Sometimes life feels like my daughter’s bedroom makeover—full of half-finished projects, scattered messes, and the longing to just have it done.

Ikea drawers built upside down. Clothes on the floor. A fresh ombre wall still waiting for the final touches. And me, standing there feeling overwhelmed, not because anyone did something wrong, but because I just wanted to reach the beautiful end result.

It reminded me of something powerful: sometimes things get messier before they get neat.

The Weight of Overwhelm

When the room wasn’t finished, my mind jumped to all the other “unfinished” spaces—the garage, the storage closet—and suddenly the weight of responsibility felt heavy.

Not anger. Not sadness. Just unsettled.

And as an empath, that feeling grew when my son noticed my agitation. Because when you’re highly sensitive, it can feel like other people’s emotions are your responsibility, too.

But here’s the truth: they’re not.

You Are Responsible for You

The good news—and the bad news—is that you are responsible for your emotions.

Not responsible for controlling them. Not responsible for making them disappear. But responsible for sitting with them, moving through them, and releasing them.

The problem is, most of us were never taught how to do that.
Instead, we label emotions as “good” or “bad.” We rush to fix, numb, or distract ourselves. And in doing so, we make the heaviness worse.

When Emotions Live in the Body

Grief, sadness, anger—they don’t just vanish if ignored. They linger in the body, weighing us down. They make small things feel like tidal waves because so much has been left unprocessed.

Meanwhile, joy, bliss, and happiness feel fleeting—like air that’s hard to hold onto. The less heaviness we carry, the more room there is for lightness.

Why “Good Vibes Only” Falls Short

In the manifestation and energy world, there’s a lot of pressure to stay positive. But “good vibes only” can leave sadness and anger feeling off-limits.

That doesn’t make them go away—it just makes them heavier.

Duality is the truth of being human. Bliss exists with grief. Hope exists with despair. If you can feel one side of the spectrum, you have the capacity for the other.

Stepping Stones to Self-Responsibility

The path forward isn’t about perfecting your emotions—it’s about building trust with yourself.

✨ Movement: Workouts are one of my favorite stepping stones. They help me feel grounded in my body, even when my emotions feel messy.
✨ Nervous System Regulation: Practices like breathwork, grounding, or tapping send a signal of calm back to the brain and shift your baseline over time.
✨ Reflection: Simply asking, “Where is this feeling coming from?” or “What might help me feel a little better right now?” creates space to process without judgment.

Anchoring Into Deeper Truth

At the end of the day, it’s not about fixing every mess. It’s about anchoring into your deeper truth:

I am okay.
I can move through this.
I am responsible—but I am also capable.

Because sometimes life gets messy before it’s neat. But if you trust yourself enough to sit with your emotions, you’ll always find your way through.

👉 Want to go deeper? Explore Within: A Return to Self , my 21-day journey into calm, clarity, and self-trust. Learn more here