Progress Isn't Perfection

After everything we've talked about this week, here's what we want to leave you with.

Recognizing what's happening in your body, connecting it to a feeling, and learning how to sit with that discomfort — it's a really hard skill. And if you're struggling with it, please don't beat yourself up. A lot of us were never taught how to do this. Our parents weren't taught how to do this. Their parents weren't taught how to do this either.

For many of us, we're learning these skills for the very first time as adults — and at the same time, we're trying to teach our children how to do them too. That's a lot. It's overwhelming, it's confusing, and sometimes it feels like you're failing.

But Feelings Aren't Facts

Just because you feel like you're failing doesn't mean you are.

Just because you feel overwhelmed doesn't mean you're broken.

Just because you feel stuck doesn't mean you aren't growing.

The Old Dog Path

What we've learned is that feelings come and go, but the "old dog path" — that thing is automatic. It shows up fast. It wants us to take the path of least resistance. It wants us to react the way we've always reacted.

And when we're trying to change ourselves while also teaching someone else how to change — whether that's our children, our patients, our friends, or the people we love — it's hard. It's triggering, it's messy. And that's exactly why we have to talk about it. Because shame grows in silence, but connection grows in honesty.

We're All Figuring It Out

We're mothers, clinicians, wives, friends. We're millennials trying to figure this out too. Nobody taught most of us how to do these things when we were growing up. But some of us were lucky enough to meet someone — an older woman who knew how — and she helped start this journey. Now, we're trying to pass that along.

So if you're struggling, you are not struggling alone.

Progress, Not Perfection

There are going to be days you're amazing at this. There are going to be days you completely miss it, and you feel like you're bad at it. There are going to be days you catch yourself halfway down the old dog path and have to turn around.

That's okay. Because progress isn't perfection.

• Progress is noticing.

• Progress is trying again.

• Progress is making one small change today that you couldn't make yesterday.

And as long as we're making those small changes — even if we're standing still for a minute, a day, or a week — we are still moving forward. We're not going backward.

Come along and learn with us. Unwind Your Mind With Me.

If this resonated with you, we'd love to walk alongside you. Reach out to Unwind Your Mind Psychiatry & Wellness (uym-clinic.com) to learn more about how we support individuals and families building these skills together.