Emotional self-care is getting more important, and it's going to get even more important going forward. By all means take what action you can and inform yourself about what's going on in the world, but also make a habit of pausing to really feel your feelings now and then. 1/9
You wouldn't think "feel your feelings" needs to be said, but most people just truck on through stressful situations as background stress builds and builds, dissociating and acting it out in unhealthy ways as it mounts. Put down the news feed device, pause, and really feel. 2/9
Where do the feelings sit? There will be areas in your body of tension. Scan around looking for them. Are those knots in your heart, chest, stomach, head? Tap the areas of tightness with your fingertips to "loosen" them up and let the feelings flow better. 3/9
For really big feelings you can get up and move around a bit. Shake, stretch, beat your chest, whatever. Use your improv skills to express the feeling. Get it flowing and really look at it. I use a simple qi gong movement that helps me investigate the tension knots. 4/9 
Or you can simply comfort yourself. Sit quietly and hold the feeling like its a precious newborn. Just be with it quietly for a minute or two. You can even make soothing noises to yourself and pat yourself on the heart. Don't feel silly; it's silly that we don't self-soothe. 5/9
Oftentimes anxiety can make you feel really sick to your stomach and people get the urge to dry retch or burp but push the feeling down because it's so socially awkward. Just go with it. It helps so much and you'll feel so much better after. 6/9
The main thing is to let the feeling have a moment of your attention. Don't steamroll over it and keep reading, stop and sit with it a while. That's not something that many of us were taught to do. If anything, we were taught the exact opposite. 7/9
A friend of mine once gave me a tip I've used ever since. She said to treat myself with the same compassion I treat my children. So now if I'm upset, I sit myself on my knee and let me cry it out until I'm done and ready to go back to play. I just be a good parent to myself. 8/9
A lot of us have endless compassion for others but very little for ourselves. That's actually not fair and not healthy. You deserve your own loving kindness. You deserve your own patience and understanding. You deserve your own tenderness. I love you. Now you love you please. 9/9
