YES!!!!! As i read this, the roof opened and i levitated right out the house and flew joyous loops around the chimney.
A cool drink of water in the endless existential desert in which i search day and night for thought snippets that make the world make sense.
I don’t know how I got here, or why people have created a universe of burning sand for all of us to live in, or why i have fins and coral reef camouflage instead of dun colored hair and great loping camel legs, but gosh i love swimming with every vibrating cell of my being. And the older i get, the more i realize that i am wholly incapable of doing anything else without an absolute misery which is beyond even the pain of the raw bleeding ribbons hanging flayed painful agony from every inch of my non-desert-adapted body and heart- it’s what happens to rainbow scales when you swim through sand.
Mast cells.
Rainbow scales.
Your words poured on my tongue and I remembered the ocean.
Wowww Molly. I've had your essay waiting in an open tab since you posted it and today was just the right day to read it. You've expressed something that I (and many others) feel with such eloquence and accessibility. Many of your words chime with a project I'm working on at the moment about creativity, spirituality and relationships, so there's an added layer of interest for me there aswell. Thank you for sharing with us.
Oh thank you so much for this comment Sophie! My son woke me up way too early this morning and I was just journaling on my phone about the exhaustion of trying to be present online all the time and how true connection and resonance can’t possibly rely on that, must come in bursts and on its own timing, etc. So I loved reading that you’ve had this open in a tab for that long. ❤️ Your project sounds really interesting! Hope I get to see it if/when you share.
Yes! Me too. Well, still working toward the environment thing in full. But I suppose it takes the body a while to understand it’s not being constricted anymore. And to heal. ❤️ Love your substack, btw!
I ended up with MCAS, I chalk it up to a dysregulated nervous system. Just started a limbic retraining course to get it under control. So far, so good - hoping for the best.
Hey Mollie, Love this article. It sits right in my ballpark currently. Would it be ok if I share with you what I have been working on? I think I have created a model that gives alot of what you discuss language that makes understanding a bit easier.
Thanks. I know it sounds ridiculous but I have created a model that I think describes how everything is connected and how everything interacts with our systems.
This is the heart of Sensory Context:
Ten Observations of Sensory Context
1. We exist inside networks of signals.
Every moment of human life is shaped by signals flowing through biological, cognitive, social, and environmental systems. We are never separate from these networks; we exist within them.
2. Every system has limits.
No regulatory system can process infinite signals. Stability depends on the balance between incoming demand and the system’s capacity to respond.
3. Context changes everything.
The same demand may be manageable in one environment and overwhelming in another. Context determines how signals are interpreted and how much effort regulation requires.
4. Volatility increases effort.
Unpredictable environments require constant adjustment. Even when the average demand is small, instability and unpredictability increase the work required to maintain balance.
5. Pressure accumulates.
Regulatory strain rarely appears instantly. Signals that cannot be resolved accumulate over time, gradually reducing the system’s ability to adapt.
6. Systems have thresholds.
For long periods, systems can appear stable while pressure quietly builds. When thresholds are crossed, change may occur rapidly.
7. Recovery takes time.
After instability, systems rarely return immediately to their previous state. Stability is rebuilt slowly through sustained periods of reduced demand.
8. Human systems are connected.
Individuals do not regulate in isolation. Our regulatory systems interact with those of others, creating shared dynamics within families, communities, organisations, and societies.
9. Stability emerges from alignment.
When biological rhythms, environments, tasks, and social interactions align, systems operate with far less effort.
Much of what we experience as wellbeing may simply be the presence of this alignment.
10. Understanding context changes how we see struggle.
When behaviour is understood as the outcome of interacting systems rather than isolated individuals, many human difficulties become easier to understand.
The question shifts from “what is wrong with the person?” to “what pressures are acting on the system?”
YES!!!!! As i read this, the roof opened and i levitated right out the house and flew joyous loops around the chimney.
A cool drink of water in the endless existential desert in which i search day and night for thought snippets that make the world make sense.
