Saving Myself

Choosing Sanity Over Chaos in a Life of Constant Demands

It was a week with a lot of tough stuff. Really, truly, heavy stuff.

In addition to the crazy, chaotic pace at work that never seems to let up, only accelerate with more demands and requests, another caregiver at the home where my husband works landed in the ER with chest pains. That meant Jim, with his aching hips and exhausted spirit, had to cover a double shift: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. One day. Maybe more. And we both know his body can’t keep doing that.

There was a meltdown at work. Someone else’s this time, and I’ll admit I was grateful to not be the one falling apart for once. Add to that a wave of heaviness in the lives of people I love: breakups, abuse, legal stuff. It’s a lot. All of it. A full-on emotional tsunami.

And yet, in the stillness of the early morning, watching the sun rise and sipping my golden milk (yes, I’m off coffee today… yesterday it tore my gut to shreds), I found myself asking:

Is there something about my job—marketing, the pace, the chaos—that I need? Want?
Is it helping others?
Supporting others?
Saving the day?

Yes.

But then the whisper came:
Lori… who’s going to save you?

That landed like a gut punch wrapped in truth. Quiet devastation and clarity, all in one breath.

Because here’s the thing: I stopped believing in the fairytale long ago. I know a prince isn’t coming to rescue me.
I’ll rescue my own damn self, thank you very much.

And that’s the crux of it, isn’t it?

Saving myself.

Not waiting for someone to lighten the load.
Not hoping someone sees how tired I am and insists I rest.
Not longing for a boss, a partner, a friend, or a system to be my source of support.

But being that support for myself.

What if I stopped being the emergency response team for everyone else’s chaos and became the sanctuary for my own soul?

What if the most radical thing I could do right now was to opt out of the urgency, the overfunctioning, the overgiving, and opt into care, slowness, healing?

Change is mine to claim. Not easy. Not overnight. But mine.

This isn’t about abandoning others. It’s about refusing to abandon myself.

So today, I choose to check in.
To breathe deeper.
To slow the spin.
To ask: What does Lori need?

And then, bravely and consistently, I’ll do my best to give her that.

Because at the end of the day, I’m not here to burn out.
I’m here to burn true.

Are you struggling in overwhelm right now? You’re not alone. I’d love to hear from you. Not to fix it, but to hold space and reflect back to you that it’s ok to choose you, even if only for a moment.

©2025 Lori Ann King