When Wellness Feels Shitty

I hope that you are well and still giving a fuck. It’s the only way, isn’t it?

You have to care. You have to.
But there is also always the question of ‘How Can I?” How can I care when I struggle to buy eggs, when mundane problems drain so much of my cup and take so much space in my mind? How can I make space between washing dishes and paying rent to Care enough to matter? How do I forgive my body and my mind when they crumble under the weight of a World of grief? When my eyes feed my heart a constant stream of information that seems to deny any Hope in existence- and then I need to get gas. It’s so important to remember that a well response to distressing, harmful or inhumane situations IS Upset, Rage, Grief, Outrage, Shutdown and Overwhelm. Threatening circumstances trigger our bodies which send powerful and important information meant to keep us surviving, a brutal yet effective love letter to our existence.

Your struggle to care is actually quite appropriate and a protective response against burnout and dehumanization. Take a moment and acknowledge that. Wanting to care - even when you feel unable to - is deeply and powerfully Human. And that’s fucking gorgeous.

In our culture’s frantic pursuit of “wellness”, we can forget that being Well means being responsive to our circumstances. Wellness is not some enlightened state we reach after enough detox and meditation. It is being flexible on the ground; getting angry when shit needs to burn, crying out when our hearts are broken, looking at the sky when we’re lost, gathering together to find Hope and Meaning when humanity is threatened, resisting ~ existing ~ persisting.

The goal is not to keep ourselves from responding reasonably, or from ever experiencing pain or upset. The goal is to not get stuck there. Dis-ease happens when we become stagnant, depleted, overwhelmed, or frozen. Our flexibility and response are limited or inaccessible and our capacity for wellness is reduced. Our plant kin are exceptionally well-equipped to *nudge* us back into movement so that we can heal and even thrive, individually and communally.

I’m not here to say the answer is to care less, but to find *more space*. More Capacity for Compassion and Care. More movement. More support. To weave even tighter patterns. To tie ourselves together in greater numbers. To shrink the cracks. It is my job to help folks move through these spaces and support their ability to Care for themselves and for their families, communities and beyond *even in the midst of distress and pain*.

Let’s make a space to sit and talk openly and honestly about the ways in which we can support your capacity so that you are able to experience ease and resilience. Where might Plant Folk step in? What roles will Rest, Nourishment, Creativity, Communion, Devotion, and Friendship play? Are you in need of immunity support, digestive or nervous system soothing? A listening ear?

I am here. Please feel free to reach out and grab a Wild Well Being Session, we can chat about what you’re currently navigating through and see what supports are available. These sessions are low/no/sliding scale; no one will be turned away. I would love to sit with you. ~ Andi