind to come back to.

Write a few lines to yourself for the next hard day. What do you most need to hear?

One word for how you want the next stretch to feel — and one small step toward it:

The dip is not the destination.

It’s the most normal part of the whole arc, and it passes — usually right after it feels worst. Be gentle with yourself; showing up to these pages is the work. When you’re ready to go deeper, the full Relocation Journal walks the entire arc of life abroad. You’re on the list, so you’ll be first to know the moment it lands. 🌿

The Grounded Expat

Created by Stephanie Johnson, LICSW · thegroundedexpat.com