These are incredibly divisive and turbulent times.

No matter where you live on this planet, you will be waiting and watching for the results of the US presidential election on November 5th. No matter the results, roughly half of the US will feel disappointment.

And in the run-up to things, so many women are feeling the intensity of everything. It may be affecting your sleep, your digestion, your moods, and more.

Instead of being at the effect of these highly pressurized circumstances, I want to invite you to dive deep into radical self-care. Because no one benefits from a stressed out you.

What the world needs today are grounded, highly resourced, self-honoring women. And self-care is your pathway to that place.

Here are 4 radical self-care practices for these turbulent times:

• Take action that feels positive and empowering to you: This will be different for each woman who reads this, but the effects will be the same. If positive and empowered action looks like educating those around you, reaching out to people who are too scared to vote, or driving someone you love to the voting booths, do that. If quietly voting on your own and then steering clear of all-things election feels positive and empowering to you, do that. Worrying and complaining create a downward spiral that will suck you down with them. So, take the kind of action that cultivates a state of peace inside of you. Leave the rest behind.
• Move your energy: When we are anxious, worried, or dealing with high-stakes, high-stress situations, moving that frenetic energy out of your body can really help you to feel better. Here are some specific ways to move big emotions out and through you: 1. Push your hands into a wall with all of your body weight and might – as if you are trying to move the entire wall with your body. Hold this for as long as feels good to you and repeat as many times as you need. 2. Stomp around your room while you swing your arms back and forth. Make growling or groaning noises while you do it or take big inhales and exhales and imagine you are shaking all of that angst-y energy off of you and out. Listening to some high-energy music can really help with this exercise, too. Both of these exercises will move the angst-y energy out, so you don’t have to hold it.
• Do your “all is really well” practices: I am not suggesting that you ignore or go into any state of fantasy about politics or this election. I do believe staying current with policies that will affect you and those you love – to the degree that feels good to you – is important because you matter. However, once you’ve done what you know you can do, the only healthy and sane thing to do is to trust that “all is really well”. Whatever you do to bring yourself into a place of centered peace so you can deepen your connection to your inner wisdom and to Creation herself… do that. Regardless of the political outcome here in the US, do not forfeit your peace of mind and heart for anything. Perhaps you practice yoga, meditation, journaling, or maybe you have an art practice, or a long-distance running practice, or you feel most at peace in the world when you are hiking in nature. This is the time for these practices. They will support you well if you do them, now.
• Create a plan and follow through: Do you have a plan for taking care of yourself next week? Most of us are living at the mercy of what is happening inside of us and around us. Having a plan for how you are going to help yourself feel good – no matter what – is one of the most Self-Honoring things you can do. Will you skip the election news on November 5^th and take a long hot bubble bath with a delicious romance novel instead? Will you go for a long walk, hike, or run on the morning of November 6^th – no matter the election outcome? Join a group meditation for peace? Will you order healthy take-out for your family because making dinner on top of everything else feels like too much? Create a Self-Honoring Plan. Bring in support. Surround yourself with peace and love. A little planning will make your experience of this week so much more tolerable and peaceful.

You, and only you, are responsible for your wellbeing, and for taking excellent care of you. You may also be responsible for taking care of a business, your kids, your home, your pets, and even your aging parents. This means it’s even more important that you do whatever you can to ensure you are practicing radical self-care this week – and beyond.

All of this may sound self-absorbed but hear me out: If you don’t take care of yourself, your sanity will start to slip, overwhelm will start to take you down, and you will become super needy, clingy, and even manipulative.

If you don’t take care of you, you will make the people around you responsible for taking care of you. And that will, inevitably, lead to harm – harm to them, harm to you, and so on.

Radical self-care is a way to serve yourself and those who are around you. So, please love yourself enough to take care of yourself in all the ways you require. Try one or all of my recommendations above. May they serve you well!