Scared And Alive
Dealing With An Uncertain World
How are you?
Times are uncertain. It seems like there is nothing to hold on to.
This week I was scared.
Not the productive kind of scared that comes before a breakthrough — the brutal kind.
The kind where you’ve been holding it together through a loved one’s health crisis, and then you read something about where the world is heading, and your body says “I don’t know if I can do this.”
I said “I’m scared” out loud. And nobody caught it.
So I have been sitting with it.
Being With What is
Here’s what most people do with fear: they push through it, medicate it, scroll past it, or let it run the show.
And here’s what fear does to your biology when it runs the show — it floods your system with cortisol, the aging accelerator.
HeartMath research shows that sustained fear and stress decrease your body’s production of DHEA — the hormone your cells need to regenerate and stay vital — while simultaneously increasing cortisol by measurable amounts.
Fear doesn’t just feel awful. It literally ages you.
This is the hijacker nobody talks about.
Not the “it’s all downhill after 50” story.
Not the comparison trap.
Something more primal: raw fear of loss.
Fear of losing the people you love.
Fear of a world that feels like it’s unraveling.
Fear that the ground beneath you isn’t solid.
And if you’re a woman over 50 who’s been holding it together for everyone around you, you probably know exactly what I mean.
You know how to be strong.
You know how to keep going.
What you might not know is what that constant low-grade fear is costing your cells.
So here’s what I found, sitting with my fear this week: There is no way to feel better about the future. Not honestly. Not right now.
The Peace In the Present Moment
But there is a way to feel better about this moment:
the one where I’m breathing,
where the sun came up again,
where I still get to choose what I pour my energy into.
This is the youthing move that nobody’s selling on Instagram.
It’s not a serum.
It’s not a hack.
It’s the radical act of landing in the present moment.
Presence is the biological opposite of fear.
When you bring yourself back to right now, your heart rhythm shifts.
HeartMath has measured this for decades: coherent heart rhythms increase DHEA production by up to 100% and decrease cortisol by 23%.
Your cells literally receive different instructions when you’re present than when you’re afraid.
I’m not pretending the fear isn’t real. I’m choosing to build something beautiful anyway. Not because I’m certain it will matter — but because building beautiful things is what I do when I’m alive.
And I am very much alive today. Headache, fear, and all.
Your 3-Minute “Right Now” Reset
When fear pulls you into a future that hasn’t happened yet, try this:
Minute 1 — Land. Place your hand on your heart. Feel your heartbeat. You don’t need to change anything. Just notice: I’m here. My heart is beating. That is enough right now.
Minute 2 — Look. Without moving, notice three real things around you. The light on the wall. The sound of something ordinary. The weight of your body in the chair. Let your nervous system register: Right now, in this actual moment, I’m okay.
Minute 3 — Choose. Ask yourself one question:
What is one beautiful thing I can pour my energy into today?
Not to fix the future. Not to earn your worth. Just because you’re alive, and alive people build things.
That’s it. Three minutes to shift from fear chemistry to presence chemistry. Your cells will know the difference.
You don’t have to have it all figured out to be radically alive.
You just have to be willing to keep choosing this moment over the story fear is telling you about the next one.
I’m choosing. Scared and still choosing.
Comment below how you are dealing with scary times.
I’ll see you here next time. 💛
Tender ((HUGS)),
