Just Roll With it
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have a brain that is like a well-organized filing cabinet? I did.... Is it like the brain lottery where some people win or what? If this is you tell me your secrets! Mine however, for some reason or another, is that veritable flaming dumpster rolling down a hill to who knows where? A big ole dumpster fire burning and building over the day with no rhyme or reason. And please, trust me when I said earlier for some reason or another I authentically do not know why I have a dumpster fire over a file cabinet. Why you ask? Because I quite literally rode down the hill in the dang thing looking for answers, self awareness, understanding, and yes looking to see if my file cabinet was possibly in my dumpster, coming up with no answers. Oh yeah, and guess what, when you get to the bottom of the hill it doesn’t stop rolling. It just keeps going and going.
The ride was definitely enlightening, it even came with musical carousels willing to play every song I have ever heard in my life on repeat if it seemed to fit the theme. Like "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba singing along to “I get knocked down but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down” to Celine Dion’s “All by myself”, as the things i have thrown in here and not accomplished come to the surface as I dig deeper. Oh look, it's tax season another thing gets added to the fire and Little John's “Snap Yo' Fingers” ensues. If this sounds like you, possibly with a different soundtrack, but the overthinking, thought spirals, and the occasional mental pop-up ad reminding you of that embarrassing thing you did or said in 2015 feels in anyway familiar, you’re not alone!
A Lot of days I think man, my brain just really loves chaos. Or even what is wrong with me, as the Flash dance song "Maniac" pops in to confirm my thought process. But guess what, while searching for the non-existent file cabinet. I’ve actually found ways to calm down the fire (most days), how to work with what I’ve got, learned to embrace who I am, and I’m here to share them with you.
Chaos & How Our Body Responds
Chaos—it’s that overwhelming feeling when life feels like it’s spinning out of control. Might as well add some spinning tops to the dumpster now… Whether it’s a never-ending to-do list, new ideas or goals, unexpected setbacks, or just the everyday noise of life, needs of others, responsibilities, etc. If the input feels like it is more than the output, the feeling of chaos can come forward and consume us. It then leaves us feeling anxious, drained, and disconnected from ourselves.
When we’re caught in chaos, our nervous system amps up into overdrive, when this happens it triggers stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
Increased cortisol and adrenaline during a mental stress response is unable to be used by our body appropriately and can lead to:
✅ Mental Fog – Difficulty focusing or making decisions
✅ Physical Tension – Tight shoulders, headaches, and fatigue
✅ Emotional Overwhelm – Feeling irritable, anxious, or stuck
✅ Burnout – Running on empty, struggling to keep up
Here is a break down of how our body responds to stress. First comes Adrenaline, it is fast and intense, it literally increases our heart rate, our breathing, pushing blood into our muscles so we're physically ready for fight-or flight. Here is the kicker, we're physically ready to run, like from a tiger that is about to pounce. However the reality is that email that we're avoiding or haven't responded to yet, is not a tiger and does not require the physical output needed to run from a tiger. Neither is that task that we've been avoiding because we don't feel prepared for it, or any other task or responsibility that yes can feel overwhelming but doesn't actually require the boost to run for our life! By allowing stress to take the drivers seat we are adding gas to that dumpster fire. Burn Baby Burn right? But wait, Then in comes our lovely friend cortisol the slow long lasting stress hormone that is designed to keep us just alert enough incase there is a real tiger some where. Now we have eat and snack just in case we need extra energy, and no calming down you know just incase that email is actually a tiger.
You see the body doesn’t have this divider where this is mental, or this is physical when it comes to stress. The same response and release of adrenaline and cortisol happens regardless. But if you had no actual physical expression to use the boost given to the body by the adrenaline, cortisol comes in saying I got your back when it actually isn't needed. Over time, these moments where we continue to have that mental stress with no output, no release. We end up having excess cortisol, that really does not have our back. It can be a pain in our back overtime but its lingering effects can cause mental fog, fatigue, muscle tension, weight gain, that burnout feeling, anxiety, and more. It's a never-ending cycle that creates more problems.
But the good news? Even if you have a dumpster instead of a file cabinet, and even if it is flaming and rolling down a hill. That Chaos doesn’t have to control you. With some simple strategies, we can reset, calm the inferno, redirect our thoughts, and find peace in the midst of the madness.
"In the Midst of Chaos, There is Also Opportunity"~ Sun Tzu
Opportunity Awaits
4 Simple Ways to Calm the Chaos
💨 1. Pause & Breathe – A few deep breaths can shift your nervous system from stress mode to calm mode. Try inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4, and exhaling for 4. Doing this at least 4-5 times helps us calm our thoughts and allows focus for the next step.
📝 2. Dumpster Diving – Literally, Write down everything on your mind, no matter how small. Reach into that dumpster fire and take some things out of it. Whatever comes out first is what you can or should be addressing. Doing this helps clear mental clutter and bring clarity to what truly matters. It also is the first step to accomplishing the task. Don’t put any expectations or time frame on these, just allow yourself the opportunity to relieve the fire storm
🌀 3. Move Your Body – Stretch, shake it out, or take a quick walk. Movement releases tension and helps shift stagnant energy. It also is a way for us to burn up some of that excess cortisol and use it for good.
🎯 4. Focus on One Small Action – Instead of trying to tackle everything at once, pick one thing you can do now. Run over the list and the one that first comes up that feels easy to do…do it. Completing even a small task brings a sense of control and accomplishment.
Over time I have incorporated the Dumpster Diving & One Small Action Technique into a daily habit. It allows me to really keep the fire under control and tackle things that once on paper is an individual task rather than a whole dumpster fire of them. They feel a lot less overwhelming and doable.
Finding Your Calm in the Chaos
There are always going to be moments in life that are unpredictable, ones that may add fuel to your fire, or times where it seems like you may have lost control. But you don’t have to be swept away, burnt up or burnt out, and you most definitely don’t have to feel like you are alone. You are not. By finding ways to ground yourself, prioritizing what truly matters, and taking small steps toward calming the fire, you can navigate chaos with ease and resilience. You might even learn like me to appreciate that there is a whole lot more room in a dumpster than a file cabinet. And not everyone gets to have a personal soundtrack that fits the theme of the moment on demand at all times. Learn to love who you are, how you are, and embrace what you have to work with.
✨ Take a deep breath—you’ve got this. ✨
(Insert Fall Out Boy’s- My Songs Know What you Did in the Dark “Light Em Up”)
And Remember
Stay Rooted Keep Growing
~Kelley
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