This Week's Mindful Morsel 🍪 | July 30, 2025 — How do you numb?

Happy good Wednesday 💜

I hope this week finds you feeling. Feeling good, feeling tired, feeling grief, feeling loved. Feeling something. 

Because if you’re feeling something, no matter what it is, you’re not numbing. And I truly believe with all my heart that anything we can feel is better than numbing ourselves. It keeps us human and it keeps us humble.

Most of us have learned to numb because it feels easier than restorative care, but it can be really hard to notice that’s what you’re doing. So I’m inviting you to get better acquainted with your own personal numbing habits as a loving step toward breaking that pattern. 

Think about it like an illness. What are your symptoms? Endless scrolling on social media? Watching reel upon reel until your eyes crack from dryness? Eating pints of ice cream? Isolating from loved ones? Maybe extreme exercising or ignoring your supportive self care practices?

When I’m in the thick of some big happenings and feelings, I lean into several of these numbing behaviors without much notice. I’m not really present, and these things seem to beckon as comfort. But the more I practice checking in with myself and noticing, the easier it is for me to see that what I’m doing is actually dragging out the dumpster feelings and compacting them so they’re harder to deal with. 

I think when we actively notice and see we’re numbing, it gives us back our sense of power and choice, which is huge in times of duress. We can choose what to do differently. We can choose when to do it. We can choose whatever is within our reach. And that makes a big difference.

There’s no finite end point where we’re going to be on the upswing all the time. Life ebbs and flows, as do our feelings, so we will never not try to numb. So just take note. Ask yourself if you feel rejuvenated or more depleted. Are you rationalizing the behavior even though you know it’s not supportive? Are you hiding it from other people? These are big clues. There’s no shame in making a list to remind you or asking an accountability partner to help bring things to your attention.

Just notice. Observation holds a lot of power.

With good & gentle vibes,