Have You Ever Felt Discombobulated?
Nov 04, 2025
Two weeks ago, I shared a poem written by I-still-don’t-know-who. And today, I’m doing it again-ish — but this time, I almost know who wrote it. 
The poem below was written by someone who took our awesome, amazing flagship course, Social Skills Made Simple. Author was inspired by the first section: all about Empathy, Emotion Identification and Emotion Management — the part that helps parents and kids put words to what they feel instead of getting lost in it. She said it changed the way she relates to her children. (I cut and pasted the email into a google doc without her name, Hence, anonymous author!)
For those of you who are new here, and for those of you who’ve been part of our Newsletter Fam, Social Skills Made Simple. is a self-paced virtual course designed to help each of US , parents, teachers, and therapists teach children (honestly, mostly ourselves) the skills we were never taught in school: the HOWs of: self-awareness, confidence, empathy, and emotional regulation — all the ingredients that make for healthy relationships and resilient humans. The feedback has been, baruch Hashem, phenomenal and that it’s fun to watch, I’m a little bit whacked if you haven’t yet noticed. 
If you’ve ever wanted to give your children EXACT tools to handle challenges, connection, and big feelings — that they will need for LIFE — this course was created with you in mind.
And to the mystery poet — please speak up! I want to give you credit!
Have You Ever Felt Discombobulated?
Have you ever felt discombobulated?
(That’s a fancy word for feeling confused.)
Have you ever felt like nothing’s going right,
And you just want to give up the fight?
Have you felt annoyed, irritated, or just plain mad?
Your mind keeps racing,
And you find yourself pacing—
Back and forth, back and forth—
Thinking, What’s all this worth?
You go around in circles,
Not accomplishing anything.
There’s no telling
That your insides are yelling:
I’m overwhelmed, stressed, and depleted!
So pause. Take a long, deep breath.
Focus inward and pay attention to that yell.
What’s it trying to tell?
Give it a name—
That’s how you tame.
Feel how the emotion lessens,
And how your awareness deepens.
When your emotion has a name,
It’s no longer the same.
You feel calmer,
The intensity no longer harbors.
Give yourself some space.
Say it out—verbalize.
Just how it is—normalize.
Don’t bury it.
Don’t stuff it.
Don’t hide it.
Don’t deny it.
Just say it how it is—
Verbalize and normalize.
’Cuz that’s how we were created:
Living, breathing beings through our emotions.
Our emotions are the measure of how deeply we feel this world.
So go ahead—be in touch with your emotions.
And watch how rich and colorful the world becomes.
So remember, next time you’re feeling discombobulated—
Just stop, take a deep breath, name your feeling, give it space.
All feelings are valid.
———
, Shifi
