Juliana Calm Down

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the quickest way to make someone not do something is to tell them to do it?

Tell me to "relax," and my nervous system immediately says, tenses up. "Absolutely not."

It's the same reaction I have when someone says, "You should smile," or starts a sentence with, "Actually..."

My whole body resists.

So the first time I heard Julianna Calm Down by The Chicks, I had the same reaction.

"Calm down? Excuse me?"

But then I listened a little closer.

This isn't a song about pretending everything is okay. It's not telling women to be quiet or swallow their feelings. It's a song about surviving disappointment without letting it consume you.

And that hit me.

As a therapist, I spend a lot of time reminding people that emotions aren't problems to solve. They're experiences to move through. Anger isn't wrong. Grief isn't wrong.

Betrayal isn't wrong. Your feelings are telling the truth about this moment. The important thing is remembering they won't tell the truth forever.

Feel the feeling.

Cry if you need to.

Yell into a pillow.

Talk to someone you trust.

Then... put on your favorite shoes.

Turn the music up.

Dance.

Not because dancing magically fixes heartbreak or burnout or betrayal.

Dance because moving your body is one way of reminding yourself that you are still here. You still have a voice. You still have choices.

I believe survival is a creative act of resistance.

Sometimes resistance looks like setting a boundary.

Sometimes it looks like asking for help.

Sometimes it looks like therapy.

And sometimes...

Resistance looks like dancing in your kitchen with people who remind you that you aren't carrying your story alone.

That's why we created the BRAs. Because I don't think the opposite of burnout is productivity. I think it's community.

Community is where our feelings are witnessed instead of minimized. It's where our stories are echoed instead of questioned. It's where we remember that healing rarely happens in isolation.

If you're in a season where you're just trying to hold on, I want you to know this:

You don't have to do it alone.

Come dance with us. Come laugh with us. Come reset with us.

Because sometimes the most radical thing we can do is keep showing up for one another.