I don’t know how I got here, or why people have created a universe of burning sand for all of us to live in, or why i have fins and coral reef camouflage instead of dun colored hair and great loping camel legs, but gosh i love swimming with every vibrating cell of my being. And the older i get, the more i realize that i am wholly incapable of doing anything else without an absolute misery which is beyond even the pain of the raw bleeding ribbons hanging flayed painful agony from every inch of my non-desert-adapted body and heart- it’s what happens to rainbow scales when you swim through sand.
Mast cells.
Rainbow scales.
Your words poured on my tongue and I remembered the ocean.
Thank you.
This gorgeous response!! Mast cells, rainbow scales. See you in the water 🌊
Wowww Molly. I've had your essay waiting in an open tab since you posted it and today was just the right day to read it. You've expressed something that I (and many others) feel with such eloquence and accessibility. Many of your words chime with a project I'm working on at the moment about creativity, spirituality and relationships, so there's an added layer of interest for me there aswell. Thank you for sharing with us.
Oh thank you so much for this comment Sophie! My son woke me up way too early this morning and I was just journaling on my phone about the exhaustion of trying to be present online all the time and how true connection and resonance can’t possibly rely on that, must come in bursts and on its own timing, etc. So I loved reading that you’ve had this open in a tab for that long. ❤️ Your project sounds really interesting! Hope I get to see it if/when you share.
This is so resonant. I changed my environment long ago but my body is still catching up because it was decades - a lifetime, really - of misalignment.
Yes! Me too. Well, still working toward the environment thing in full. But I suppose it takes the body a while to understand it’s not being constricted anymore. And to heal. ❤️ Love your substack, btw!
Yes. Wishing you well with that process 🥰Aah, thank you!
I ended up with MCAS, I chalk it up to a dysregulated nervous system. Just started a limbic retraining course to get it under control. So far, so good - hoping for the best.
I have been here. Recovery is possible and I know you will. Your body and mind are so powerful. Lots of healing energy to you.
Wow, so resonates with lived my experience, Molly, and ever so timely. Thank you!🙏
Love reading this. So glad ❤️
Thank you, this was so enjoyable to read - and makes so much sense.
On point 🙏Molly 🌟
👌
Thank you 🙏🏼
Loved this!
I feel like you wrote this for me <3
aw, best comment to read. I did :)
Hey Mollie, Love this article. It sits right in my ballpark currently. Would it be ok if I share with you what I have been working on? I think I have created a model that gives alot of what you discuss language that makes understanding a bit easier.
Sure, I’d love that
Thanks. I know it sounds ridiculous but I have created a model that I think describes how everything is connected and how everything interacts with our systems.
This is the heart of Sensory Context:
Ten Observations of Sensory Context
1. We exist inside networks of signals.
Every moment of human life is shaped by signals flowing through biological, cognitive, social, and environmental systems. We are never separate from these networks; we exist within them.
2. Every system has limits.
No regulatory system can process infinite signals. Stability depends on the balance between incoming demand and the system’s capacity to respond.
3. Context changes everything.
The same demand may be manageable in one environment and overwhelming in another. Context determines how signals are interpreted and how much effort regulation requires.
4. Volatility increases effort.
Unpredictable environments require constant adjustment. Even when the average demand is small, instability and unpredictability increase the work required to maintain balance.
5. Pressure accumulates.
Regulatory strain rarely appears instantly. Signals that cannot be resolved accumulate over time, gradually reducing the system’s ability to adapt.
6. Systems have thresholds.
For long periods, systems can appear stable while pressure quietly builds. When thresholds are crossed, change may occur rapidly.
7. Recovery takes time.
After instability, systems rarely return immediately to their previous state. Stability is rebuilt slowly through sustained periods of reduced demand.
8. Human systems are connected.
Individuals do not regulate in isolation. Our regulatory systems interact with those of others, creating shared dynamics within families, communities, organisations, and societies.
9. Stability emerges from alignment.
When biological rhythms, environments, tasks, and social interactions align, systems operate with far less effort.
Much of what we experience as wellbeing may simply be the presence of this alignment.
10. Understanding context changes how we see struggle.
When behaviour is understood as the outcome of interacting systems rather than isolated individuals, many human difficulties become easier to understand.
The question shifts from “what is wrong with the person?” to “what pressures are acting on the system?”
Really helpful, thank you!
Thank you for sharing, this really makes sense!