The last week has been emotionally draining for me. Between feeling completely powerless about a family crisis and still learning how to balance my life when I keep adding more in and haven’t been able to let anything go, it’s left me feeling depleted and absolutely exhausted.
After a week that was filled with worry and emotional ups and downs and being “on” and out in the world for many, many hours, I did the only thing I could do last night: I took a dark shower. I’ve talked about this practice here before, but it’s worth repeating. As a highly sensitive person, it’s easy for me to get overwhelmed by life. It’s easy to feel that the incoming stimulus is sometimes just too much to handle, and I have learned that I need special tools to help me get back to my soul and replenish my spirit.
Dark showers are one of my favorite ways to do exactly that. At the end of the day – when I feel like I’ve taken in everyone’s energy and more stimulus than I can handle – I take a shower in the pitch-black dark. When I’m overstimulated, I’ve found that even a little bit of light (even from a candle) is too much input, and so the darkness helps me regroup and reset my system. I close the door to everything in the world that could interrupt this moment of inner peace.
I allow the water to wash away the day, the worry, the energy, the emotions that I’ve taken in from others. All of it. I allow it all to flow down the drain. I see it as impermanent and no longer a part of my present moment. I give it permission to flow away from me.
I stand there for a long while. I just close my eyes and take deep breaths. Knowing that when I step out of the shower, I will be me again – reconnected with my inner light and much more able to sleep soundly and peacefully. Much better able to be able to give to myself and also to others the following day.
I highly recommend this practice. It’s truly been life-changing and life-saving for me. I walked out of the bathroom after my shower last night feeling renewed and home again, which is exactly what I needed. And I slept better than I had in a long while. My worries were no longer as embedded into my body as they had been. After just one shower – just 15 or so minutes in the dark and in silence had been enough to bring me back to myself.
I would love to know what your self-care practices are for moving through overwhelm.
We’ve all felt it, and having a go-to remedy for it is so helpful. It’s such a loving gift to give to ourselves.
Living in our world can be exhausting at times. Life seems to have sped up so much for all of us, and having these tools in place to help us get back to our soul are essential for maintaining balance and inner peace. And that’s definitely something I wish for all of us.
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Hugs
This is an awesome idea. I, too overwhelm and often sit in the dark…just sit…and be. My kids tell me that I “could live in a cave and be very happy” but I totally get where you are coming from.
I am able to relate with what you wrote Jodi. As a sensitive introvert myself, I recognize the need for complete solitude once in a while to recharge.
My self care practice is a nice long spell of journal writing. There is no better way that I connect with myself at the moment. Its extremely therapeutic! In fact, I am just back from one such session 🙂 Enjoyed it thoroughly… Another one is talking out loud to myself in the dark when I am completely alone. it helps to bring up stuff that might b suppressed in me. Then I move on to praying 🙂
It was a really nice read Jodi and it reminded me too to invest in self care time myself.
Love and blessings,
Esha
Thank you so much for that! It reminded me that I need to take care of myself since I have Fibro and am now working. I love the idea of a dark shower – tho for me just a shower works – I understand that some do get over stimulated. I guess it has been a while since I felt that but now do recall that I get that way during the summer at times.
I never thought of that, but I like the idea. And I can take a bath in the dark too.
I’ll sahre the idea because I know more people who can use this. Thanks!
Angela
Jodi, I love the idea of a dark shower. I’ve never heard of this before. I usually take a hot bath or go for a long walk. I’m going to try the hot shower as soon as I get hot running water. LOL!
Sending love to you Jodi. I’m so glad that you know when to stop and take care of yourself.
Jodi I also like dark showers for the same reasons. Wash it all away 😉
Ryan
Jodi, what an unique practice to add to my list of methods! I immediately see why it is so effective. I’d like to offer something similar. Instead of rinsing away I ADD: As the water pours out of the shower head, imagine that it glows with the golden light of positive qualities such as, Peace, Joy, Calm, and whatever you choose.
Stepping under the shower stream, visualize Peace flowing from the shower head as sparkling light. Bring Peace down over your head and FEEL it absorbing as it runs down your entire body.
Repeat this with any other qualities you would like to experience.
