You know how sometimes these newsletters are deep and heady, super intellectual, contemplating the meaning of life and parenting…etc.?

 

Not the vibes today people. Nope.

 

Today is about those moments when you just need something 

I got you.

I don’t know about you, but the world seems alarmingly complicated right now. And this intense level of “complicated” is just a cultural baseline.

 

If you add on supporting a teen or young adult with a mental health issue or being a provider trying to support other human beings or just all the “I am a person” stuff that goes along with every day life, it can add up to a deep sense of overwhelm pretty dang fast.

 

When life feels really overwhelming, you need things that you can 

reliably reach for that help you get regulated and find your center, 

 

Tools that are simple, 

and dependably get you calm.

 

I want to offer you my “WWW” approach. 

(And no, it is not the world wide web- that is only going to spike your anxiety right now!)

WWW stands for: 

 

 

If you have 30 minutes, sneak in a workout.

If you have, 10 minutes, sneak in a walk.

If you have 30 seconds, sneak in a face wash.

 

Then, get on with your day. 

 

In study after study, moving your body consistently garners very strong empirical support as an intervention for your mental health. In fact, some studies will say it is as effective as medication or even, gasp!, therapy. (And that is coming from a therapist.)

 

"Physical activity is highly beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress across a wide range of adult populations... many [trials] suggest that PA may have similar effects to psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy" (Singh et al., 2023, p. 1203). Wow.

 

Exercise can be so valuable, you often hear the concept that, if it were a pill, it would be the most effective drug ever created for a mental and physical health.

 

And you don’t have to do it for very long either. 

 

According to studies, a single session of exercise as short as 10 to 30 minutes can produce immediate improvements in mood, mental clarity, and a reduction in short-term anxiety (Frontiers, 2025; CDC, 2025).

 

So what kind of exercise do you have to do to reap these rewards?

 

Turns out you have a lot of choices, which is great because, if you are anything like me, you think jogging was created as a form of self-torture. Yoga, strength training, cycling…whatever you like to do to move your body, go for it. 

 

Dance is also big one, so, if nothing else, blast some Brittany Spears and boogie around your living room for a few songs. 

 

(NOTE: If you do this and don’t feel better, call me right away. You may have a case of Brittany-itus. This is a very serious condition that can only be cured by watching the 2002 classic film “Crossroads” 6 times through.)

 

Okay, it is one of those days and exercise is just not in the cards. You don’t want to get sweaty, you can’t find your damn sneakers, or you are just too freaking tired.

 

All good.

 

 

What is that going to do, I hear you skeptically ask?

 

Research shows that as little as 5 minutes of walking can begin to stimulate anti-anxiety effects, while a 10-minute brisk walk is often sufficient to significantly improve mood state and mental alertness, comparable to a longer workout (ADAA, 2026; PMC, 2025).

 

5 minutes?! Come on. You can do 5 minutes.

 

And if you live near a park or green space, extra points for walking in nature, which has been shown to significantly reduce rumination- that non-stop hamster wheel of negativity in your brain that we think of with depression and anxiety- compared with walking in an urban environment (Frontiers in Public Health, 2025).

 

It can be hard to pull ourselves away from our desks, our kids or our lives to get a walk in- I so get that. 

 

Try this experiment: 

Give yourself 5 minutes. 

Go for a short walk. 

Then ask yourself: “Do I feel better, worse or the same?” 

Let that be your guide. 

 

You have 30 seconds between walking in the door and your family needing 1,437 things from you. Or you have 60 seconds to yourself as you awkwardly almost jog from one work meeting to another work meeting. Or you are hiding in the bathroom while your kid is having a meltdown and you know you have to go back out there and Emotion Coach them, but you’re fried and you just need to get your game face on first. (Speaking from experience here people.)

 

Wash your face with really cold water. Honestly, you don’t even need the face soap. Just get the water as cold as you can, fill up your hands and submerge your face in the cold water.

 

You know how they do this is movies? The lawyer goes into the bathroom after a tough call from the judge to splash cold water on his face and pull himself together, just as the villain prosecutor saunters in to try to rub it in our hero’s face as he is standing at the urinal. (Do men really talk to each other while peeing as much as they do in the movies?)

 

Well, Hollywood got that face splashing thing right. Cold water hitting the face- specifically the forehead and eyes- stimulates the vagus nerve. This triggers an immediate drop in heart rate and blood pressure, acting as a physiological "brake" on acute anxiety and panic (Klarity Health, 2025).

 

Don’t want to get your face wet? I got you. Grab an ice pack or bag of frozen peas and hold it to the back of your neck of your forehead. That cold is enough to stimulate the rest and digest system in the body and bring down your nervous system. 

 

Alright, say it with me. 

 

 

So next time the world just feels like too much, 

 

The big world may still feel crazy, 

but the little world right around you, 

the one made up of the people you love most, 

will probably thank you for it. 

 

You've got this,

If someone forwarded this to you, 

welcome!

Subscribe here.

 

Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (2026, February 12). Exercise for stress and anxiety. https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, December 4). Benefits of physical activity. https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/benefits/index.html

 

Frontiers in Psychology. (2025, February 10). Exercise prescriptions for young people's emotional wellbeing: A systematic review of physical activity intensity, duration, and modality. 16, 1552531. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1552531

 

Klarity Health. (2025, September 6). The mammalian dive reflex: A natural emergency technique for panic attacks and anxiety relief. https://www.helloklarity.com/post/the-mammalian-dive-reflex-a-natural-emergency-technique-for-panic-attacks-and-anxiety-relief/

 

Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Dumuid, D., Virgara, R., et al. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1203–1209. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195