When the Only Thing Holding You Together Is Your Favorite Tee
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There are days when you're out of coffee, out of patience, and five seconds from snapping at the dog for breathing too loud.
On those days, you don’t need a pep talk.
You don’t need to hear “just breathe” one more time.
You need something soft. Familiar. Low effort.
You need that shirt.
The one you pull from the basket because it never even made it back to the drawer.
The one that’s seen things.
The one that hugs you back.
It’s Not Just a Shirt
That favorite tee?
It’s a weighted blanket in disguise. A permission slip. A hug with sleeves.
It says: “I’m not okay today. But I showed up anyway.”
And honestly? That counts for something.
Sometimes we can’t fix it.
We can’t cry it out or journal it away or take a walk like TikTok wellness suggests.
Sometimes all we can do is make it to bedtime in one piece, with a semi-clean shirt and a semi-working nervous system.
And that is enough.
Self-Care for the Days You're Barely Functioning
Let’s skip the bubble baths and vision boards.
Here are some real, low-bar self-care practices for the “I’m fine, it’s fine, everything’s fine” days:
🧂 1. Salt Everything (Yes, Even Emotionally)
Salt is grounding. Literally.
Try this: Put a pinch of sea salt under your tongue or in warm water and sip it slowly. It regulates your nervous system and helps you reconnect to your body.
It’s like emotional CPR for dissociation.
(Also, it makes your fries better. Bonus.)
📱 2. Mute, Archive, or Delete Anything That Feels Like Too Much
This includes group chats, Instagram people you secretly resent, and that podcast you “should” be listening to.
Silence is a form of care. Boundaries are a full-body yes.
You don’t have to perform wellness to deserve peace.
🔁 3. Eat the Same Thing for Three Days
It’s not laziness—it’s consistency.
Eat what’s easy. What comforts you. What doesn’t make you want to scream. Peanut butter toast counts. So do chicken nuggets.
Decision fatigue is real. Reduce the load however you need to.
🔄 4. Rewear Clothes That Make You Feel Like a Person
If your favorite tee is the only thing not giving you sensory issues or existential dread—wear it again.
Then again.
And again.
We don’t gatekeep comfort around here.
🧺 5. Do One Thing All the Way
Just one. Just once.
Don’t try to fix your whole life. Just finish the load of laundry. Just answer one email. Just unload the top rack of the dishwasher.
Finished is better than perfect.
Done is better than spiraling.
🧘♀️ 6. Stretch Like You’re Trying to Take Up Space Again
No yoga mat. No matching set.
Just lay on the floor and reach your arms above your head. Then your legs. Then twist your back until it pops like bubble wrap.
Move your body in weird, intuitive ways. Reclaim it.
💡 7. Ask: What Would Help Me Feel Better (Not Just Look Better)?
Clean shirt? Cool.
But also—maybe it’s dimming the lights. Turning off a loud appliance. Adding a fuzzy blanket to the couch. Sitting in the shower, not standing.
The real self-care question isn’t “How do I fix this?”
It’s: “What would help me feel more like me right now?”
You’re Not the Only One
If your favorite shirt has been on rotation for emotional reasons, we get it.
You’re not lazy.
You’re not broken.
You’re not failing at life.
You’re surviving a world that demands too much and gives too little.
So if all you managed today was slipping on that worn-in tee that makes you feel somewhat okay? That’s something. That’s a win.
And the good news?
You don’t have to feel better to deserve better.
You just have to keep showing up—even if the only thing holding you together is a cotton-poly blend and a stubborn little spark that says,
“I’m still here.”
And we’re so, so glad you are.