Over the past few days, the world has felt incredibly heavy. As a Certified Health Education Specialist, I have struggled with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. As a woman, I have struggled with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. As a daughter, a friend, and a person that wants to one day bring children into this world, I have been struggling. I have shared some thoughts on my social media and though I know it will and has resulted in the loss of followers and supporters, I also know where I stand and I want others to know that I stand with them. This is a tough time for many and it’s only the beginning of all that’s to come. The world feels heavy, scary, and confusing for so many people in America right now. I’ve woken up with a pit in my stomach for the past few days and though I’m not going to use this specific platform to share the reasons why I’m pro-choice, I do want to share that I stand for you and with you in this troubling time as body sovereignty and autonomy is the most important part of health and well-being. We will not back down and we will not give up. We will do it scared. We will do it together. We will do what needs to be done. If you don’t agree with what I’m sharing, you can simply unfollow, unsubscribe, or continue reading with grace and we can agree to disagree. I know that my thoughts, beliefs, and opinions are not for everyone and that’s okay. It’s not my job to get you to agree with me. It’s not my job to make you happy. It’s not my job to please everyone. It’s not possible and I won’t try to make it happen. I’ve spent my whole life trying to please and perfect and I won’t fall back into old habits just because the world feels so scary right now. I’m here to stand my ground and fight for what I believe. So, here we are.

I don’t believe it’s my place to share information on the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, how you can take action, or share a million things that everyone can debate. I use my platform as a place to share health and wellness resources and that’s what I’m going to continue to do. I am unlearning, learning, and growing along with you and though I have opinions, I don’t believe this is the place to unpack all of that in great detail. I don’t have all of the statistics, I don’t know all of the facts, and I don’t have all of the answers. I won’t pretend that I do. I have made my statement and I intend to continue supporting those who will trust me to do so with what I know best which is health education. At the bottom of this post, I have shared other resources that I have been using to learn about the topic at hand based on my beliefs. I would prefer you get real information from organizations and people that have greater knowledge than I do. I want those who are more educated than I to have the floor during this time. If that’s not your cup of tea, that’s okay. Some people drink coffee.

So, if you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you. Regardless of your beliefs on the matter, I think it’s safe to say that the world feels uncertain and scary. Regardless of politics, religion, and the divide, I think we can agree that the world seems heavy. From social media overload, the rise and fall of the economy, navigating life during and after the pandemic and just figuring out our place in the world, it all seems hard. Emotions are high and it can be challenging to navigate them. I’m seeing more and more of my clients coming to me wanting to focus on emotional health and wellness and how to process what they are feeling. So, I wanted to share some proven ways that you can navigate these emotions in a healthy and stable way.

Acknowledge

Acknowledging your emotions should be the first action you take. All of the steps to acknowledging your emotions may be out of order and it may take other actions to get to a place of acknowledgment. But, you can’t understand a feeling while actively suppressing it. Unpacking emotions is challenging and difficult but it all starts with a basic sense of acknowledgment. The ultimate goal is to be able to recognize the emotion and develop an action plan based on what you feel but, it starts with just noticing that you are feeling something. From there, you can use other resources to fully unravel what it is that you are feeling. How can you do this?

When you enter a place of self-awareness, you are able to tell when something is off. Maybe it’s anger, confusion, doubt, etc. Self-awareness allows you to at least know when something is askew in the mind and body. From there, you can offer loving-kindness to yourself for feeling those tough emotions and begin to work on identifying what’s actually being felt. If you aren’t able to figure out what that is, then you should move on to the below strategies to better recognize what’s being felt. Once you are able to label what you’re feeling (and I mean really label it, get to the root of what’s being felt, and keep asking yourself what it is until you understand the full scope of it), you can then allow yourself to process why it’s being felt (more on this in the below sections). Once you understand the why, you can let go of the need to control and suppress because you can turn your emotion into action or change in your life. This will vary based on what emotions are being felt and why.

Journaling

Journaling allows you the chance to brain-dump everything. It can be the starting place to begin processing what you’re feeling or it can be a place to figure out your next steps. There simply are no rules to journaling which is the most beautiful thing. Get a journal, a piece of paper, or even the notes section on your phone, and just let it all go. It doesn’t have to make sense or be structured thoughts. Journaling has been shown to reduce the negative effects of stress while allowing individuals to properly process what’s going on in their minds. It reduces the surpression of emotions and allows for greater emotional intelligence and empathy for oneself and others. Ideas to journal about if you don’t enjoy free-writing:

• What am I feeling? Why?
• What am I avoiding? Why?
• What triggered these emotions?
• What does this emotion need from me right now? What does it need from me in the future?
• What would it take for me to turn these emotions into something positive?
• Do I want to turn these emotions around or do I want to use them as fuel for change?
• What conversations should happen because of this emotion? With whom?
• What actions should I take next to improve or resolve these emotions?

Reflection & Action

Reflection somewhat falls under the journaling category though reflection can occur in more ways than one. Reflection simply means that you’re processing your emotions. You’re sharing what you need with others, or yourself and then figuring out what action needs to be taken. Sometimes the only action that needs to happen is feeling; sitting with the emotions rather than pushing them away and embracing the positive (how you can grow, how this emotion is helping you, finding gratitude for the emotion, how it’s impacting your life, etc.) and the negative (the anxiety, the trauma, the policy, the outcome, etc.) that come with it. Action can and will look different for each individual and each situation. For the current situation at hand, maybe you take action through donations, activism, or sharing your word. For other emotions, maybe it’s going to therapy, altering your routine, finding lifestyle solutions, etc.

