I Didn’t Numb Out! Here’s What Helped Instead.
On soothing your system when you're wound up & weary.
I worked a Saturday shift recently, something I rarely do. The café was slammed & halfway through, I could feel it: that wired, wound-up energy building in my body.
Tired, overstimulated & already starting to scan for a way out.
Old wiring kicked in. I didn’t think the words “I deserve a reward.” It was more subtle than that. My brain started offering me images of comfort.
Chocolate for dinner.
Something easy & indulgent.
A dopamine hit.
A way to not feel like… this.
But something else kicked in too.
A pause.
A flicker of awareness.
A check-in.
I looked at the time & remembered our local sauna was running until six. I texted my lady to see if she could squeeze me in. I got no reply, but as soon as I finished work, I went straight there anyway.
It was exactly what I needed.
Not an escape.
A return.
That moment, of catching the urge, before acting on it & choosing something that actually restored me, felt like a win.
A quiet one.
But a real one all the same.
And so I’m here to share with you, this month’s finds; because they’re all tied to that need for comfort & relief, met not through numbing out, but tuning in.
Returning to yourself
Releasing the buildup
Reconnecting in ways that restore, not deplete.
These are the things that filled my bucket this month
Maybe they’ll fill yours too…
[Subscribers, keep reading for this month’s curated finds, along with a gentle self-care prompt to help you deepen into this theme]