As a therapist, I spend a lot of time talking with clients about communication, routines, healthy habits, and the power of self-awareness. These conversations often come with a curious question: “Do you do this too?”

The honest answer? Yes and no.

There are certainly days when I’m grounded, intentional, and doing all the things I encourage clients to try—journaling, practicing mindfulness, regulating emotions before reacting. And then there are days when I’m just…human. Days when my emotions get the better of me, when I snap before I pause, or when I know what I should do but can’t quite muster the energy to follow through.

It can feel vulnerable to admit this, but I think it’s important: I don’t always practice what I preach.

And I don’t think that makes me a hypocrite. It makes me human.

Living as Humans First

No matter our role—therapist, parent, partner, leader, friend—we are all human first. Which means that emotional dysregulation is part of the package. For some of us, it shows up occasionally, in bursts we can recover from. For others, it feels like a near-constant state, a daily wrestling match with our own emotions.

What a relief, then, that we aren’t all dysregulated all the time. Even though some days it feels like the whole world is off balance. Gratefully humanity is designed for rhythm and repair. We wobble, we reset. We fall apart, we gather ourselves. That cycle is part of what makes us resilient.

Still, the wobble can be disorienting. Especially now.

The Weight of “Unprecedented Times”

I can’t remember another period when the word unprecedented was used so often. Unprecedented events. Unprecedented challenges. Unprecedented uncertainty.

That constant reminder of how unusual, unstable, or unpredictable things are right now has a way of stirring up our nervous systems. It reinforces the sense that we’re “supposed” to know how to handle things we’ve never faced before. And when we don’t? We blame ourselves. We feel broken. We wonder if maybe we’re going a little crazy.

But feeling overwhelmed in unprecedented times doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It means you’re alive. It means your body and brain are doing their best to navigate uncharted territory without a reliable map.

So, the question becomes: what can we do when we are emotionally unregulated? How do we find our way back to connection—both with ourselves and with others?

Give Yourself Permission to Be Imperfect

Practicing what you preach doesn’t mean perfect execution. It means practicing. Over and over. Sometimes with grace, sometimes with messy starts and abrupt stops, and always with self-compassion.

The goal isn’t to become a flawlessly regulated human (this does not exist). The goal is to grow our capacity to notice, to pause, and to repair. To keep building tools, even if we don’t always remember to use them.

And when clients ask me, “Do you do this too?” I want my answer to reflect honesty and hope:

Yes. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. But I keep trying. And that’s what matters.