Silence / Meditation / Breathing

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is nothing. Silence is powerful, healing, and magical. Sitting in silence with yourself to process and feel is a wonderful way to navigate tough emotions. Meditation, breathing, and oneness can be one of the most fulfilling and nourishing practices for the human body. It allows your body to reset and refocus. Your nervous system can get oversaturated with feelings that it doesn’t even know what to process and how to process it all. This then manifests into lashing out, physical ailments, and a hyper-stimulated mind. Silence brings you back to reality. It reminds your mind and body that you have the answers within you if you allow yourself to access them. We are born with our innate desires and answers but we rarely allow ourselves the time and energy to tap back into them. Being with yourself is scary. But it’s not as scary as the world around you and you’ll be surprised with the person you meet and grow when sitting, breathing, and connecting.

Talking to Trusted Loved Ones

The key point here is, trusted loved ones. We are not oversharing, spit-firing our opinions to people who don’t deserve the right to hear them, or giving ourselves to people that won’t protect us. When it comes to tough emotions and controversial decisions, it’s not about sharing to share, it’s about connection and compassion. When we share emotions, we must know that we’re safe. Sharing can be therapeutic, healing, and connecting when done right. When you share with people that have similar views, you can feel a sense of shared humanity, which is a key component of self-compassion. This can be through significant others, family, friends, therapists, coaches, etc. There isn’t necessarily a limit to whom you can talk to but you should be evaluating why you are sharing with this person. You can ask yourself these questions to better understand if they are worthy of hearing your thoughts, emotions, and story:

• Why does this person deserve to hear my feelings?
• How do I know I can trust them?
• Will their thoughts make me feel worse about what I’m feeling?
• Will they provide value, insight, or reflection that will further help me while navigating these emotions?

Self-Compassion

You’re not alone. The events going on in the world are scary and confusing but you aren’t alone. Practicing self-compassion is critical to sanity, mental health, and well-being. Give yourself some grace. If you’re feeling stirred up about what’s happening in the world, you aren’t alone. Find your community. There are others that are feeling what you are feeling. They want to connect and support you. They want to hear what you have to say and they can provide you with resources that will help you on your journey. If your emotions are personal and unrelated to what’s going on in the world, you still are not alone. Give yourself some grace as what you are feeling is natural and a part of life. Give yourself gratitude for showing up and being present in your mind and body. Being hard and critical of yourself will only make this journey more difficult. It will be debilitating and paralyzing. Kristen Neff defines the three components of self-compassion as self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Adding a little bit of each of these components in your life will allow you to look through a lens of love rather than judgment.

Movement

I intentionally made movement the last strategy because it’s not always necessary, it doesn’t always help, and it’s not for everyone. That’s okay. Scientifically, exercise and movement release endorphins. When endorphins are released in the body, there is a chemical reaction between the endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine. So, movement brings out various emotions because the chemicals in your body are essentially being stirred up. This can be something that is emotionally detoxifying and purifying in all of the best ways or it can negatively impact your mood. Movement allows you to get in touch with your body and feel what’s going on with every stride. It’s a great way to release positive endorphins to release stress and built-up anxiety. However, movement isn’t something to be used to suppress your thoughts. Many rely on fitness as a way to escape reality and this is counterproductive when navigating tough emotions. So, take movement with a grain of salt. As always, listen to your body and honor where it needs to be.

Rest is productive too. If your body needs a moment to pause and process, honor that. Giving your body the rest it needs can help you adequately process the world around you. It can allow your hormones to rest. Exercise or movement when feeling emotional can also impact your performance. If you’re a recovering perfectionist (like most of us here in this community), fitness may spark more anxiety and struggle because you aren’t performing to the level that you are used to. Of course, my rational thought to that is “who cares, just move in a way that feels good, listen to your body, and forget the expectations you are putting on yourself” but I first-handedly know that’s not always the easy route to take when in a place of heightened emotion.

It’s a Lot, I Know

Emotions can be a challenge to navigate through, I know. It can be so much easier to shake them off, suppress them, and let them be. But, they will hold you hostage. They will prevent you from growing and evolving. You are feeling these emotions for a reason and you can use them for change in your life rather than allowing them to take hold of you. When you can acknowledge what you are feeling and why you’re feeling that way, you’ll be able to react in a rational light. Emotional wellness is about being able to identify all your emotions (positive and negative) since each one plays a role in our lives. It’s okay to feel down sometimes but having a strong sense of emotional wellness makes it easier to turn those negative emotions into long-term motivation, drive, action, and change.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for fighting the good fight with me. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Women’s Rights Resources

We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle – ABORTION: Family Meeting on Four Things to Do Next

Planned Parenthood – Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade: What You Need to Know

Together Rising – Donate for Reproductive Justice

Elevated Access – Volunteer Piolets Transporting Passengers to Access Healthcare

National Network of Abortion Funds – Donate, Information, News, & More

Sister Song – Eradicating Reproductive Oppression & Securing Human Rights