There are seasons in life when it feels like the world is screaming at us from every direction. The news is overwhelming. Social media feels heavy. Family stress creeps in. Work deadlines pile up. Even the things we normally enjoy can suddenly start to feel like obligations instead of pleasures. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, we forget to care for ourselves. I had this happen just this week. What started as an exciting press trip on an Alaskan cruise turned into a series of cancelled flights, lost luggage, and a horrible head cold that became the cherry on top of what should have been an incredible time. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of the cruise, but as a whole, life could have been easier over those seven days had everything gone smoothly. But then, when have you known life to be completely smooth?
This made me realize that staying calm isn’t about pretending difficult things don’t exist. It’s about protecting our peace enough to continue showing up for our lives. We can care deeply about things without carrying every single burden on our shoulders (as a 72-year-old wife, mother, and grandmother, I know this can feel inconsistent with the way many of us were raised, but it IS possible). We can stay informed without drowning in stress. We can be compassionate without sacrificing our own health in the process.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become much more intentional about creating small rituals that help me feel grounded, which is why I created this series. Tiny moments that remind me to breathe, rest, reset, and reconnect with the parts of life that still feel beautiful and comforting. Some days it’s as simple as my skincare routine (something is comforting about routines in general). Some days (make that ALL days) it’s sleep. Some days it’s simply stepping away from the noise and sitting quietly with a cup of tea and my thoughts.
These are the rituals that help me stay calm when life feels difficult.
Ritual 1. Protect Your Sleep Like It’s Sacred
When I’m stressed, sleep is always the first thing to suffer. I overthink. I replay conversations in my head. I scroll. Then suddenly I’m exhausted, emotional, unfocused, and running on fumes.
Getting enough sleep isn’t laziness. It’s survival. Our bodies don’t function without sleep.
I’ve learned that my entire mood changes when I prioritize real rest. My patience improves. My anxiety softens. My body feels better. My brain feels clearer. Sleep is one of the most important forms of self-care we can give ourselves, especially during emotionally difficult times.
My Tip: Create a nighttime ritual that tells your body it’s safe to relax. Lower the lights. Put the phone down earlier. Wash your face slowly. Read something comforting instead of doom-scrolling. Your nervous system needs cues that it’s okay to rest.
What I Use: The first thing I’ve been incorporating into my nighttime routine lately is a Schumann Resonance Device, specifically the newest V3 Max. As someone who travels frequently, stress and poor sleep have a way of catching up with me fast. Unfortunately, when my stress levels rise and my sleep suffers, it can affect my epilepsy as well. So creating a calmer environment isn’t optional for me. It’s essential.
The Schumann V3 Max is designed to support general wellness through low-frequency electromagnetic fields, and users report things like improved sleep, stress recovery, calmness, and focus. What I personally love is that it feels portable and grounding, especially when I’m constantly moving between hotels, ships, airports, and unfamiliar places. I jokingly call it my “magic little disc” because frequencies are honestly beyond my understanding, but I do know that I feel calmer when I use it, and I find myself using different frequencies during the day and night (depending on my body’s needs).
The newest version has an expanded frequency range, preset buttons, longer battery life, and a sleek, modern design that actually looks beautiful sitting on a nightstand or desk. It was built for people like athletes, executives, etc., but for someone like me who needs better sleep and stress management to stay healthy, it’s been by my side since I got it.
- For more information visit: The Schumann
Ritual 2. Drink More Water Than You Think You Need
Stress and dehydration are a terrible combination. When I’m overwhelmed, I forget the simplest things. I’ll drink coffee all day, get distracted, and suddenly realize I barely touched water. And then I wonder why I feel sluggish, foggy, cranky, or exhausted.
Hydration affects everything. Energy. Skin. Mood. Focus. Sleep. Even headaches and tension can get worse when we’re dehydrated. My husband sometimes walks around shaking his head because I leave a trail of water bottles around the house, but that’s so I don’t forget. There’s always one on my desk and one bedside (which also means that I’m getting up in the middle of the night, but at my age, it’s going to happen anyway). There’s one by the TV and another in the kitchen. Overkill? Maybe.
My Tip: Make hydration easy. Keep water nearby all day long. Add lemon, cucumber, fruit, or sparkling water if plain water feels boring. Sometimes, making it feel a little luxurious makes it easier to remember. You can do what I do and buy cute water bottles to leave all over the place, or just have one large one. It’s really just one of those, what will help you remember to drink during the day things.
What I Use: I pick up water bottles at museums when I’m visiting. They’re usually a little different than the usual ones that I’ve gotten, and they bring back GOOD memories as I’m drinking my water.
Ritual 3. Step Away From The Noise
We were never meant to absorb the entire world’s problems twenty-four hours a day. I know it feels important to stay informed. I feel that way too. But there’s a difference between staying informed and emotionally drowning. Constant exposure to negativity changes our nervous system. It keeps us in a state of tension and alertness that’s exhausting.
Sometimes the healthiest thing we can do is step back.
My Tip: Give yourself permission to disconnect for a few hours. Turn off the alerts. Stop scrolling comments sections. The world will still be there tomorrow, but your peace of mind deserves protecting today.
What I Use: One thing that helps me mentally reset is fragrance. Scent is powerful. It changes my mood almost instantly. Maybe it’s that it reminds me of fun times. Maybe it’s a place I’ve visited, or maybe it’s just something that envelopes me in a fragrant hug to say it’s okay. I’ve been loving the fragrances from UA Hawaii, especially because they feel uplifting and transportive instead of heavy.
