Blink. Blink. Blink. You Good?
You ever sit there, waiting patiently to turn left, blinker going like a digital handshake—and the oncoming car slows down for no reason? Not because they’re turning. Not because of traffic. Just because they saw your signal and tapped the brakes like you just challenged their sense of freedom and safety.
What is happening?
It’s like my blinker personally offended them. Or maybe they think slowing down is polite?
To me, it feels like I’m being publicly dissed by the driver of a 1998 Buick in mint condition, whose only crime is trying to obey a cautionary instinct they developed in drivers ed.
Blinkers, Trim & Unexplained Rage
It’s never just about the blinker, is it?
Let’s talk about those little moments that tip you right over the edge.
Like the time I broke three of my toes on our brand-new hallway trim. The same trim I picked out, painted, paid for, and proudly installed, okay the last two were my husband. I thought it added charm. Turns out, it added injury.
Or when my daughter squares up with a corner of the wall that brushes her shoulder mid-stride. Every. Time. She reacts like it just challenged her to a fight out in the driveway.
And I totally get it.
Or you clip a cabinet edge one too many times and suddenly you're ready to redesign your whole kitchen. The walls aren’t attacking you—you’re just over capacity.
Let’s Talk About Irrational Rage
You drop your keys between the seat. You bend down, bang your head on a drawer above it that was open.
And suddenly, you’re audibly yelling, “Seriously?! This is how we’re doing it today?!”
And yeah—for reals—I actually say that out loud every few weeks.
So what if it happens all the time?
Well, that’s an even bigger cue.
These reactions aren’t always logical. They’re your nervous system waving a white flag, asking for a timeout you never scheduled.
Why This Happens (No, You're Not Broken)
These outbursts usually show up when your brain’s stress chemicals (like cortisol) are on high alert for too long without a break.
We run on constant go-mode—phones buzzing, kids yelling, jobs demanding, expectations overflowing.
So when a little moment happens?
Your system doesn’t have bandwidth to “let it go.”
Instead, your body screams “SOMEONE MUST DIE” at a minor inconvenience.
Not because the world is cruel.
Because your internal dashboard has been blinking “check engine” for weeks.
My Latest Favorite…
You ever try to finish a sentence these days before someone cuts you off?
Or have a calm conversation in a group of more than four people?
Time it. I dare you.
Give it five minutes, and someone’s starting a side conversation, another person’s raising their voice to talk over them, and pretty soon, everyone’s shouting diagonally.
By the time you leave, your brain's spinning like,
“Was that three conversations at once… or a networking event hosted by toddlers?”
It's not rudeness. It's modern overstimulation.
We are burnt toast in a world constantly asking for croutons.
And we snap at blinker-brakers and toe-snapping trim because our stress cup is full and our threshold is razor-thin.
Real-Life Reset (For When You Feel the Spiral)
When I get like this—when it feels like the world is out to personally challenge my balance—I have to break the brain cycle on purpose.
Sometimes that means:
Shutting the curtains
Ordering DoorDash I have no business ordering
Binging Love Island UK (never the U.S.—respectfully, no thanks)
Taking in a little… recreational inspiration
I flip on “The Wall” and “Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd, dim the lights, throw on a galaxy-themed 3D YouTube background, and go full visual space journey meets nervous system reset.
Or I mute Our Planet and narrate it myself as a British jaguar.
Both work.
Sometimes I sketch.
I’m not good at it. Doesn’t matter. I sketch anyway.
Sometimes I just need to escape.
I get in the car, roll down the windows, and crank the one song that makes me feel 1% less like a malfunctioning human and 1% more like me.
That current song?
“Style” by Taylor Swift.
Yep.
It’s all about the beat, the vibe—and the woman behind the scenes.
Taylor has been portrayed as "too emotional, too loud, too opinionated"—and yet, she builds an empire and dares to own her sparkle.
I get that. I feel that.
So if you see more of us scream-singing with the windows down on our lunch breaks,
it’s not a flash mob.
Or maybe it is.
A serotonin-seeking flash mob.
And I might be onto something.
Where This Ties Into Business (Because Obviously It Does)
When I was in the full-blown whirlwind of running my bath and body product manufacturing business, with a warehouse full of employees, production lines, and deadlines piling up—I would regularly work late into the night just for a slice of quiet.
Because that was the only time I could actually think straight.
One night, in the chaos of orders, I remember looking into the mirror and reminding myself:
“It’s. Just. Soap.”
No one’s world is ending because their bath bomb didn’t ship a day early.
Nobody’s business is collapsing over an email delay of 5 minutes.
And certainly no one’s well-being hinges on my mental breakdown over packing peanuts, bubble wrap and how horrible it is for the earth.
Deadlines are good.
Goals are motivating.
But if your stress starts chewing through your sanity like a paper shredder, it’s time to re-evaluate.
I had to stop thinking I could be everything for everyone, every day. I had to build boundaries.
(If you know, you know—go listen to that episode.)
And I had to stop being mad at Grandma for slowing down in her Buick.
She was just trying to be careful.
Final Thoughts (And a Note to That Doorframe)
So next time the trim betrays your toes, the doorframe shoulder checks you, and the oncoming driver misinterprets your blinker like it's a psychological challenge—
Pause.
Not for them. For you.
You’ve been holding a lot.
And that quiet, wild laugh that you do when everything goes sideways?
It’s the sound of someone doing a full-system reboot without saying a word.
That’s your cue.
To stop.
To reset.
To sketch badly, listen loudly, sing poorly, and scream kindly at the cabinet handle.
Because this isn't just stress.
It’s too much humanity with not enough humanity breaks.
So take one.
Your brain will thank you.
And if anyone asks where you went or why you needed a minute?
Just say, “I got shoulder-checked by the hallway. I had no choice but to leave okay Sharon?”