Blog Posts

Feeling stressed?

Is it taking over parts of your life?

Is it interrupting being able to sleep or just relax?

Well…you’re not alone!  So many of my clients are feeling the pressure of life.  Yes, they may be experiencing stress for various reasons, yet they are struggling.

Our Nervous System

Chances are your nervous system currently feels like a phone with 47 tabs open, 12 of them playing music, and the battery at 3%. You’re not alone. Stress in 2025 is less of a visitor and more of a permanent roommate who never chips in for Wi-Fi. Perhaps your brain or body feels like it was working yesterday, but like the toaster that just stops working, so does your body.

Let’s name the elephants in the room:

Politics

Doom-scrolling the news feels like watching a reality show where everyone is terrible and somehow still employed. Your blood pressure has its own opinion about the election cycle now. Regardless of your affiliation (or not), you are perhaps hearing too much noise in the background from everything happening.  The government shutdown may be impacting your life in some way.

Money

Rent went up, groceries cost more than a concert ticket, and your ability to keep doing things for self-care are quickly losing steam. “Quiet luxury” is just a fancy way of saying “I can’t afford anything loud.”

Family 

Group chats that explode over politics, passive-aggressive side dishes at Thanksgiving, and the annual debate about whose turn it is to host Christmas. Love you, mean it… from a safe distance. Sometimes we need space from family, and that’s okay!  Or, sometimes we need to be closer, it just depends on the dynamics of the family.

Holidays

The season of joy somehow schedules 47 obligations between November 20 and January 2 while expecting you to look glowing and grateful in every photo. Yet, this “fun with family and friends” only adds to the amount of stress we feel. 

Relationships

Dating is a minefield, marriages need maintenance nobody taught us how to do it, and even your situationship texts back four days later with “sry busy.” Do we need relationships? Yes, we sure do. AND, we need healthy ones, not the toxic ones we “put up with.”

Life in General

Existential dread, work burnout, health worries, climate anxiety, and the quiet terror that you’re “behind” on a timeline that doesn’t actually exist.

Cool. Cool cool cool. 

We’re all very chill and normal here. Here’s the plot twist: You can’t control 98% of that mess. But you can control the 2% that keeps you sane—and that 2% is magic.

The Dessert Menu (a.k.a. Things That Actually Help)

Draw the tiniest circle you can defend

On a piece of paper, draw two circles. Outside the small one: everything you can’t control (the government, your sisters or cousin’s Facebook rants, inflation, your ex’s new partner). Inside the small one: sleep, movement, what you put in your mouth, who you give your time to, the tone of your own voice. Guard that inner circle like it’s the last slice of cheesecake. Guard it! Your peace of mind depends on it!

The 5-Minute “I’m Not the CEO of the Universe” Reset

Put your phone in another room. Set a timer for five minutes. Breathe in for 4, out for 6. That’s it. You just meditated, hotshot. No lotus position required. You may not be the Guru yet, but you can be on your way!

Move your body like it owes you money

Walk, dance in your kitchen to a song that came out when you were in high school, do 10 push-ups against the wall—whatever. Stress is energy stuck in your meat suit. Shake it loose. Get out and walk, run the stairs, ride a bike!

One Nice Thing a Day (non-negotiable)

Text someone a meme that made you ugly-laugh. Pet a dog. Water a plant. Give someone (even a stranger) a compliment just to see how they react. Hold the door open for someone. Buy the overpriced coffee and enjoy every sip like a chaotic millionaire. Tiny joy deposits compound.

The “No” Muscle-Building Program

Practice in the mirror: “That doesn’t work for me this year.” “I’ll let you know.” “Love you, but I’m not doing that.” Saying no to others is saying yes to your nervous system. Saying “yes” all of the time will drain your gasoline tank faster than anything.

Curate Your Inputs Like a Jealous Lover

Mute, unfollow, turn off push notifications, leave the group chat on silent. Your brain isn’t a landfill for everyone else’s hot takes.

Make a “Done” List Instead of a To-Do List

At the end of the day write down three things you did (showered, answered an email, kept a human child alive). Proof you’re winning even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Talk to Someone Who Isn’t Paid to Be Nice to You

Friend, therapist, support group, random old guy at the dog park—whatever. Saying “I’m drowning” out loud shrinks the monster by half.

Remember the Airplane Oxygen Rule

You’re no good to anyone if you pass out. Mask first. Guilt later (or never—your choice).

You won’t fix the world this week. You might not even fix your family’s dynamics by December 25th or January 1, 2026. But you can keep your own heartbeat steady, your sleep decent, and your sense of humor mostly intact. And on the days when it all feels like too much, order the damn dessert. Eat it first. 

Life’s too short—and stress is absolutely backwards desserts.You’ve got this.

(And if you don’t today, tomorrow’s another chance to steal the cheesecake.)

P.S. If you’re really struggling, reach out to a mental health professional. You deserve more than coping—you deserve thriving.

Until next time,

Aaron Nicolaides, Ph.D., LCSW

Therapeuo Health – “Tackling physical and emotional pain”