I spent part of Saturday face down on the pool lounger while sounds of summer surrounded me. Not because I was taking a moment of relaxation or just soaking up the sun.

Because I overwhelmed my empathic mind with too big a dose of social media and news, catching up from what I missed on Friday as I wrapped up a couple important deadlines. Understanding the reach and gravity of such a change in ruling and in precident.

Frying my emotional circuits to the point where I numbed out out of my physical self and dragged myself to a pool chair to give me a chance to just be, for a bit, while my family played and splashed to slowly come back online enough to try and function.

The tears and processing came later.

Wherever you fall on the empathy or Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) spectrum, this week has been a lot. On top of all that we already handle in our jam-packed lives.

It's okay to not really be okay.

What Next?

I urge you to be gentle with yourself. And others. Take time away from the news and triggering topics. It's OKAY to need a break. To not have on-going reserves to keep up.

It's OKAY to not really know what you feel. Sad. Mad. Smad. (Gilmore Girls to the rescue to help me name my feelings). Or maybe it's an acronym, Sad, Mad, Anxiety-filled, Determined to take action toward change and equality anyway once I take care of my well-being.

And while taking a walk won't solve the root cause of the problems, it's a good place to release some of the emotional weight and restore your sense of self.

• Take yourself outside, and move your body in a way that reflects how you feel. Huff and stomp, swing those arms, trample some unsuspecting grass or take a kick at a weed that's sticking higher than the rest. Don't do something that will hurt yourself or cause damage, but do give that frazzled and frizzled energy a place to disperse.

• Then keep walking. Take a deep breath and let your heart space expand forward as you drop your shoulders. Welcome whatever form of release your body offers. For me, it's unprompted tears and I've grown to know it's a therapeutic release of energy, giving space for magic to come through.

• And keep walking. Start talking to yourself. If you're self-conscious, put your earbuds in and pretend you're talking on the phone. But put some words to your feelings. Explore what is at the heart of what upsets you the most. Get specific with what really irks you, makes you feel violated, scared, threatened, worried.

The act of moving your body while processing your thoughts has been immensely helpful to me, for over 900 days in a row.

Because once you can name it, you can tame it.

You can align your actions with finding solutions to what most bothers you, without diluting your resolve or fighting fights that aren't aligned.

Our resources are limited, but we find ways to address and support what is most important to us.

It's not easy to live our own personal values. There are easy ways out tempting us all the time. But I can assure you, it's far better to live in pursuit of aligning our actions toward them, than dodging the guilt of not. I’m exploring this more deeply as I’m reading The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck. And she’s reaffirming what I understood about the journey, but helping me go so much deeper in finding my alignment.

And then?

Know it's okay to enforce boundaries of Good Vibes Only, (blog post) especially when you're still feeling ungrounded.

And that it's okay to turn off the news, escape reality a little bit and dive into a good book.

Summer reading is my favorite kind. I've picked 3 books (blog) to help us dive into summer (and maybe learn a little about ourselves along the way.)

First up is One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. Katy loses her mom, her world, and ends up taking the trip they were meant to take together, back to coastal Italy where her mom spent a pivotal one Italian summer.

To accompany your reading, or help you go deeper with your book club, I include journal prompts to help you really dive into this amazing story and reflect on some things in your own life.

So unplug and be a bit more mindful about stepping out of the swirl once in a while so you don't end up like me, face down in a pool chair in shutdown mode. Read more about this summer beach read it in my latest blog post here. (#NoSpoilers)

Keep Going

As you regain that sense of self and can orient yourself toward your true north, take action. Follow up on the thoughts you processed on your walk and investigate the possible solutions. But this time, you’ll be doing it from a place of true alignment and focusing your efforts in ways that are meaningful to you.

For additional guidance in exploring your thoughts and feelings, check out my free journaling guide. I go into the benefits of stream of consciousness writing and giving you the permission you only think you need to get it all out.

*post may contain affiliate links, which create no additional cost to you, but supports local bookstores and my love of sharing my reading experiences with you.

Stephanie Rose is a mom, wife, business owner and a forever student in finding ways to know herself better. She acts as guide for your own journey, sharing insights, tools and practices to help you remember your magic and live a life that lights you up. Sign up for her newsletter and check out her free resources.

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