How to Hold Yourself When You’re Falling Apart (Without Faking It)

There’s a version of you that shows up for everyone else.

She packs lunches, hits deadlines, makes the hard phone calls, smiles in public, and says “I’m fine” even when she’s unraveling by the hour.

And then…
there’s the part of you she hides.

The part that sits on the bathroom floor after bedtime and wonders:
Who’s holding me while I hold everyone else?

The truth is: most of us were never taught how to hold ourselves.
We were taught how to function.
How to perform.
How to keep it all together.

But holding yourself—that’s something different.

That’s sacred.

What Holding Yourself Really Means

It doesn’t mean pretending you’re okay.
It doesn’t mean bypassing your feelings with “positive vibes only.”
It means meeting yourself exactly where you are—without judgment, without urgency, without shame.

It’s saying: “I see you. I hear you. I won’t abandon you right now.”

And if no one ever modeled that for you? You’re not broken.
You're just learning a new way to love yourself—one breath at a time.

You’re Still Worth Holding

Even when you’re exhausted.
Even when you’re messy.
Even when the strong version of you takes a break.

You don’t need to be whole to be worthy.
You just need to stay with yourself.

And you don’t have to do that alone.

Still here.
Still learning.
Still holding myself,
—Emily