I imagine you may be feeling similar to how I’m feeling these days, maybe a little fearful, anxious, angry, depressed or simply uneasy about many things happening in the world today. Our country and our planet are shifting and right now it is uncomfortable. There is unrest, war, anger, fear, natural disasters coming at us from all sides. It sometimes makes me uncomfortable to go out in the world and be my old self. I sometimes feel I need to be on guard or careful what I say. I sometimes have a sinking feeling that something is wrong and I’m not sure what it is or how to fix it. It doesn’t matter what political affiliation you are or what religion you hold onto, if any, but the energy in our country is one of mistrust, uneasiness and sometimes fear. And I am generalizing here. Not everyone is feeling this way but I know there are a lot of people feeling very discouraged. How do we cope with these feelings or how do we help people who are feeling depressed, anxious, angry and fearful?
In other words, how do we navigate the world these days, when many of us are feeling these negative emotions? How do we go through our day getting to the end of it and feeling like “Phew I made it and nothing bad happened”. I am no expert and by all means, if you are feeling too overwhelmed with these negative emotions, get help, find a counselor or a support group. But if you are not there yet, here are a few things I’ve been doing to help me get through my day and try and work towards more happiness and joy.
- Manage your emotions. To manage your emotions, first identify what exactly it is you are feeling. When I was feeling mad, I knew it. I was so mad, I was shaking inside. How did I manage this emotion? I stayed silent until I was able to understand exactly why I was feeling how I was feeling. Second, process your emotions by doing what helps you move through a challenging emotion. I journaled about my anger. This is my way of processing my emotions. It helped me spell out what was going on and if I was overreacting or not being truthful with myself. It also helped me outline what was going on easier so I could understand better how I was feeling. I also gave me some kind of insight as to how to overcome feeling this way. Other ways people process their emotion is to meditate, take a walk, go to the gym to let off some steam, call your best friend. Third, feel your emotion but don’t live in it for a long period of time. I encourage people to feel their feelings but don’t live there. Let it go after a while. If you are having a hard time letting it go, find a different perspective that is more inspiring or positive for you to help you let it go. For example, with my anger, I realized that I was not in control of the situation and that I acted in good faith on my part so there was not anything I could do about it. So I found a different perspective on how to look at it that was more helpful for me.
- Find a positive distraction. Sometimes my mind or thoughts go to places that it never should go, especially if I am alone. I found this more challenging when I was single because I didn’t have someone around to help me get my mind in a different place. I would just get caught up in analysis paralysis. So if you find yourself having stinking thinking, distract yourself by reading a book, going to a movie with a friend, get around people by going to the mall or the library or a coffee shop. Go to your place that brings you pleasure. Home depot may be a place that energizes you or maybe the gardening center or a library or a museum. Get out and find a place that brings you pleasure, even if it is just for a few minutes. I used to walk through Whole Foods because of the smell. It smelled so healthy to me and it transported me into a good feeling.
- List all the things you are grateful for. I know, it sounds so corny and cliche’, but it works. I will list everything I can think of even if it is small and insignificant. “I am grateful for this chair I’m sitting in because it is comfortable. I am grateful for birds because they bring me pleasure when I watch them.” Do this until something shifts and it helps you feel a little better.
- Fake it until you make it. I really didn’t like this advice many years ago but now I use it all the time. If I’m mad, I smile anyway. If I am feeling sad, I’ll use the smile thing again until I feel different. This is not to say that you shouldn’t feel your feelings. It is always good to have a nice cry but sometimes, it is time to go do something else. Don’t stay in your mad or sad too long. Fake it until you shift it and then keep going.
- Pray. It seems simple but your pray can be simple. You can say “Spirit, help me make it through this day with grace an ease”. “Spirit, send positive healing to Gayle who is struggling today”. It doesn’t need to be big and complicated. Just ask. “Dear father mother God of all creation, send healing energy to the planet so she will move into balance.”
So hang in there, these are crazy times. Life can be challenging. I give people a lot of grace these days because we don’t know what people are going through. It seems more challenging these days than ever. So all I can say is get inspired, be an inspiration, go out in the world and find happiness and good wherever you can find it. Peace my brothers and sisters.