The bubble effect: more balance, less stress
From the Sunday Self-Care Chronicles | 9/14/25
This week’s Sunday Self-Care Chronicles is about the importance of creating a bubble of calm—whether after a massage, during a quiet evening at home, or while stepping away from the noise of daily life. By giving yourself time and space, you allow your nervous system to move out of fight-or-flight and into balance. That’s where homeostasis happens, and where true healing begins.
This week’s issue touches on:
✨ Why “staying in the bubble” matters for your body and mind
✨ A real-life example of how our nervous systems hold onto stress
✨ The role of time and space as an essential element of active healing
✨ How the body needs calm to find homeostasis and repair itself
Read the full email below - and if something speaks to you please feel free to comment, share, or reach out!
Hi sweet friend,
A client asked me this week what she should do after her massage to really make the most of it.
I paused. Because it’s rare for someone to seek beyond the usual advice of “drink water, rest, take it easy.”
And then I knew what I wanted to say: Don’t just step back into the noise. Stay in the bubble if you can.
That means no phone. No news. No TV blaring in the background. Or, if you do choose to engage with something, let it be comfort only: a favorite playlist, a cozy movie, a conversation that makes you feel safe and happy.
It reminded me of my recent time in Italy, where I unplugged from the outside world for almost two weeks.
Yes I was on vacation, so I had the luxury of limited responsibilities and lots of relaxation, but it was more than that.
I didn't have my phone with me 24/7.
I didn't read the news at all.
I didn't doomscroll social media endlessly.
I didn't let the overwhelming noise of the outside world in.
The bubble was real, and it was deeply restorative.
And I have to admit that since I've been back and started checking Facebook and Threads and catching more of the news my bubble has burst.
I have felt deeply heavy, agitated, and unsettled at times.
Now, I recognize that it's a privilege to turn off the world and it's not realistic (or probably advisable) to do it forever, but creating small bubbles when you can is actually critical for your mental, emotional, and yes physical health.
Our nervous systems are desperate for quiet and calm.
Most of us know about fight-or-flight, but forget that its opposite exists: rest and digest. The bubble is how we get there.
Our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) is meant to kick in during acute danger—but in this modern, overly connected world, most of us are living in a chronic state of heightened awareness.
Almost everything can feel like danger to our lizard brains:
The stress you can’t leave at the office
The bills that keep piling up
The 24-hour news cycle of war, famine, genocide, and violence
The social media posts and comments that escalate emotions
One of the best examples I can offer is if you’ve ever had a deer run out in front of your car.
As the deer clears the danger and reaches the grassy patch on the other side, it will do a full-body shake to discharge the adrenaline coursing through its system.
It literally “shakes it off,” and then returns to grazing as though nothing happened—because for the deer, the danger has passed.
We humans don’t get that luxury.
Instead, we keep gripping the steering wheel long after the moment has passed, our hearts racing, our bodies cold, our breath shallow.
We stay on high alert for the rest of the drive, scanning for another deer that might leap out.
And every time we return to that same road, our bodies remember the threat—even if our minds have forgotten the specifics.
That’s where the need for time and space comes in.
Recently I’ve been leaning into the idea of six essential elements of active healing from a breast cancer experience,and one of them is exactly that: time and space.
Creating a bubble of calm and safety—whether after a massage, during a quiet evening at home, or in a stolen hour away from the noise—is how we give ourselves both.
Time for the nervous system to shift out of fight-or-flight.
Space for the body to work toward homeostasis, that place of balance where healing can actually take root.
Because here’s the truth: your body innately knows how to repair, restore, and recalibrate.
But it can’t do it if it’s constantly on high alert.
So here’s my gentle nudge this week: notice when you can step into a bubble of your own making.
Give yourself permission to stay there longer than you think you “should.”
That’s where your body remembers balance.
That’s where healing begins.
Until next week I'll be creating my own bubbles when I can because I am truly, always in this with you…
ps. If you want to know more about my six essential elements of active healing and how time and space fits within it, click here to read my full Philosophy on breast cancer survivorship.
pps. Ok I have to be honest, I DID do a bit of social media scrolling on my trip after the Taylor and Travis engagement announcement because I am an unapologetic GenX Swiftie and I am all in on them being endgame.
ppps. If you like what you read here please consider forwarding this email to a friend or sharing it on your socials.