on resourcing
it's a funny place, existing within and relying on certain systems to survive, while in our heart of hearts we want these systems to burn.
i rely on The Institution to put 0's and 1's in a folder under my name so that i can engage in the social contract (construct) of trading my time and well-being for the means of subsistence. i want the system of enclosure, inequality and violence to crumble. i want a contract that guarantees the right to food, water, shelter, safety, connection, joy and more (everything) for anyone simply because they exist on earth (everyone).
getting there is the work of millions, and of generations. getting there will require collective skills and resilience beyond what we currently possess. there will be setbacks, trauma, illness, overwhelm, burnout. resourcing techniques possess enable us to build resilience and develop self-regulation skills necessary for overcoming trauma’s grip; whether it is big T Traumas or the persistent, low-level traumas of living under state and institutional violence, a live-streamed genocide, disconnect from the natural world, planetary breakdown and detached-hyper individualistic late-stage capitalism.
this collection of resources is meant to help us move move towards our aspirations in balance, with a sense of groundedness and security, regardless of what goes on around us (and what goes on around us may get a lot fucking worse). it is a subset of assembled resources and practices i've used to deal with overwhelm/chronic illness/ trauma processing.
i divide these into rest, breath, movement, nervous system work, joy, trauma and learning.
⚡when to use these?
- hyperarousal: usually we know when something is off. this differs for everyone. for myself, i can feel a tightening in my chest, a feeling of overwhelm, racing thoughts, feeling like i can't think straight, low-level panic, pressure in my head.
- hypoarousal: feelings of numbness, fog, can't get out of bed, excessively irritable, hypersensitive/painful responses to loud sounds or other peoples' energies.
- chronic symptoms: chronic symptoms like any form of pain or fatigue arise from being disregulated in one of the above states for too long.
any calming resources will bring us back into a zone of feeling safe and ok, like we have the resources and clarity to move through any situation. the goal is to send our bodies physiological signals so that we experience a felt sense of safety, regardless of external circumstances or what our thoughts are telling us.
*disclaimer these resources are out there, everywhere, available to us, now, largely thanks to platforms operating at the will of power-hungry oligarchs. some of these are from Hwhite spiritual wellness influencer types who are probably making a lot of money off of your attention and are not necessarily interested in healing as a means of justice/liberation. so i take their presence with a grain of salt. i am always looking for guides working at the intersection of collective change/liberation and body work, and i have a lot of research still to do here. i think some of these folx are not necessarily out there on youtube offering their practices, so i have included some other resources from others on the learning page.
it is my revolutionary wish for multitudes to study these, learn them, use them and pass them on through networks of mutual care (which may one day even need to be underground and offline), to fuel our revolt.
