Is it just me, or do y’all also feel like we blinked, and suddenly summer is beginning to turn into fall? Holy moly this summer flew! Maybe it’s getting older, maybe it’s all the things we women tend to have our hands in that keep us so busy, maybe it’s eclipse energy or whatever, but my clients and I all seem to be feeling like someone hit the fast forward button this year, and throughout August, we could barely keep up. If we feel we even kept up at all.
As FUN as summer can be, it can also bring with it a ton of stress. Travel, vacations, kiddos, family, friends, graduations, barbecues, weddings, and so on just seem to fill up our calendars and before we know it, we’re feeling completely bamboozled (is that even a word?:) by it all, and STRESSED. Which feels like crap when we see TV and magazine ads telling us we’re supposed to be lazily sipping fresh squeezed orange juice in some tropical locale; or (safely) sporting a nice tan from some new bronzer we used as beachy, tossled waves of hair tumble down over our perfect Anthropologie summer dress. Sigh.
I don’t know about y’all, but for me, this last month looked more like throwing on old, crappy jean shorts and a favorite t-shirt, my Birks and feeling reeeeally good about myself if I freakin’ managed to make it to the grocery store once in a week and make breakfast.
Stress management is HARD. For all of us. Right when we think we’ve got it somewhat down (I did yoga! I took deep breaths! I ate a great salad/got sleep/let it go/meditated/etc etc) LIFE comes along and smacks us right upside the head, and we’re back to scrambling through our days with coffee, throwing our hair in a ponytail, flying out the door and maybe even calling ice cream a ‘good enough’ dinner on occasion (*guilty). What are we to do when we realize we’re beyond stressed, and there is literally no stress management even happening in our lives?
Ladies, we BREATHE. And tap into that deep, feminine compassion we all have inside of us – but here’s the kicker – we GIVE IT TO OURSELVES. Yes. You give YOU compassion. Tell yourself, the same way you would tell a girlfriend or sister – hey, love! It’s OK! You get endless do-overs in life. We all do. Every day the sun comes up is a beautiful gift from God to start again today, and to edit the next chapter of the story. So we pat ourselves on the back, tell ourselves what a BADASS we are for surviving all that crap that we are getting through, and then we ask ourselves gently, “Baby, what do you need today?” (I really like adding a sweet term like “baby” or “honey” in these exercises, it helps us to talk to ourselves more tenderly – something we ALL struggle with).
Maybe you need a nap. Maybe you need to carve our an hour for you somewhere this week. THEY WILL ALL BE OK. (They = the kids, the dog, your work, your partner, your mother, the planet, the political causes you’re involved in, etc etc). Seriously. They will all be OK, and you can leave it for an hour. Please do. We need you happy and healthy and feeling good so that we can all benefit from the beautiful things you are bringing in to the world.
Stress management counseling can be a great help during times of stress, and we’re here to support you at Root Counseling. Supporting women is our JAM. We can help provide you with a tailored plan and structure to start feeling better fast, as well as help you sort out any underlying blocks that might be keeping you from loving on yourself as hard as you love on your people. If you could use a little help getting back on track, give us a call at (720) 363-9188, or Book Online Here, we’d be honored to be a part of your support team.
With love and light,
Root xo
