living deep studio

Everyone’s talking about their election hangovers but I think there’s more going on.

This week clients and friends are telling me that they’re out of sorts. Tired. A bit overwhelmed. Depleted. Drained.

I’ve experienced my own version of it too. And whenever I’ve wondered aloud if maybe what we all need is time to detox, the response is always “Yes!”

With this election we’ve endured an onslaught of ongoing toxicity that’s bound to take its toll.

The constant negativity. The he said/he said. Polarization. Clashing world views. Blue states vs. red states.

Add it all up and it’s a recipe for collective distress. As one friend said, “It’s been crazy-making.” Yep, I agree with that whole-heartedly, even though my guy won. Being happy with the results doesn’t necessarily mean you get a pass on the effects of fight/flight and your body’s stress reaction.

One of the best things we can do for ourselves right now is go to our personal list of self-nurturing, self-soothing activities and actually do something on the list. Or if you don’t have such a list, create one and then take action.

For the next few days I’m taking my own medicine and detoxing/self-nourishing by:

*Practicing mindful breathing. This is one of my favorite free recordings. I like it because the voice is soothing, it’s only seven minutes long and I can do it several times throughout the day.

*Walking in the park or by the river every day.

*Making this kale salad, the absolute best. Nourishment with a zing. Supplemented by green tea and dark chocolate.

*Resting, napping, reading, going to bed early, soaking in the hot tub.

*Listening to music. Right now I’ve got gypsy jazz from the SF Hot Club playing on my iPod. For me it’s a good combination of both soothing and upbeat at the same time.

*Smelling the scent of lavender. I’m loving this lavender spray that just arrived a few days ago.

*Practicing simple, hands-on creative activities, like writing on beach rocks with chalk pastels! Did you know that engaging in creative handwork calms us by releasing serotonin into our bodies?

How do you detox and self-soothe?

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You might have noticed that I tweaked the name of my site to Living Deep Studio. I’ve also redirected my old blog, Why Not Start Now? If you’re new here or you’ve been receiving posts from WNSN by email or reader, I’d be so grateful if you’d click here and sign up for this site. And if you’d like monthly resources for Living Deep delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe here. Thanks!