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Decompensation is a bitch, folks. If you're shaking right now, if your emotions or energy levels are out of the ordinary (for you, for the past ten months), if something weird's going on in your head in the next few days, it's probably decompensation.
We've all (I say this with a fair bit of confidence, because the US is so big it's hard to avoid splashing the crap around) been under so much stress the last four years, and more so in the last year with covid, and now one major stressor is gone.
That's a HUGE weight that we've been pushing against just to keep ourselves moving forward, never mind pushing anything else forward, and now it's abruptly gone. There's going to be a lot of flailing and some falling on faces. That's normal.
And yes, I say that deliberately, that one stressor has been removed. Covid is still there, climate change is still there, the machinery of white supremacy, capitalism, the wealth gap, and bigotry are still there but one huge weight has still been lifted. These facts all coexist.
So give yourself some space to recover. To regain your balance with the one stressor removed before you start pushing against the rest of them. Because there's still a lot to push against, and a lot to learn and discover now that we have space in our heads for new things.
But it's okay to take time and catch your breath, and it's okay to feel lost or struggling or unbalanced, and it's okay to feel happy or relieved or shout for joy or whatever you're feeling. Be aware that it's going to be a lot, and it's likely going to be odd and changeable.
Stay hydrated, stay fed if you can manage it, some kind of regular intake of food and water helps stabilize us, always. Make use of your comforting books, fuzzy blankets, snuggly pets, snuggly partners, craft hobbies if you can, comforting media if you can't.
