Being Stable in Unstable Times

There have always been moments in history when the world felt uncertain. Protests. Political unrest. Economic turmoil. Grief and transformation. What’s different now is that, because of technology, we don’t just witness one crisis—we see them all, from every corner of the globe, all the time. Our nervous systems were never designed to carry this much stimulation and distress at once.

So the question becomes: How do I care, but not crumble?

How do I stay grounded in compassion and connection, without letting the chaos pull me into despair?

You Are the Dance

Try this perspective: You are the dance. Life is the dancer.

The world, with its crises, joys, and unpredictable rhythms, is swirling around you. These “dancers” — moments of grief, flashes of joy, heartbreak, awe, and uncertainty — move toward you, around you, and sometimes even through you. But they are not you.

Your dance is solo.

Others may join for a time — partners, friends, loved ones — but the movement that carries you through life is your own: your essence, your character, your spirit.

When the world becomes too loud, too much, or too fast, come back to your own dance.

Grounding in the Real

You can’t stay steady if your feet aren’t touching the ground. Here’s how to start:

• Get outside. Be in nature if possible.
• Stand on the earth. Shoes off if it feels safe. Let your body remember what it means to be supported.
• Breathe. Deeply. Slowly. Feel the rhythm return to your body.
• Listen. Not to your phone. To the birds. The wind. The stillness.
• Let the thoughts come and go. The ones that irritate you? That try to explain, justify, or predict? That’s your ego. More on that another time.

Let Go of the Stories

When we go through hard things, our minds rush to fill in explanations: “This happened because I wasn’t enough.” “They left because I was too much.” “If only I had done something different.”

These stories feel protective, but they trap us in the past. They keep us locked in a version of ourselves that is no longer here.

Come back to the present. The here and now.

Talk to Someone

Especially if you feel like you’ve never had the chance to hear your own voice.

In therapy, I help you rediscover you — not the stories, not the roles, not the trauma response, but the core of who you are. We may use talk therapy, somatic awareness, BrainSpotting, free association, art, or music (especially bilateral sound to calm and rewire the brain).

Many of us are “atypical” in some way. That’s not a flaw. It’s a truth. And it means the ways you heal, grow, and relate may be wonderfully unique.

A Reminder

“You can always be the person you once thought you were.”

You are not the noise around you over which you have no real control. They are changing, fleeting. What remains while you are here is you. You are the dance. Come back to it.