We’re exhausted, and not just in the “I need an early night” kind of way.

The kind of tired that lingers, even after sleep. The kind that makes small tasks feel monumental. The kind that doesn’t always make sense on paper.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.  And more importantly - you’re not imagining it.

Naming the Invisible Energy We Give Away

Thanks to the work of Dr. B.E. Ainsworth and Dr. J. Calder’s expanded Energy Chart (which I’ve written about here), we finally have language for the energy we give that isn’t physical - and yet leaves us completely depleted:

It’s emotional energy. It’s cognitive energy.

It’s social and sensory energy. It’s the constant load of caring, thinking, organising, supporting - often without pause, and usually without acknowledgement.

For so many women, this is our everyday baseline. And while we’ve learned to manage it, we haven’t always had permission to honour it.

But naming it? That’s the beginning of something powerful.

Rest, Reimagined

Enter Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and her Seven Types of Rest - a concept that speaks straight to the soul.  Because when we talk about rest, we often think of sleep. But what about:

• Mental rest: the chance to stop overthinking and decision-making
• Emotional rest:  being in spaces where you don’t have to perform, pretend or hold it together for others
• Social rest:  choosing people who refill, not drain
• Creative rest:  space to dream, reflect, imagine
• Spiritual rest:  connecting to purpose and peace
• Sensory rest:  turning down the noise, the lights, the stimulation
• Physical rest:  not just sleep, but slowing, softening, being still

These are the kinds of rest we don’t often gift - to ourselves or to each other - but they’re exactly what so many of us need.

So What Does This Have to Do with Gifting?

At We are The Helpful, this is our starting point.

We don’t believe in surface-level gifting. We believe in support.  We believe in showing up with intention, not obligation.

In choosing gifts that speak directly to someone’s real-life experience, even when that experience is hard to name.  In fact, most of the time, we just sense it.  Sense that need something.

Whether it’s a friend recovering from illness, a new mother deep in the fourth trimester, someone grieving, or simply someone carrying more than she lets on, our gifts are curated with the understanding that she might not need more “stuff,” but she does need to feel seen, supported, and maybe even softly held.

We build our collections around what She Needs - rest, relief, nourishment, comfort, connection. We see gifting not as a transaction, but as an act of empathy.

Because when you understand the kind of energy someone is giving, you begin to understand how to care for them in a way that actually helps.

The Sisterhood of Showing Up

It’s not always about finding the right words. It’s not about fixing or solving. Sometimes, it’s just about being there - with a gesture that says:

“I see you.”

“I know you’re carrying a lot.” 

“You're not doing it alone.”

That’s why we do what we do. To support the moments that don’t come with a gift guide. To offer care, in a culture that so often tells us to just push through. To help you show up - for your people, and for yourself.  

Because life happens. And when it does, We are The Helpful.

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