Becoming Her

Sometimes, right before we level up, right before the breakthrough, right before the transformation, everything feels like it’s falling apart. The pressure builds.
The emotions get loud. The exhaustion becomes unbearable.
And you find yourself thinking, “I literally can’t take one more thing.”

I know we have all been there at some point. Every moment feels like eternity. Your mind is racing, and you feel like your soul is sitting on the edge, teetering. Somehow suspended in liminal space, we patiently count down the ticks on the doomsday clock in our mind as we wait for the shoe drop.

We scroll and read advice like, “Just pause and remember this is part of the process.” That type of advice feels insulting when you’re in the throes of it. You don’t need someone to hand you a cliché. You need someone to hand you a rope. When you’re battling anxiety, depression, or hopelessness in real time, here’s how you can actually do something about it.

• Grounding Technique 5-4-3-2-1
• 5 things you can see
• 4 Things you can touch
• 3 things you can hear
• 2 things you can smell
• 1 thing you can taste.
• This brings your mind back to the present moment, easing the panic that was trying to take over.

Place your hand over your heart and say out loud “This will soon be a distant memory. I have survived hard things before; I am safe right now. Hearing your own voice speaking reassurance has a calming effect.

Don’t lay claim to the emotion. You are not the emotion; you are the observer of it. Don’t say things like, “I am anxious.” Instead say, “Anxiety is just visiting.” This may sound silly but, your mind is powerful and you can create a calming environment for yourself with the right mindset.

Art therapy is a wonderful thing! Draw/paint a door. Design it however you want and imagine a place where you would like to go. A favorite vacation spot, a new bucket list vacation, anywhere. Put this door in your pocket and throughout the day when anxiety or whatever emotion starts to overwhelm you, take it out and imagine walking through it to your chosen destination.

Move your body! Shake, dance, walk, stretch, anything! Get moving! Movement release stored energy, and this will definitely help counter some heavy emotions.

These moments are real; the tension is real. BUT so is the breakthrough. Something bigger is building. Think about the ocean,
When the tide pulls out and the shore looks empty,
there’s a reason.
That energy is gathering strength.
And what feels like a withdrawal is simply the setup for the wave. You may not see the wave coming yet but it’s already on its way. If you are in that pull-back moment and life feels uncertain, messy, compassless. Please know, just because it’s heavy doesn’t mean it’s hopeless. You are not behind, you are becoming.