Caring For Crisis
It happens to us all. For reasons beyond our control, life throws us a curveball that knocks us down and creates potential for the whole system to run right off the tracks. Be it a pink slip, test result or some other life-altering event, here are a few tips to maintain your sanity and learn better to roll with it.
First of all, allow yourself to be present with what you feel. Granted, that sounds a little “foofy”, but the truth is in there. If you give yourself permission to cry, scream, sleep and maybe cry a little more, our bodies actually heal faster and we are better prepared to move on. Pushing down those emotions simply masks them and hides the real truth (for a while anyway).
Next, it is important to be OK with not being in control. Similar to the serenity prayer, it is important to know when we are faced with something that is out of our control. Accepting this helps us relax and move on. It allows for logic to enter and for our brains to not be cluttered with too many “what ifs”. Which brings us to the next step.
Focusing on the facts. Don’t let your mind go all over the place with worst case scenarios and other over-dramatic scenes in your head. This creates problems for your brain to focus on that are (likely) never going to become reality. Just because your boyfriend dumped you does not mean you’ll be alone the rest of your life. Stop your brain from creating these over-hyped ideas and keep yourself grounded in the truths you know are real.
Continue with an air of self-love and kindness. Once you have worked past the initial shock and are working on accepting that this is mostly out of your control, be sure and remind yourself that you are strong and will persevere through this and whatever else life throws your way. Treat yourself to a massage! You deserve it. It is very challenging to say, listen and believe this notion if you have not worked yourself through the first few steps.