I don’t know about you but I was still trying to wrap my head around the tragedies in Texas, the hurricane in Florida and the earthquake in Mexico when this horrendous storm hit Puerto Rico. Then, I was still trying to wrap my head around the massive scale devastation and injustice going on there when the news about the Las Vegas shooting broke. So, it’s been a crappy couple of weeks. Today I want to talk about how you even begin to process so much when there’s human tragedy and heartbreak on massive scales going on sometimes what seems like everywhere you turn.
Step #1:
Step number 1 is you are going to need to take it one bite at a time. Take a bite into what’s upsetting you, think some thoughts, and feel some feelings. Then later on, come back for another bite so that slowly you’re chipping away at it but you’re not trying to do it all at once. Let me be very clear, if you don’t make a little time and space to slow down, be quiet, and feel your feelings, those feelings are still going to be trapped inside your body somewhere. They’re just going to come out in more interesting ways. Maybe your anxiety over another mass shooting is going to come out when you drown it in a bottle of chardonnay, or maybe you’re going to be particularly enraged behind the wheel of your car this week when what you’re actually angry at is not the other drivers, but the injustices going on in our society. Feelings have a really interesting way of coming out when we try to suppress or ignore them so try not to do that.
Step #2:
Do not gorge on the news. Just because technology has the ability to give you more information more rapidly than ever before does not mean that your neurobiology has the ability to process and comprehend and be at peace with so much information and so much heartbreak all at once. For a lot of us, our news consumption and our exposure to social media is part of what makes it challenging for us. Be the boss of how much news you have and you might want to do a bit of an audit on your relationship with the news. Try scaling back and see how you feel.
Step #3:
Find a safe place where you can talk and can dig into how you’re feeling and how this is impacting you. Find someone who understands and who allows you to be candid with your emotions and your experiences. If that needs to be someone here on our team, we are here for you. If not, find some safe space so that you’re not bottled up in your head alone with this.
Step #4:
Fourth and finally, remember that you always have a choice. You can become apathetic. That’s going to feel like crap in your body and probably not going to help you feel good about the way you are showing up as a citizen. It is always an option though. Another option is, you can become an activist. This is going to feel more energizing in your body and probably help you feel like at least you handled and responded to that situation in a way aligns with how you actually think about your neighbors and other citizens here on planet Earth. Any time we do anything in alignment with our values, it helps bring us a small sense of peace or a small piece of hope. So, apathy or activism? Your choice.
The Flourish team is always here to support you. CLICK HERE or call us at 303-455-3767 ext. 1 to schedule your free initial consultation with us.
Take good care of yourselves everybody.