Creative Self Care With Crystal McLain

You're Not Broken, You're Burnt Out

• Crystal McLain • Season 5 • Episode 3

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SPEAKER_00:

Hey, it's Crystal. Remember me? You might have noticed that I've been missing from the podcast world for a while. In fact, it's been so long that I almost forgot that I even had a podcast. It has been nine months since my last episode. So I thought it was time to come back and explain where the fuck I've been. I had to step away and ask myself, what do we really need right now? And what can I realistically offer? Here's what I realized. I was trying to make creative self-care work as this pretty little concept. And it was fine, but fine didn't feel like enough considering the world is burning and people are struggling. So here's what I realized we need. For starters, we need to stop living in fear, anxiety, and overwhelm and start channeling that energy into something more proactive, which means we need clear, honest education about how stress actually works. We need to understand how it impacts our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We need to recognize how it's controlling our lives. And we need practical tools that effectively manage it and regulate the nervous system so we can build resilience and show up in our lives and in this world in the ways that we need. But that's really fucking hard to initiate and to maintain when you're living in panic, fear, and dissociation, right? So another thing we need is access to a community that supports us while we navigate these hard times, while we do this hard work. So what I can realistically offer is that community with that support, with the education, and the guidance. Your stress is real, your feelings are valid, and you deserve more than spiritual bypassing and toxic positivity while your personal and global worlds get turned upside down. You deserve to know exactly how to make stress your bitch so you can show up for what truly matters. So I stripped everything down, I got really clear, and I redesigned things at CMC. What came out on the other side is stronger, more practical, and honestly, really exciting. If you've been here before, welcome back. If you're new, perfect timing. Let me tell you what's changed and why it matters. First, the obvious. Why? Because welcome to the human experience, my friend. This human gig is not neat and tidy and perfect, and neither is the process of healing, evolving, and growing stronger. It's kind of a mess. So my website got a visual identity that matches the work. And if that feels a bit jarring, good. Reclaiming your power is a topic that needs to grab your attention. But it's not just the aesthetic that's changed, it's also the mission. I used to talk about creative self-care, this idea that you could get curious and think creatively and find new ways to care for yourself. And that is still 100% true, but it's also really fucking vague. It does not address the real problem. And that real problem is that for generations, the systems in our culture have brainwashed our ancestors and us into believing that our struggles are our personal failing. But here's the thing: these same systems profit from convincing you that you are the problem. And that is total garbage. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it's designed to do in a society built to keep you stressed, compliant, and consuming. You are not broken. You are not weak. You are not failing at self-care or as a human. You are working with a dysregulated nervous system and operating without a manual. So here's the new mission: radical self-reclamation through nervous system literacy. I am invested in teaching folks how stress hijacks thoughts, feelings, and habits. Honestly, it hijacks your whole fucking life. I teach you how to recognize where, how, and why stress is leaking into your life. I teach evidence-based tools that regulate your nervous system and show you how to adapt those tools to fit your real life, including its challenges and limitations. And on top of that, I offer it within a community that gives a shit about creating a better world and knows that that world becomes possible when we heal ourselves. This is more than just self-care, it's collective reprogramming. And I'm calling it the uprising. Now, the uprising isn't just a clever name, it is exactly what we're doing. When you learn to regulate your nervous system in a world that profits from your dysregulation, that is rebellion. When you choose rest in a culture that glorifies exhaustion, that is resistance. And I don't know about you, but I'm totally on board for that. So let's talk about what actually happens at the uprising. You get access to my toolkit called Turn Stress into Strength, which baby steps you through everything we just talked about. And I mean everything: how your stress response works, how you recognize where it's creeping in, where it's showing up in your body, the evidence-based tools that manage your stress, how to regulate your nervous system and build resilience. And most importantly, how to make those tools work for you and your nervous system, your schedule, and your actual life. Each lesson in the toolkit has a short video where I break down the science in a super simple way without all the wordy academic bullshit. And then there are also written reference guides that you can come back to. There are downloadable resources and exercises and community questions designed to build collective wisdom and support because you are not the only one riding the struggle bus right