I’ll be honest, the past week has been an emotional rollercoaster for me. My city went into another strict lockdown and I’ve been cut off from many of the things that give me validation.

As a fellow introvert, you probably know that, as much as we like alone time, this kind of severe isolation can be mentally exhausting. I felt like I was left to marinate in my own insecurities.

As waves of anxiety overtook me I found myself falling into unhealthy coping mechanisms, like mindless scrolling and late nights that led to groggy mornings.

As a growth-minded introvert who works hard to maintain my mental and physical wellbeing, I hated feeling out of control in this way.

All the erratic sleep and difficulty concentrating made it harder to maintain my healthy introvert habits, like daily yoga, visualizations, and exercise. Not only that…

I was emotionally exhausted. Another way of putting it is that my soul was tired. My days were weighed down by the heaviness of my limping, wounded spirit.

Dealing with an emotional rollercoaster

At times like this, my gut instinct in the past was to withdraw, push people away, and isolate myself. All the while I would get down on myself for not being able to cope better on my own. “Why can’t I just suck it up and pull it together?” I wondered.

Now I know better. Thank God.

Instead of isolating myself completely, I reached out to friends for support. I shared how I was feeling and felt the sweet relief of their genuine empathy and acceptance.

When it came to my habits, I did what I could. Luckily, I had been fairly disciplined about maintaining healthy habits during better times.

So, even at my lowest I could still bring myself to rely on at least one healthy coping strategy, such as walking, or reaching out to a friend.

I had already made an agreement with myself that if I feel like I don’t want to do anything, I will at least listen to an audio lesson from one of my mentors. I listened to a lot of audios last week.

Most importantly, I was kind and gentle with myself. I gave that terrified, exhausted little child within me space to grieve and cry and really feel what she was feeling.

Because isn’t that what we all secretly want? We want permission to be human. To feel. To fail. To be messy and flawed and still know that we are worthy.

Because you are worthy.

If you, too, have been on an emotional rollercoaster, I hope that you’ll ride that wave toward a more open, vulnerable, authentic YOU.

Love,

Michaela

P.S. If you’re new to the blog, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Michaela Chung, author of The Irresistible Introvert and The Year of The Introvert, and creator of this amazing innie community we have here. For several years, I’ve been building up a labyrinth of introvert resources that will take you on a magical journey toward more confidence, connection, and self-love. Start with this free Introvert Connection Guide.