The Ball of Yarn: How We Untangle the Invisible Burdens We Carry
- Introspective Odyssey
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
We’ve all felt it.
That inner tightness that shows up when life gets loud — the pressure behind the eyes, the heaviness in the chest, the sensation that something inside us is tangled, knotted, or stretched thin.
Sometimes it looks like overwhelm.
Sometimes it looks like irritation.
Sometimes it looks like numbness.
And sometimes… it looks like a ball of yarn we didn’t even realize we were carrying.
We don’t pick up this ball intentionally.
It forms quietly over the years — strand by strand — shaped by beliefs, responsibilities, expectations, conditioning, and inherited emotional patterns.
A strand for being the helper.
A strand for being the strong one.
A strand for not wanting to disappoint.
A strand for the invisible labor we absorb without question.
A strand for the “yes” we say when our spirits are whispering “not now.”
And eventually, without noticing, we are holding a whole tangled world of obligations in our hands — a bundle of threads that feels like it belongs to us, even though most of it never did.
The Moment We Notice the Weight
Every so often, life pauses us just long enough to feel the heaviness of what we’re carrying.
For some, it happens in a car at a red light.
For others, it happens in the grocery store parking lot, in a bathroom stall at work, or late at night when the world is quiet.
In those moments, it becomes clear:
We are not exhausted because we are weak.
We are exhausted because we have been carrying too much.
Too much responsibility.
Too much emotional labor.
Too much pressure to hold everything together.
And the ball of yarn — the one we’ve pretended is manageable — begins to reveal itself.
Untangling Isn’t Force. It’s Awareness.
Untangling the ball doesn’t happen through pushing or pulling.
It begins with noticing.
Noticing when we say yes out of habit.
Noticing when we feel obligated instead of aligned.
Noticing when a thread no longer belongs in our hands.
Every time we pause — really pause — we loosen a knot.
Every time we breathe before reacting, a thread slides free.
Every time we ask, “Is this actually mine?”
— the ball becomes lighter.
The Invisible Threads You’re Allowed to Release
Here are threads many people carry without realizing:
• The thread of being everyone’s emotional anchor
• The thread of guilt for needing rest
• The thread of fear that saying “no” will make you unlovable
• The thread of over-functioning because you always have
• The thread of performing strength instead of receiving support
• The thread of rewriting family patterns you didn’t create
• The thread of proving your worth through doing
You don’t have to unravel it all at once.
Just notice one thread today — and let that awareness be enough.
A Small Pause Can Change Everything
Healing often begins with something so subtle it’s almost invisible:
A breath before a yes.
A moment of awareness before responsibility automatically lands on your plate.
A gentle question whispered inward:
“Is this mine to carry?”
The shift doesn’t look dramatic from the outside.
But inside, the whole system recalibrates.
This is how lives change.
One loosened thread at a time.
You’re Not Behind. You’re Becoming.
If you’ve been feeling stretched, tired, or overwhelmed…
there is nothing wrong with you.
You’re simply at the place in your journey where the old knots are ready to release.
You don’t have to become someone new.
You only need to remember who you were before the threads settled into place.
And then, strand by strand, begin returning home to yourself.
If This Spoke to Your Soul…
This is the kind of work I do every day — helping people untangle the quiet knots inside their “ball of yarn,” soften the places that feel too tight, and find the clarity and steadiness that make life feel breathable again.
If you feel the pull to explore your own inner threads…
If you’re ready for a space where you don’t have to hold everything alone…
If something in you whispered “this is for me” as you read…
I would be honored to hold space for your unraveling and your becoming.
You can learn more about my work, sessions, and programs at:
If you’d like to reach out, you’re welcome to email me with a little about your journey and what you’d like support with:
Or, if you prefer, you can text me at:
469-768-4040
Wherever you are in your process, may this be a moment of loosening…
and the beginning of breathing more freely again.
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