A Little Less Noise, Pleas
I manage stress with varying degrees of success, a notebook, and the growing suspicion that I do not need to be available to the entire world at all times.
I try not to let my phone give the morning a plot twist before I’ve had my coffee.
Quiet is usually where I begin. I try to give myself a slow morning and time with my journal before I start taking in messages, requests, and whatever breaking news has decided to break me before breakfast. The world will have plenty to say when I pick up the phone. I want a chance to hear myself first.
Writing helps me notice what is actually bothering me. Sometimes I start with one worry and discover that several others have climbed aboard wearing the same coat. On the page, I can give each one a little space. I can be repetitive, uncertain, annoyed, or completely unreasonable for a paragraph while I work out what I mean.
My journal has excellent confidentiality policies and rarely interrupts.
I also find comfort in small, ordinary things: a familiar scent, a warm cup, a little beauty within reach. Recently, even the perfume on my wrist has given me something pleasant to return my attention to during difficult moments. If you catch me sniffing my own arm, please allow me my process. I smell lovely, and I am doing my best.
Creating helps, too. Choosing colors, working on a poem, or adding a completely necessary amount of glitter gives my attention somewhere I enjoy being. There is relief in making one small decision because it delights me.
The harder part is admitting when I need less on my plate—or someone to help me carry it. I’m learning to say, “I’m overwhelmed,” while there is still enough energy left to have the conversation. I’m also learning that a message can wait, a plan can change, and an unfinished task can remain unfinished overnight without requiring a formal investigation into my character.
I still get overwhelmed. Sometimes I do all the comforting things and remain worried. On those days, I try to let the comfort count anyway.
Managing stress, for me, involves noticing what I can manage today and being honest about what I need.
Tonight, that might be a quieter room, a few words on paper, and leaving something unanswered until morning.
The world knows where to find me. It can give me a minute.
A Little Less Noise, Please
