I can handle my life. I’m just tired of thinking about everything all the time.

I don’t remember always being this bothered by everything.

I used to let things go.

Now a text could follow me around for an hour.

A tiny change in plans could get under my skin way more than it should.

Someone could ask me one more question and I’d hear the irritation in my own voice.

And afterward, I’d think:

That was the part that really bothered me.

Not the text.

Not the plan changing.

Not even being irritated.

It was feeling like I wasn’t acting like myself.

Maybe I wasn’t becoming a different person.

Maybe my head just hadn’t had much room lately.

I miss when I could just let things go.

I didn’t want to care less.

That was important to me.

I like caring.

I like being responsible.

I like being the person people can count on.

I just didn’t want every little thing to keep following me around after it was over.

I wanted to answer the text and move on.

Change the plan and move on.

Have the conversation and move on.

Funny enough, I first heard about Kio at a hair appointment.

I was sitting in the chair one day and somehow the conversation turned into how my brain never really seemed to stop.

I said something like, “I’m fine. I’m just tired of thinking about everything all the time.”

My hairdresser looked at me and said:

I assumed she meant some kind of sleep gummy.

She said no — what had caught her attention was the oral lavender.

At first I laughed because when I hear “lavender,” I think candle.

Maybe a bath.

Definitely not something you take.

Then she explained that lavender isn’t only something people smell.

Specific standardized oral lavender-oil preparations have actually been studied in randomized human trials.

That surprised me enough that I went home and started reading about it myself.

That was the part that made sense to me.

I wasn’t looking for something to knock me out.

I wasn’t trying to stop caring.

I just wanted something that fit the feeling I kept trying to describe:

That’s why I decided to look more closely at Kio.

I miss when one little thing didn’t ruin my whole mood.

What I wanted wasn’t dramatic.

I wanted my phone to buzz without feeling like I had to look immediately.

I wanted a plan to change without carrying the irritation around for the next hour.

I wanted someone to ask me one more question without my brain going:

I wanted to sit down and actually feel like I had sat down.

I wanted to finish today without mentally starting tomorrow.

Mostly, I wanted to stop feeling so affected by everything.

I didn’t want a new personality.

I wasn’t trying to become the kind of person who never gets annoyed.

Or never worries.

Or somehow floats through life without caring about anything.

That isn’t me.

I still wanted to care about my work.

My family.

My plans.

The people who count on me.

I just didn’t want the texts, errands, tomorrow’s list, and everything else in my head to feel like they all needed me at the exact same time.

Maybe you miss when you could just let things go, too.

Maybe your life isn’t actually the problem.

Maybe you’re still getting everything done.

You’re still showing up.

You’re still being the person everyone expects you to be.

But lately, little things seem to get to you more than they used to.

A text sticks with you.

A changed plan throws you off.

One little thing can change your whole mood.

And afterward you wonder:

Maybe the hardest part isn’t even feeling irritated.

Maybe it’s wondering if this is just who you are now.

Maybe your head has just gotten used to carrying everything at once.

And maybe what you really miss isn’t some perfect version of yourself.

Maybe you just miss feeling like you.

That’s why Kio stood out to me.

I wasn’t looking for a completely different life.

I wasn’t trying to stop caring about my work, my family, my plans, or everything I have going on.

I wanted something that made sense for the feeling I was actually having.

The feeling of having too many things open in my head at once.

The feeling of being more bothered by little things than I wanted to be.

The feeling of thinking:

If that sounds familiar, Kio is worth taking a look at.

If any of this sounds familiar, this is what I’d tell you.

You probably don’t need to change your whole life.

The texts are still going to come.

Plans are still going to change.

People are still going to need things from you.

Tomorrow is still going to have a list.

That’s normal life.

The part you may be missing is how you used to feel inside that life.

A little less affected.

A little quicker to let things go.

A little more like yourself.

So if you’ve been reading this thinking, “That is exactly how I feel,” take a look at Kio and see if it feels right for you.