Have you ever noticed something when you were all alone and it both shocked and horrified you? I have. Let me tell you a story…

"NO!!!" I felt a flash of heat as I screamed in silent horror. 

Rushing upstairs to look in the bathroom mirror my worst fear was realized. I saw the beginning of a stress sore on the corner of my mouth. Without conscious awareness my inner alarm triggered panic to flood throughout my nervous system. With ghastly images becoming more hideous by the second, I frantically searched through the cupboards, looking for my prescription to head off this atrocity.  

As the panic attack triggered an asthma attack, and my breathing became very shallow, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Wide frightened eyes, raised eye-brows, and frozen facial features. Slowing down, I held my own gaze, and watched as it slowly transformed into one of recognition and then the warmth of gentle kindness. 

Silently, I acknowledged what it was like to...

Stress is insidious. As aware as our culture may seem to be about stress interrupting our ability to enjoy life, I wonder how many people truly understand the importance of attuning to the emotional subtleties of stress in order for it to dissipate.   

My husband and I noticed that when our son, Rylan, started kindergarten at age five, he would cling to me when separating. When I returned, he initially greeted me with desperate relief until we were on our way home. Then in the car he expressed loud, angry outbursts of energy, and I needed to pull over to the side of the road to gently hold and soothe him repeatedly. I remember feeling shock, shame, and confusion in my own body, mystified by the perplexing rages my son experienced when transitioning.    

Over time I learned that when we perceive danger in our environment, the way a child does when separating from a parent, the lack of safety amps up a gradual stress response that affects the whole body....

What’s it been like for you  with all the changes taking place in our world? Some of us are experiencing a loss of our sense of freedom. Others, even though there are restrictions placed upon them, they live in a place that allows them to experience more freedom of movement. 

Maybe you have new learning curves because you need to work from home, if you still have a job. If you don’t have a job, then you are learning how to be at home without your normal routine. There are new learning curves for all of us in many different ways. 

Maybe you are finding that there is not enough support when you need it. It could be as simple as something went wrong with your computer and you’re at home without an IT person to help you, and you have to sort it out on your own. Or maybe you have a partner at work who got scared, locked themselves down at home and refuse to help at all, out of fear. 

Maybe it feels like there is a lot of weight on your shoulders...