you don’t talk too much. you aren’t too loud. you aren’t too needy. you aren’t too sensitive. you aren’t too this, or that. you aren’t too much anything. you will never be too much: you are you, and you are allowed to take up space. you are allowed to exist however you choose.

— Chelsea Carroll

That's okay for now💕

white oleander bouquet commish

by mauro_roberto__

I do not respect the grind. Go to bed

Let's do a grounding exercise together! - 54321 Method

I know a lot of people often think about grounding as something that's reserved for panic attacks or things like that, but grounding can be good for almost any overwhelming emotion. It can be good to just center yourself. Even if you aren't feeling stressed, if you're up to it, take a moment and do this. This is still good to do when you're perfectly calm because this allows you to practice so that it will be easier to remember when you're stressed. (I don't recommend waiting until you're stressed to try a grounding exercise for the first time.)

We're going to look at the 5-4-3-2-1 method. Feel free to do this in your head, write it down somewhere private or share your answers in the replies, tags or reblogs.

Step 1 - Start with breathing if you can. Breathe in to the count of five, hold it for five seconds, and breathe out to the count of five. (If five is too long, feel free to adjust this to four.)

Step 2 - What are 5 things you can see around you? Examples: the clock on the wall, a plant on the windowsil, etc.

Step 3 - What are 4 things around you that you can touch? If you're up to it, also touch them and think about what they feel like (soft, hard, rough, etc). Examples: Maybe it's the blanket on your bed, maybe you're sitting on a chair, etc.

Step 4 - What are 3 things around you that you can hear? Examples: Maybe it's your cat purring, the fridge running, maybe there are birds outside, etc.

Step 5 - What are 2 things around you that you can smell? If you are not in an environment where you can smell something, feel free to move somewhere that you can or even bring a scent to the space (like body spray, body lotion, etc).

Step 6 - What is 1 thing you can taste? I find that people sometimes get frustrated with this one because if you haven't recently brushed your teeth or eaten, taste isn't easily identifiable. As an alternative if you don't currently taste something, what is is something you like to taste?

Step 7 - Take one final deep breath, counting to five as you breathe in, holding for five seconds, and then counting to five as you breathe out.

Step 8 - Take a moment to be proud of yourself. You did it and made it through this! If you can, try and put this aside to try and do once a day so that it may come to you easier in a time you need it.

I can relate to feeling this way, and I want to share a lesson I learned during my healing journey:

Vulnerability is a superpower. It takes a lot of courage to show our vulnerable side, especially when we're not used to it. But sometimes, when things don't go as planned, we get very disappointed, and that disappointment can make us build emotional walls to protect ourselves. Eventually, we might reject vulnerability altogether.

The thing is, we shouldn't be afraid of being vulnerable. Embracing vulnerability is essential. It doesn't mean we should have no boundaries or share everything with everyone. We can still be discerning about what we choose to share. The key is not to hold back from being vulnerable for too long because if we do, we might end up suddenly unleashing all our emotions on someone, which can be overwhelming for both ourselves and the other person. Instead, it's better to find a balance and gradually open up with the right people at the right time.

Being open and vulnerable has lots of good things that come with it. When we show our true selves, we can have deeper connections and trust with others. It makes a safe space for them to be themselves too, and that makes our relationships more meaningful.

It's important to be careful too. Being vulnerable doesn't mean we have to give up our own well-being or let others use us. We need to know our limits and tell others about them so that our relationships can be strong and balanced.

Being vulnerable might be hard sometimes. It takes courage, and it's okay to feel scared or unsure. We can learn from past experiences when it was tough or didn't go well, and that can help us be better at being vulnerable in the future.

Trusting ourselves and others is a big part of being vulnerable too. When we trust that we can handle our feelings, it's easier to share them with others. And when we trust the people we're close to, we can have real and honest connections.

castle on the hill by jenny vaughan-coughlan on flickr

— Unknown

i think they should make it illegal for anxiety

y'all are misunderstanding this, dw, it's not illegal to have anxiety, it's illegal for the anxiety to bother you, they'd arrest the anxiety

— Unknown