The problem with self-care is that it implies that your care is 100 percent in your control. It isn’t. We also need other-care and community-care. We need infrastructure care like health services and school for our kids. Yes, Zoom happy hours do help. But they aren’t the same thing as a hug from a friend you love or soaking up the music at a concert with your favorite band. We can’t access all the things we need to take care of ourselves right now.

When working on supportive practices for the adrenals, we are also working on supportive practices for the nervous system and emotional balance. Chronic stress isn’t just about, for example, trying to get to work on time. It’s about consistently feeling unsafe and never having a chance to come down to a place where you feel totally relaxed and able to be yourself. There are so many reasons that stress can get stuck in the body, but working on loving those adrenal glands might be a really helpful place to start.