Sometimes the world is overwhelming. Sometimes depression takes us down. Sometimes we’re just exhausted. Sometimes the “should” in the world is all-encompassing and we can’t figure out where to start so we just don’t start.

Whatever the reason, be kind to yourself and meet yourself where you are.

I watched a snip of a TED talk this morning about self-care relating to depression. The key take-away was creative problem-solving to adjust to where you are in that moment.

If brushing or fixing your hair is too daunting, put on a hat or a bandana and make it a style choice. If cooking a meal is overwhelming, get disposable dishes and microwave some food or salad in a bag (I’ve definitely eaten them straight from the bag…). You still deserve to eat full meals even if you can’t muster up the energy to make them.

Creative solutions abound if you are just kind to yourself. If you stop putting a “should” along with daily tasks then you stop treating yourself like a failure or a screw up if you don’t complete certain daily tasks. Do the things you can do. Do the things that matter to you. Try again tomorrow.

I spent an entire day last week binge watching the first season of Bridgerton. That was a terrible idea – I had a ton of work to do. But I just needed to disappear from the world for a day. So I gave myself a day. Free of guilt and shame. And the following day I got back into my routine. I was able to be much more productive and caught up with almost everything that really needed to be done. The world didn’t crumble.

We get so caught up in carrying the world on our shoulders sometimes and it’s absolutely draining. Every once in awhile it’s okay to just set it all down for a day or two. It’s regenerative.

Getting mad at yourself for “failing” to accomplish whatever tasks you were “supposed” to in a particular day doesn’t solve anything. It just adds shame and guilt to your pre-existing stress and burnout. You pile on yourself and make all the hard things harder.

But honestly, we have to learn to let it go. No one is perfect. Stop trying to be at the expense of your enjoyment of life. Let things go. Let the balls drop. I promise the earth will continue to rotate.

In the worst of the stressful days, when everything feels like too much, just do less. If it takes a week of eating protein bars from your bed before you can actually get up and take a shower – that’s ok. Get some big ziploc bags and put your garbage in them until you can muster up the energy to get up and out. Give yourself some grace. You don’t always have to be firing on all cylinders. Sometimes we’re just on autopilot. Sometimes we’re on emergency power.

Nothing is forever. Whatever rough thing you’re dealing with will pass. Give yourself some grace in this moment if it’s one of the hard ones for you. Do what you need to for you. You might be surprised at who steps up to help share the load.