Put down the bags that aren’t yours. Your arms need room for your own groceries.

Carrying other people’s problems feels responsible, and often it is just crowding. There is a fixed amount of attention available, and worry spent on somebody else’s decisions is not available for your own. Most of what you are hauling was never handed to you; you picked it up.

List what is weighing on you this week and mark whose it actually is. For the items that belong to someone else, work out what your real role is, which is usually caring rather than fixing. Set one down and see what the space is for.