Their Scents Born of Hawai’i collection feels like an emotional vacation in the middle of a stressful day. I love exploring combinations like fire and water with Wena and Kai, or grounding combinations like Hā and Mana that feel calming and centering. I’ll use their room scents to create a peaceful place (especially when I’m working), and one of my favorite things to do is spritz some of their perfume when I’m NOT going out. It feels so special to say, “It’s okay to do this for myself.”
There’s something about fragrance that reminds us to slow down and experience the moment we’re in. A beautiful scent can completely shift the energy of a difficult day.
- Check out their family of fragrances at UA Hawaii
Ritual 4. Spend Time Doing Something You Love
One of the biggest mistakes we make during stressful periods is eliminating joy because we feel guilty taking time for ourselves. Joy is not frivolous. Joy is restorative.
Whether it’s gardening, painting, cooking, reading, walking, crafting, listening to music, or watching old movies wrapped in a blanket, the things that make us feel good matter. They reconnect us to ourselves. Lose that, and the stress creeps in; keep it, and you’ve got a sense of normalcy, calm, and focus.
My Tip: Schedule joy the same way you schedule obligations. If you wait until life “calms down,” you may be waiting forever.
What I Use: For me, I love to put on music and either sing out loud with it or dance (I was a dancer and dance therapist when I was younger). Dance and music bring me joy that nothing else can. It sounds simple because it is simple. That’s the point.
Ritual 5. Meditate or Sit Quietly for Even Five Minutes
I used to think meditation meant sitting perfectly still with an empty mind. That felt impossible to me. My brain is always moving. But meditation doesn’t have to be perfect. Sometimes it’s simply sitting quietly and breathing deeply. Sometimes it’s closing your eyes for five minutes without distractions. Sometimes it’s listening to calming music instead of watching television.
My Tip: Start small. Five quiet minutes are better than none. Your mind doesn’t have to become silent. It just needs a chance to slow down a little.
What I Use: The Schumann device has also become part of these quiet moments for me. Whether I’m sitting in a hotel room, unwinding after travel, or trying to settle my brain before sleep, it helps create an environment that feels calmer and less chaotic. I’ve also gone to acupuncture, not to “cure my pain” but to get away and force myself to lie in a peaceful setting.
Ritual 6. Turn Skincare Into a Calm-Down Ritual
There’s something deeply comforting about ending the day by taking care of yourself. Not rushing through it. Not treating it like another chore on the list. Actually, slowing down long enough to wash the day away. For me, skincare has become less about chasing younger-looking skin and more about creating a peaceful moment that belongs entirely to me. It’s a signal to my brain that the day is winding down. It’s a time that I can stop performing, stop worrying, stop reading headlines, and simply focus on something gentle and restorative.
And honestly, during stressful times, that matters more than ever.
Stress has a way of showing up all over our faces. My skin gets dull, tired, dry, and reactive when I’m overwhelmed or not sleeping well. So instead of ignoring it, I’ve started treating skincare as part of my emotional wellness routine too.
My Tip: Don’t rush through your skincare standing under harsh bathroom lighting while thinking about tomorrow’s to-do list. Slow down. Massage the products in gently. Let it become a few quiet minutes that help your nervous system settle before bed.
What I Use: Lately, I’ve been using The Monday Bundle, by Matter of Monday, which is a complete four-step skincare routine designed to refresh, hydrate, brighten, and restore stressed skin.
What I love is that everything works together, so I’m not standing there trying to figure out which products to layer or whether ingredients conflict with one another. It’s simple, calming, and effective. My skin feels softer, more hydrated, and honestly just healthier-looking overall. There’s something soothing about taking those few extra minutes at night to care for yourself. It reminds me that self-care doesn’t always have to be extravagant. Sometimes it’s just warm water, good skincare, and the decision to finally put yourself first for a little while.
- You can find it at Matter of Monday
Ritual 7. Stop Trying to Carry Everything Alone
Women, especially, have a habit of believing we must hold everything together for everyone else. We carry family worries. Friends’ problems. News headlines. Responsibilities. Emotional labor. And eventually, we become completely depleted.
Caring about others is great. Destroying ourselves in the process is not.
My Tip: Ask yourself one important question. “Is this actually mine to carry?” Sometimes compassion means supporting others without taking on their entire emotional burden.
Ritual 8. Give Yourself Permission to Feel Good
This one may be the most important ritual of all. During difficult times, many of us feel guilty experiencing joy, rest, beauty, or peace. As though being happy somehow means we don’t care enough. But constantly suffering doesn’t heal the world.
Taking care of yourself allows you to keep going. It allows you to show up healthier, calmer, kinder, and stronger for the people you love.
My Tip: Find small moments every single day that make you feel safe, peaceful, or happy. Protect those moments fiercely.
Life is always going to have difficult seasons. Stressful headlines. Hard conversations. Worries we can’t completely control. But we don’t have to live in a constant state of emotional exhaustion.
Calmness isn’t something we magically stumble into. It’s something we intentionally create through small daily rituals that support our minds, bodies, and spirits.
Drink the water. Take the walk. Turn off the noise. Sleep more. Wear the perfume that makes you smile. Wash your face slowly. Sit quietly for a few minutes. Let yourself rest.
The world asks a lot from us these days.
That’s exactly why we need these rituals now more than ever.
