Feel like you're completely out of control in your own life? Yeah me too.
This isn't going to be a post about how I deal with feeling stresses and overwhelmed because that would be misleading you to believe that I have any idea how to deal with it. I don't. I am currently sinking in stress and general feelings of negativity and I see no light at the end of the tunnel. Rational tells me that, like most shitty things, this too shall pass. However, I don't want it to pass in a few weeks or months or days, I would quite like it to take a hike right now!
Phew, now that I have all that out of the way, let me offer up some potentially useful advice to myself and anyone dealing with similar feelings.
1. Let yourself drown.
And by this I don't mean let whatever you feel overwhelmed about gradually make your situation worse until it becomes the worst possible scenario, I simply mean let yourself feel panicked for a moment or two (or three if need be.) Chances are if you suppress the feeling and drown yourself in denial instead, then shit is most definitely going to hit the fan because eventually those suppressed feelings of anguish will resurface and slap you wholeheartedly in the face. Better to let the waves of fear wash over you and drift off into a calmer state of mind later.
2. Don't do nothing.
Another absolutely terrible thing to do when the going gets tough is stand and watch. Productivity feels pretty damn good in moments of turmoil and its also a sure fire way to gain back some of that pesky control. You don't need to do the thing that's currently winding you up exactly, simply tidying your room, washing up, reading emails just basic chores that don't require too much in the way of brain over-activity. These things act as semi-distractions and give you a chance to feel like less of a useless human being.
3. Find something to look forward to.
A different way of wording this would be to say 'find a silver lining', but since that sounds ridiculous to my cynical ears/eyes, I'm not putting that as the bloody title. But seriously, when I think of the bleak potentially jobless months I have ahead of me, I could happily run into oncoming traffic but while I feel almost certain that unemployment awaits me, what also awaits me is a summer of fun with my friends, my 21st and a holiday. Finding things to feel excited about is a fantastic way of wading through the current awfulness of the now.
4. Lists.
Okay, so this one might be too off base for some but what I find helpful when it seems as if the world is imploding (which it is actually but anyway,) I make a list of worse situations I could find myself in. And no it's not a list that names all the blessings in my life because as anyone with the same level of irrational anxiety I have will understand, your anxiety doesn't care that you live in a warm house with a loving family and a good head on your shoulders. What I have found helps is to list things like, at least I'm not starving to death right now, at least I'm not currently being hunted by the Mexican drug cartel or in prison. Yeah as I type this, I realise it's not the most moral way to calm oneself down but it sure does do the trick sometimes.
There you have it, I hope this helps someone out there. As I post this I am currently 4 weeks away from my dissertation being due, so one might wonder why I am writing this instead of that, the only reply I can give is procrastination.
Blah blah usual sign off who cares?
Girl in Blue
xoxo
1. Let yourself drown.
And by this I don't mean let whatever you feel overwhelmed about gradually make your situation worse until it becomes the worst possible scenario, I simply mean let yourself feel panicked for a moment or two (or three if need be.) Chances are if you suppress the feeling and drown yourself in denial instead, then shit is most definitely going to hit the fan because eventually those suppressed feelings of anguish will resurface and slap you wholeheartedly in the face. Better to let the waves of fear wash over you and drift off into a calmer state of mind later.
2. Don't do nothing.
Another absolutely terrible thing to do when the going gets tough is stand and watch. Productivity feels pretty damn good in moments of turmoil and its also a sure fire way to gain back some of that pesky control. You don't need to do the thing that's currently winding you up exactly, simply tidying your room, washing up, reading emails just basic chores that don't require too much in the way of brain over-activity. These things act as semi-distractions and give you a chance to feel like less of a useless human being.
3. Find something to look forward to.
A different way of wording this would be to say 'find a silver lining', but since that sounds ridiculous to my cynical ears/eyes, I'm not putting that as the bloody title. But seriously, when I think of the bleak potentially jobless months I have ahead of me, I could happily run into oncoming traffic but while I feel almost certain that unemployment awaits me, what also awaits me is a summer of fun with my friends, my 21st and a holiday. Finding things to feel excited about is a fantastic way of wading through the current awfulness of the now.
4. Lists.
Okay, so this one might be too off base for some but what I find helpful when it seems as if the world is imploding (which it is actually but anyway,) I make a list of worse situations I could find myself in. And no it's not a list that names all the blessings in my life because as anyone with the same level of irrational anxiety I have will understand, your anxiety doesn't care that you live in a warm house with a loving family and a good head on your shoulders. What I have found helps is to list things like, at least I'm not starving to death right now, at least I'm not currently being hunted by the Mexican drug cartel or in prison. Yeah as I type this, I realise it's not the most moral way to calm oneself down but it sure does do the trick sometimes.
There you have it, I hope this helps someone out there. As I post this I am currently 4 weeks away from my dissertation being due, so one might wonder why I am writing this instead of that, the only reply I can give is procrastination.
Blah blah usual sign off who cares?
Girl in Blue
xoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment