I Had a Twistie in My Hair: Why I Created Driving Resets for Overwhelmed Women

A few years ago, I had just dropped my daughters at childcare.

I was sitting in my car outside, feeling that familiar wave of guilt about leaving them. I was already mentally rehearsing the workday ahead and trying to pull myself together enough to walk into work and act “normal.”

Meanwhile, the inside of my car mirrored exactly how I felt: absolute chaos!

There were sultanas on the floor, half-eaten snacks shoved into cup holders. Toys scattered everywhere. And somehow, every single surface felt sticky. So very sticky..

Then it happened.

A single cheese Twistie chip fell out of my hair.

That was it… I completely lost it.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, sobbing, I remember thinking:

“What has my life come to… I have Twisties in. my. HAIR.”

At the time, I was barely holding it together. 

Trying so hard to be:

• the perfect mum
• the perfect wife
• the perfect occupational therapist

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

But life is messy, isn’t it?

Looking back now, I can see how unrealistic the expectations were that I was placing on myself. Perfection was never my reality, and trying to maintain that illusion only added more pressure to an already overwhelmed nervous system.

That moment in the car stayed with me because it captured something I think so many women experience:

The transition between roles can feel relentless. One moment you’re soothing a child, cleaning up breakfast, searching for lost shoes, rushing out the door… and the next, you’re expected to arrive at work calm, productive, emotionally regulated, and ready to perform. And somehow, we manage to hold it together on the outside, even when it feels very different on the inside.

We rarely give ourselves space to transition. To breath, to be. We just carry stress from one role straight into the next.

As an occupational therapist, I now understand this differently.

Our nervous systems are constantly responding to:

• sensory input
• emotional load
• cognitive demands
• role expectations
• transitions between environments

And when we move through the day without pauses to regulate, overwhelm builds quietly in the background until suddenly… a Twistie falling out of your hair becomes the final straw.

That experience is part of why I created my Reset audios. Not as another unrealistic wellness routine. But as practical nervous system support woven into everyday life. Because sometimes we don’t need a complete escape from life. We just need small moments to reset within it.

One of the newest resets I’ve created is the Morning Driving Reset. Designed specifically for those overwhelmed, anxious, mentally overloaded drives to work where your mind is already racing through the entire day before you’ve even arrived.

It’s short. Grounding. Practical. And designed to support calm, alert driving while helping your nervous system settle enough to arrive more steadily.

Because you deserve support during the ordinary moments too! Especially those moments.

You can listen to the Morning Driving Reset here:
[Morning Driving Anxiety Reset]

And if you’re needing more support than just a single moment of reset, I created The Reset Toolkit through Mayari Mind as a practical, OT-informed space for women navigating mental load, overwhelm, role transitions, and nervous system fatigue. Inside, you’ll find guided resets, reflective tools, and supportive resources designed to help you regulate within everyday life.