Parenting is hard. Parenting during a pandemic is next-level challenging. Every decision you make feels wrong, and you’re constantly worried about the long-term impact this will have on your kids.

As parents, we’re burned out.

In a recent podcast on the topic, Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski discuss how burnout derives from not allowing our emotions to complete a full cycle.

Their new book, Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, is quoted:

“Emotions are tunnels. If you go all the way through them you get to the light at the end. Exhaustion happens when we get stuck in an emotion.”

The podcast then goes on to describe how to get unstuck — how to get out of the emotional tunnels. You need to invoke a physiological response to complete that emotion.

Perhaps the easiest way is to focus on your breathing.

I’m certainly no Yogi. At the bare minimum, I have however read Mindfulness in Plain English and understand the value of the practice.

Another way to complete emotions and avoid burnout is through creative expression.

So much of the podcast episode resonated with me, including that bit. When stress hits, I find myself playing with new tools or trying to create something.

My latest form of creative expression is a Kindle book, Parenting During a Pandemic.

I use the word “book” very loosely here. It is, no exaggeration, a 2-minute read. My sister better described it as a useful tool for parents.

I wrote the book before even listening to the podcast episode; however, it is very much in line with Dr. Emily and Dr. Amelia’s thinking. I believe it can help parents get out of that emotional tunnel by focusing on breathing and re-centering themselves.

Readers have described feeling “lighter” after going through the book.

The book is experimental in nature, with a lot of white space on each page meant to give you a sense of breathing room. I’ve always felt that touching through a kindle, while mono-focusing, is very therapeutic.

The hope is that the combination of the white space, positive affirmations, and repetitive touching is meditative, allowing you to focus on breathing and completing whatever difficult emotions you might currently be facing.

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Download the book for $0.99 on Amazon.