When Rest Feels Too Loud: A Love Letter to the Ones Still in the FighT

The other day, I caught myself snapping at a customer service rep —and you know what? It wasn’t about them at all. Has that ever happened to you?

Not screaming—but sharp, cold, and more irritated than the moment deserved. I hung up and immediately felt that sinking pit in my stomach. That wasn’t about them. It was about me. About how full my plate has been. About how I’ve been running on fumes, trying to do everything without asking for help. Somewhere along the way, I stopped seeing this chapter for what it really was and started treating it like just another chore. Yep, I’m talking about renovations—something many warn you about, dreaded for all its unpredictability and the way it throws your whole world off balance.

I’ve always known how to go. I know how to problem-solve in crisis, how to show up when I’m hurting, and how to make the impossible happen especially when I am being told I can't. But what I’m still learning is this: when your body is screaming at you, it doesn’t always mean “go lay down.” Sometimes it’s saying, “please, just come home to yourself.”

Let’s Be Real: Rest Isn’t Always Easy

I know we hear it all the time: “Just rest. Take a break. Unplug.”

And while that sounds good on a soft Instagram graphic, for some of us—especially those carrying the weight of expectations (truly our own), navigating the pressure to prove ourselves, grief, generational hustle, or chronic over-responsibility—rest doesn’t feel peaceful. It feels foreign. It feels unsafe. It feels like too much silence when your body is still vibrating from the noise of survival.

If that’s you, I want you to know: you’re not broken. You’re not failing at self-care. You’re not doing it wrong.

You might just need a different kind of pause—one that meets you where you are, not where people think you should be.

What If “Rest” Looked Like You?

When I feel on edge—paranoid, angry, anxious—I’ve realized that I don’t need to force stillness. I need to feel like me. I need to do something that reminds me I’m a human being and not just a problem-solving machine.

Maybe that looks like:

• Stepping outside, barefoot on the grass, and breathing like the air owes me peace.

• Putting on that old-school playlist and dancing in the kitchen, not for the calories but for the joy.

• Voice-noting a friend just to laugh about nothing.

• Standing in the shower longer than I need to, whispering, “You’re okay. You’re safe now. Everything will be okay”

These moments might not look like rest, but they’re sacred resets. They help me transition out of fight-or-flight gently, on my terms.

Coming Home To Me #RenoEdition

A Pause Doesn’t Have to Be Still

Let me say this clearly: You don’t have to crash to earn your pause. You don’t have to wait until you’re breaking down to check in. You don’t have to lie down to rest. You just have to reconnect.

If stillness makes you anxious, that’s not a failure. That’s your nervous system trying to protect you. So meet it halfway. Choose something light, something kind. Give yourself permission to transition slowly—from survival into peace. Not in one day. Not in one leap. But little by little.

Because you, my wellness warrior, are allowed to take the long way home to yourself.

For the Ones Still in the Fight…

If your body is buzzing, if your heart is heavy, if your voice has been sharper than usual lately—I see you.

Try not to punish yourself for what you cannot change but rather honor the signals your body sends without judgment or blame. Choose to listen. Ask yourself: What’s one thing I can do today that feels like me? Not “productive,” not “useful”—just true.

Then do it. Even if it’s small. Especially if it’s small.

You don’t need to be still to start healing or to start reclaiming your peace. You just need to be honest enough to say: I’m not okay right now—but I’m listening. Because when you speak your truth, your voice is the loudest sound your mind and body will hear—and that, my wellness warrior, is where it all begins.

With softness and fire,

Madonna💛 The Wellness Studio by Cicco Aroma