Don’t Tell Me to Relax: Emotional Resilience in the Age of Rage, Feels, and Freak-Outs

A handbook for staying grounded, emotionally connected, and empowered regardless of what’s in the headlines and who’s in your face.

How can I practice acceptance when what I see all around me is unacceptable?

How can I ‘let go’ when the headlines that trigger me are constant?

How do I get involved without burning myself out?

For empathetic people who don’t want to ignore the challenges of living in a politically divisive time and don’t want to have our minds commandeered by the media, the challenge of living with mindful equanimity is a daily struggle. If distress isn’t at the forefront of our awareness, we are, at the very least, holding a background anxiety that makes us susceptible to emotional reactivity. We know that acting out strong emotions impulsively robs us of our clarity, hinders our relationships, and distorts our ability to respond effectively. Yet, so many approaches to emotional intelligence and mindful coping seem to fall short in the fever-pitch moments. How do we walk through the fire of these times without getting scorched?

With his signature warm, funny, street-wise style, author Ralph De La Rosa gives us a handbook for mindful living in contentious times. Full of insights and dozens of practices to address common reactions to our current political climate–from media addiction and rage to dissociation and apathy–Don’t Tell Me to Relax brings the welcome news that our thoughts and emotions are not the enemy. That in fact, when used skillfully, they can become a powerful foundation to support our practice.