10/10/2026
What if the mental health crisis isn’t just about our inability to cope…but also about what we’re being asked to cope with?
As a therapist, I spend a lot of time helping people regulate their nervous systems, recognize old patterns, and find their way back to themselves.
And as a human, a parent, a partner, a PhD student, and someone who occasionally wonders how we’re all supposed to keep up with (gestures wildly) at everything… I have some questions.
Because sometimes the problem isn’t that we need better coping skills.
Sometimes life is asking too much.
And we can’t deep-breathe our way out of every system, expectation, or relationship that’s exhausting us.
So here’s something useful for World Mental Health Day:
The next time you’re overwhelmed, instead of immediately asking, “How can I calm myself down?” try asking:
“What am I trying to make myself okay with that might actually need to change?”
Maybe it’s a boundary.
Maybe it’s an expectation.
Maybe it’s something you need help carrying.
Maybe it’s not yours to carry at all.
Regulation matters. Deeply.
But so do connection, community, rest, and changing the conditions that keep us overwhelmed in the first place.
We need both personal healing and collective care.
Happy World Mental Health Day. ❤️
Here’s to less fixing ourselves to fit the world and more of making a world we can actually live in.
