Don't Tell Me to Relax
Emotional Resilience in the Age of Rage, Feels, and Freak-Outs
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A handbook for staying grounded, emotionally connected, and empowered regardless of what's in the headlines and who's in your face.
From politics, climate change, and the economy to racism, sexism, and a hundred other kinds of biases--things have never felt so urgent and uncertain. We want to take action, but so many of us struggle with overwhelm and burnout. And on top of it all, we get so many messages telling us to relax, to "let it go" and feel some other way about things. We'd like to think that emotional intelligence and mindfulness will help--but why do these approaches so often fall short in fever-pitch moments?
In his warm, funny, streetwise style, Ralph De La Rosa offers tools for coping in contentious times. Full of insights and practices addressing everything from trauma triggers to privilege guilt and the art of saying no, Don't Tell Me to Relax brings the welcome news that our thoughts and emotions are not the enemy. Rather, when met skillfully, they can light the way to self-empathy, social understanding, and an activism that has room for both inner and outer work.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
De La Rosa (The Monkey Is the Messenger) encourages readers to turn their anger and frustration into action and self-reflection in this punchy work. Proposing that activism has everything to do with resilience, De La Rose suggests self-care and mindfulness as a means for increasing one's resilience, and that anger can be the fuel needed to take action instead of something that hardens one's heart. De La Rosa urges readers to let "inner tenderness" (connection to one's emotions) keep them grounded, honest, and open to change as they wrestle with their own feelings. Redefining compassion as a communal struggle to improve society, De La Rose provides mindfulness activities and meditations to help readers empathize with others. He also asks readers to respect their own limits, and instructs readers to use their discomfort: "Our anger is moral. Our rage is sacred. Our anxiety contains wisdom. Our hearts are telling us the truth. If the truth makes others uncomfortable good." Activists should check out De La Rosa's soothing mindfulness suggestions.
