8thOctober
How To Survive Difficult Times
Recent natural disasters, home mortgage crises, stock market volatility and credit constriction are proving to be tremendously difficult for some of the most at-risk members of our society. New parents, particularly pregnant and postnatal women, feel naturally compelled to create a stable home environment for their babies. Rapidly fluctuating hormone levels and brain chemistry only elevate their increased stress levels.
Creating a stable home environment may be the “impossible dream” during rapidly changing world events. Parents may find themselves overwhelmed and underprepared, wanting to do right by their families but struggling to find the resources to do so. Babies and young children are acutely sensitive to the stress level in parents. Helping mothers and fathers find some mental and physical relief can provide a more secure, calming environment for the developing minds and bodies of their children. Here’s what to do:
1. Focus on the moment. There may be a hundred problems that you need to cope with. You cannot possibly tend to them all at once. Just focus on one at a time. Most importantly, check if you and your family are safe for now. If not, ask yourself what you need to do to assure the most basic needs are met, and follow through. If you are safe, even for the night, breathe and allow a moment of gratitude for even the smallest blessings.
2. Encourage Honesty. You may feel sad, mad, glad, scared, or some confusing combination of these. You don’t have to make sense of any of it right now. Whatever you feel is O.K. Supressing your emotions for any length of time can be hazardous to your health. Acknowledging whatever you feel from the inside out can free up vital life energy to allow you to move forward.
3. Connect with Someone. You may not realize it yet, but you are not alone. Connecting to share your story can bring back your sense of sanity. It can also comfort other people in need. Quantity doesn’t matter much, or even the means of connecting. The internet can provide a way to reach out to support groups if you haven’t found supportive people locally. A single, supportive human connection can do a world of good.
4. Nurture Yourself. Ask yourself what you love with each of your senses. What do you love to hear? What do you love to taste? What do you love to feel? What do you love to smell? What do you love to see? Write your answers down, and be creative. Spa days, massages and fancy dinners are great, but the object here is to find small but meaningful ways to nurture yourself every day. You may be surprised to find the variety of simple, inexpensive ways to bring pleasure through multiple senses. A cup of favorite tea or coffee can nourish your sense of taste, smell, touch, and even sight if you take the time to focus and enjoy it. Stroking a cat or dog can be tremendously soothing, nourishing your sense of touch and bringing a sense of connection at the same time. It is possible to become aware of beauty even in some of the harshest environments.
5. Cover the Essentials. Eating, sleeping, breathing and drinking water may not seem significant, but they are. Attending to these essentials each day will provide you with the energy to make it through to smoother times.
6. Let People Know What You Need. This is no time to try to survive on your own. The best way to increase the odds of getting the resources you and your family need is to ask for help. You would undoubtedly help someone else in any way you could, so give others a chance to help you. Check inside and as yourself if you require food, a safe place to sleep, someone to talk to, information or other resources. Then put your pride on the sideline and let people know what would make a difference in your life.