Self Care During Stressful Times: Caring for Yourself in a Time That Asks So Much

Lately, many of us are walking around with a weight we didn’t ask to carry.

You can feel it in conversations at the coffee shop. In the way people linger a little longer after school pickup. In the texts between friends checking in on one another. In the quiet worry about neighbors, coworkers, kids, friends, and families who feel especially vulnerable right now.

There’s fear in the air.

Fear for people being taken from their homes or workplaces. Fear for kids walking home from school being taken. Fear for those being pulled over simply for driving down the road. Fear of losing rights, safety, and a sense of stability many once took for granted.

And for many, there is also something even closer to home:

Fear for your own safety.

Fear of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fear of being questioned, confronted, or harmed for simply witnessing or recording something. Fear of your door being knocked on — or broken in — without warning. Fear that the laws you thought protected you may not feel as certain as they once did.

That’s a lot for a human nervous system to carry.

This is why self care during stressful times is not a luxury — it’s essential.

And alongside that fear, there is something else happening that deserves to be named:

Communities are coming together in powerful, protective, deeply human ways.

People are raising money for legal expenses. Delivering groceries and supplies to those who are afraid to leave their homes. Watching school dismissal times. Showing up to protests. Calling representatives. Sharing accurate information. Checking in on neighbors. Organizing quietly and steadily behind the scenes.

There is an enormous amount of heart and humanity on display right now.

And for as incredible as that is, it’s all also exhausting.

Because when you care this much, when your heart is this engaged, you don’t just “go about your day.” You carry it with you. In your body. In your thoughts. In your sleep. In the background of everything you do.

This is exactly why self care during stressful times can feel so hard — and so necessary.

Many people are quietly wondering:

How do I keep showing up without completely burning out? How do I take care of myself without feeling selfish? How do I rest when it feels like there’s so much to do?

If that’s you, I want to offer something gently and clearly:

You are allowed — and encouraged — to take care of yourself right now.

Not later. Not when things calm down. Not when you’ve done “enough.”

Now. Today.

Because this is not a short burst of stress. This is sustained emotional strain. And it’s going to be challenging for a while.

You are giving a lot — emotionally, mentally, and sometimes physically — to care for the people and places you love. That takes energy. And if you don’t adjust how much you’re taking on so you can conserve your energy, or do things to replenish your energy, you don’t become more helpful… you become depleted.

Your patience shortens. Your clarity fades. Your energy drops. Your hope feels harder to access.

Saying no or taking downtime is not checking out. It’s how you maintain your ability to continue.

You Don’t Have to Do Everything

There is a quiet guilt many people are carrying right now — the feeling that they should be doing more. Showing up more. Saying more. Helping more.

But no one person is meant to carry all of this.

You can:

• make a call

• drop off supplies

• attend a gathering or training

• check in on a friend

• donate when you’re able

• share accurate information

And then you can step back and rest.

Both of those things can happen. Both of those things are valuable.

Sustainable action and care for others requires sustainable self-care. Not to mention that you yourself may be directly impacted by everything happening!

Simple Ways to Practice Self Care During Stressful Times

This doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, the simpler the better.

It might look like:

• Turning off the news for the evening

• Going for a walk without listening to anything

• Sitting quietly with a cup of tea

• Journaling what you’re feeling without trying to fix it

• Taking a nap

• Going to bed earlier than usual

• Taking five slow, intentional breaths

• Letting yourself be still for a few minutes without being “productive”

These moments don’t mean you don’t care.

They mean you're tending to the part of you that is carrying so much...and conserving your resources.

You Can Care Deeply and Rest Deeply

You can show up fiercely for your community and still protect your own peace.

You can show up in meaningful ways and still have boundaries.

You can be informed and still limit how much you take in.

You can be part of the solution without completely sacrificing your own wellbeing.

In fact, the more you care for yourself right now, the more grounded, steady, and clear you will be in how you continue to show up in the days and weeks ahead.

And that kind of presence is incredibly powerful.

If You’re Feeling Tired, Scared, or Overwhelmed

Please know this:

You’re not weak. You’re not overreacting. You’re not failing.

You’re human, living through a period of time that’s asking a lot of you.

Be gentle with yourself.

Give yourself permission to pause. To breathe. To rest. To step away for a bit.

Because you matter too. And your community doesn’t just need your care — it needs you well.

You don’t have to wait for things to calm down before you start caring for yourself. Self care during stressful times is how you create small pockets of calm within the chaos — and those pockets of calm are what allow you to keep going.

In solidarity,

Julie