One by one, FEEL the golden light absorbing into your body as they become part of you. Feel yourself absolutely glow and relax. I always use Dr. Bronner’s tingly free trade peppermint soap to complete the ‘glowing’ process.
Diane,
I love your visualization suggestions! They take the idea one step further. Thank you.
The darkness, hella sacred, Jodi. Unwinding, and rewinding your way back to your sacred inner peace—your spirit’s home—this is so powerful.
You inspire me!
Love and light,
Sue
Hi Jodi,
I haven’t tried the dark showers at night, but I just might do that. I do, however take them in the morning. I have CFS and fibromyalgia and a lot of mornings, even after a full nights sleep, I still feel so exhausted and overwhelmed. The dark showers help me to get moving, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Sometimes, the tears go down the drain too.
Thanks!
Jodi, this is a great way to “wash away” the stress we carry…I have never done this, but I will. I thank you for sharing this. When I take showers at night, I do imagine washing away the day, but I have never done it in the dark before. 🙂
Showers are a favorite energy booster of mine, and I do like to take up to three showers a day in times of stress or emotional tension. Doing so in darkness is an interesting concept, Jodi, thanks for sharing! Another great way to recover your energy body in times like these is burning wood. Here I explain in more detail: http://tiny.cc/n81a5w
This sounds positively blissful, Jodi. I love “showering away” my stress – and sometimes crying in the shower feels more therapeutic than crying on dry land, for some reason – but I’ve never tried showering in the dark.
Especially as we’re moving into Summer here in the Southern Hemisphere, and the days are getting brighter and hotter, the idea of a cool, dark shower sounds so incredibly nurturing.
Thank you for the idea!
Blessings
TANJA
Jodi, I love this idea! I find candlelight showers to be incredibly nourishing and relaxing, but the idea of a pitch-dark shower never ever occurred to me. I’m going to summon my courage and try it! (Maybe after Halloween has passed, though — I’m a bit of a scaredy cat, I must admit.)
What a great idea! I’m also highly sensitive and when I get all wound up, sometimes it takes me forever to calm back down again. Sometimes I’m overstimulated for days, then I get frazzled and exhausted. I’m going to have to try this! Thanks!
McKella
I love all the comments here and how we all seem to like the idea of taking a dark shower.
I am currently creating a program for highly-intuitives and what I find helpful is really acknowledging that we are taking on other people’s energies. So in order not to become overwhelmed I try to ‘delete’ that energy by letting it flow out of my hands and feet a couple of times a day, especially after an intensive session with a client.
Hi Jodi,
What a unique technique! This is the first time I’m reading about this and I think it’s quite interesting!
An overload of external stimulus can get quite exhausting and I can totally relate to the desire to block everything out.
When I feel emotionally drained, I try to find a nice and quite corner in my house and sit there alone for sometime with my eyes closed. I feel that silence and solitude are extremely powerful ways of reconnecting with yourself and feeling recharged 🙂
That sounds like a very rejuvenating practice. I noticed “conscious showers” help me a lot with clearing my energy, but I never tried doing it in the dark. Actually I’ve only started appreciating meditation in the darkness about a year ago after I worked on my fear of the dark. I know, it’s so silly but it wasn’t easy for me, it was something I had since early childhood.
Now that is no longer an issue I might try this 🙂 it sure sounds like something a HSP like me could use!
I thought I was the only one who did this!
I don’t think about the outside world during during dark showers because I am trusting and guiding myself in the present moment to find shower items. 🙂
This is a beautiful practice, thank you for opening this up to me as an intention to reset! It seems to honor, so truthfully, even in it’s symbolism, how important it is to listen, rest and retreat inward at times. I have always turned to hot baths with candle light and delightful smelling oils to help me recharge in times of overwhelm. I am happy to have the dark shower as another watery ally!
I do it all the time with candles, but today I did it in the dark and it is so peaceful. I just didn’t feel quite right all day today, but now I feel better. I came across this site after my shower, but I will definitely click around and see what else is here. There is something about darkness and solitude that is just so peaceful. Also taking 3 deep breaths is really helpful in feeling better. It’s very important to take care of yourself!