now. And here's what makes the uprising different from every other online program that I've found, at least. For starters, it's affordable. I offer a sliding scale where you can choose what you can afford, and everyone gets the same access. There's no hierarchy based on financial privilege because I believe support for your well-being should be accessible always. And if you can't afford the lowest membership fee, come talk to me. We'll work something out. Number two, it's ongoing. This isn't a self-guided course that leaves you on your own. Once you're in, you're in. We learn this stuff together. We collaborate, troubleshoot, inspire, and encourage. This is long-term support, not a quick fix. And number three, it's a real community. It's not a Facebook group where bots and trolls can find their way in. In fact, that's one of the reasons why I host it at Patreon and why I charge for memberships. The other reason I charge is because it does cost me money and time to provide the service, and I need to pay rent. But I'm not here to gatekeep this information or to take advantage of anyone's needs. I truly want to make this an accessible space for real people with a real desire to take back their power. And I'm not going to pretend that everyone is engaging all the time or that there's even any pressure to engage. Building community takes time and trust, but I'm here for that. And maybe you are too. So let's talk about it. All right, so the uprising is not for everyone, and I'm completely okay with that. That said, this is for you if you believe in justice, equity, and fighting for basic human rights for everyone, no matter their gender, race, age, or abilities. The uprising is for you if you used to have a bit of fire. You had a voice, a vision, and drive, but burnout has snuffed out your fucking spark. It is for you if you are caught in doom scrolling and dopamine-driven distractions that pull you further from what used to make you feel alive, powerful, and hopeful. And it's for you if you are done with a society that tells you to be thinner and younger, more productive, more polite, more palatable. Fuck all of that. If you are ready to feel in control of your body and choices again, understand why you're so tired and wired and reactionary. If you want to stop the patterns keeping you powerless, find practical tools that actually work in real life and join a community of people who get it, then this is for you. But here's what's non-negotiable. We at The Uprising stand firmly, firmly for bodily autonomy, including abortion rights and gender-affirming care, for LGBTQIA plus rights, for racial justice and equity, including immigrants, and we believe health care should be accessible for all, everyone, no exceptions. If those values do not align with yours, this is not your community. Please hear me when I say that. Because we will not tolerate bullying, gaslighting, discrimination, hate talk. We don't have time for that at the uprising. Okay. If you don't align with us, that's fine. There are other places for you to go. And I wish you well. All right. But that said, if you are nodding along and we feel like you're people, keep listening. So it's possible that you might have gotten this far and might be thinking, Crystal, this sounds great, but the world is on fire. There are bigger, more important things to be focusing on right now than myself. How is learning about my nervous system going to help? Here's how. You cannot show up for the fight if you are too dysregulated to think straight. You can't organize, advocate, or resist when you are running on fumes and doom scrolling until 2 a.m. You cannot fully show up for your family, your friends, your community, or yourself if you're tapped out from anxiety and overwhelm. Your nervous system regulation is not separate from social justice work. It is foundational to it. When you understand how stress works, you stop taking everything personally, you can think strategically instead of just reacting, you can show up for your community without completely burning out. This is not selfish individualistic self-care. This is building capacity for collective liberation. Here's the thing: the systems and power want you exhausted. They want you too tired to organize, too overwhelmed to pay attention, too dysregulated to fight back. Your regulation is a threat to their control. So, yeah, learning to regulate your nervous system in the middle of multiple crises, that's not avoidance or self-indulgence. That is preparation. That's building the resilience we need to keep going. And whether you're out there doing social justice work or not, the fact still remains the world needs you and you need you, clear-headed and grounded enough to get through these times. All right, my friend. If any of what I am saying resonates, if you are tired of wellness bullshit, toxic positivity, and spiritual bypassing while we face real life crises, join us. Go to crystalmacleancreative.com and click join the uprising. Choose whatever you can afford on that sliding scale, and you are going to get immediate access to everything: the community, the support, the tools, all of it. Life is hard and scary right now, and I'm not going to pretend like it's not. That said, you deserve to feel powerful despite it all. You deserve to understand what's happening in your body. You deserve tools that actually work. And you deserve a community that accepts you for who you are and supports you along the way. That is the uprising and that is the work. I love you. I appreciate you. I hope to see you soon. My God, let's fucking do this.