There is no single formula for properly dealing with hard times, everyone has their own way. But what you should remember is that you shouldn’t have such extreme coping mechanisms that could cause further damage in your life instead of making you feel better.
Hard times happen to everyone, what can make them even harder is if you mistreat yourself and suppress your problems in the process of feeling better. Balancing out your life and making good decisions is the best way to make yourself feel better while dealing with something unpleasant.
How to achieve balance in your life and feel better while going through a rough patch:
Practice self-care
Going through difficult circumstances can be physically and mentally exhausting. Stress can have a major negative influence on your digestion and immune system, raise your risk of heart disease, and cause burnout, a condition of mental, physical, and emotional distress. Continually being under stress can also have serious negative effects on your health.
It’s simple to become consumed by your current crisis or overtaken by horrifying news. However, no matter what your situation, it need not define who you are. A crisis is not who you are. You may put your issues in perspective, stop them from overtaking you, and preserve your identity by pursuing things that give your life value and purpose.
For example, if you are a spiritual person, you can take inspiration from the saint of the day to stay in touch with God and allow your faith to help you with accepting your feelings. God has a plan for all of us and you need to remember that after every storm, the sun always shines again.
Because we are all unique, we all experience meaning and purpose in distinct manners. Don’t constrain yourself to what others anticipate; instead, go after the things that are important to you and make your life more satisfying.
Accept the situation
Life will always include transformation, and you have little influence over many facets of the ever-changing world. For instance, you do not influence how quickly society is changing or how the economic system is doing. Even though it can be difficult to accept, complaining about things that are beyond your control will just sap your energy and make you feel nervous and despondent.
On the contrary, accepting hard times will allow you to focus your efforts on the issues that you can control. Concentrate on the things you can influence. Make a note of everything you are powerless to affect and then permit yourself to quit worrying about it – concentrate on the things that can be done.
For example, if you just lost your job, you can’t influence your supervisors to take you back. However, you may choose how much energy and time you spend looking for work or honing your abilities.
Similar to this, if a loved one has a medical condition, you may have to give up control to the medical professionals, but you may still concentrate on giving your loved one the best emotional support you can.
Stay motivated
Fostering traits like perseverance and endurance are crucial to overcoming adversity and getting through difficult situations. You need to develop strategies to maintain motivation and perseverance while you map a path through the dark times.
Try breaking a difficulty into smaller pieces if it’s too overwhelmingly big to handle all at once. Even if it appears that there is no way to solve your issue, you may still take action by making a list, doing further research, or asking a close friend or loved one for guidance.
While it might be challenging to stay motivated during hard times, many of us have a tendency to exaggerate our issues and make them appear even worse than they actually are. Consider taking a moment to pause and look at your situation objectively.
Each person responds differently to change and disruption. Don’t berate yourself for every error you make or ridicule your coping mechanisms. To develop resilience, practice self-compassion, therefore be kind to yourself.
Final thoughts
You can be filled with a wide range of feelings, mourning painfully for what you’ve lost, or unsure of how to continue with your life following a disaster. You can even feel completely out of control of your situation.
There are techniques to help calm the stormy seas and recover a sense of control even though there is no way to prevent sadness, struggle, or distress in life. Make sure to be kind to yourself and others, no matter what type of coping mechanism you have, and stay safe.