Exhausted doesn’t even begin to cover it. My brain is so steeped in stress, I’m pretty sure it now constitutes as soup. I have ignored all of my own advice about setting limits on social media doom scrolling, going outside, and even putting on actual pants. I promised myself that I was going to be more consistent in publishing this newsletter (article on Monday and poem on Tuesday), so here I am clickity clacking away at my keyboard while the inside of my head makes sloshing noises.

This is the most consequential and controversial election in my lifetime and all I want to do is eat Swiss Cakes and scroll TikTok until my eyes bleed in the hopes that someone can just promise me everything is going to be ok. I’ve cast my vote, done all the things, now it’s time to hurry up and wait.

I know millions of Americans (and people around the world) are perched on the edge of their seats, biting their nails, filled with existential dread and anxiety. I’m so overstimulated right now I’ve gone into full ADHD meltdown mode and am snapping at the dogs for licking the carpet - worst sound ever. This definitely isn’t healthy.

So what can we do to stay sane while we wait? I’m starting with actually enforcing my social media/internet boundaries. Psychologists will agree with me when I say that checking Google or TikTok every five minutes from now until the end of the week isn’t going to lessen the anxiety, nor will staying up all night glued to the television. I’m going to stick my electronics in a drawer and do my damndest to only check in a handful of times during the day.

Next, I’ve made a list of things that make me happy or distract me from the inevitable march of time:

👉 Making graphics and creating content for my new Facebook group Fashion Rebel

👉 Writing for Substack

👉 Making critters and unleashing my imagination with polymer clay

👉 Listening to soothing records and sipping hot tea with butter cookies

👉 Changing out my manicure

👉 Cleaning out my closet, putting away laundry, and styling some outfits

I’ve also decided to take on another 100 day challenge and started today. The idea is to focus on achieving an ambitious and concrete result by committing to doing one specific thing every day for 100 days. The purpose is to build a habit that changes your life for the better. What better to take my mind of the chaos than a daily task, right?

The name of the game for the foreseeable future is to distract myself with tasks that bring me joy, take frequent deep breathing breaks, respect established social media boundaries, and go to bed at a decent time. I’m also going to be leaning heavily into the Headspace sleepcasts (and their entire subsection on election stress).

Taking care of ourself is non-negotiable, doubly so in tumultuous times. What kindnesses are you affording yourself right now? Have you eaten? Drank some water? Participated in an activity that brings you joy? No matter how big or small the gesture, every little bit of self-love and self-compassion brings a moment of quiet respite from the storm. So, take a deep a deep breath and hang in there my friend. All we can do is take it one day at a time.

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