7 Ways To Handle Difficult Times
And come out stronger
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Unpredictable as life is, you never know what happens and when.
You can experience turbulent times. Difficulties and challenges can cross your path and you can unexpectedly encounter rough patches that leave you feeling helpless, powerless and overwhelmed.
Things can indeed get tough sometimes. You can experience unusual circumstances or find yourself in tough situations that can take a heavy toll on physical and mental health if not dealt with properly.
Difficult times could be:
- Feeling emotionally distressed and low
- Loss of a loved one
- Health scare
- Dealing with difficult people
- Experiencing difficult situations
- Encountering problems
- Tragic happening
- Financial crisis
- Failed plan
- Unemployment
- Job stress
- Relationship issues
1. Accept your reality
When you are in the middle of or have just experienced a hard time, the first thing to do is — allow yourself time to let it sink in.
There’s no point arguing, complaining, denying the reality.
The faster you can come to terms with it, the earlier you can start the healing process and get yourself back on track.
But don’t rush through or force yourself in any manner or it will only backfire.
Give yourself time and space to comprehend what has happened and how your life henceforth may be different.
2. Don’t beat yourself up
Whatever has happened has happened and most likely, it cannot be undone.
Don’t start to blame yourself or start beating yourself up.
If it wasn’t a deliberate mistake, show some self-compassion and forgive yourself.
The very fact that you have realized a wrong action at your end indicates that your mind has already processed the situation and recognized your inadvertent negative action.
You would now be more careful in future and avoid any such happenings again. It’s desirable to leave it at that and move on.
3. View things in perspective
Sometimes when you’re going through bad times, it’s good to see the big picture and view things in perspective.
Take time and ponder over whether it was in your power to stop it, could you have done things in any other way to avert the situation and were there any hidden pointers or lessons.
Seeing things as a whole helps you comprehend them better and come to terms with your situation.
4. Try to fix the problems
Once you realize something bad has happened in your life or you have suffered a huge setback, keep yourself calm, steady and quickly play the entire thing in your mind.
If you feel there’s still a way out to rectify or minimize the damage, by all means, pursue it actively and take all the possible measures to fix the problem.
Sometimes timely action on your part can make a world of difference, reduce the damage or stop the problem from further blowing up.
5. Hold on to faith
Whether it’s a personal, professional or relationship problem, keeping faith in yourself and the process goes a long way in allaying anxiety and keeping stress under check.
When you feel nothing is under your control and you are helpless, remember you still have a choice — to be hopeful that things will get better.
Having firm faith in your ability to cope up with your circumstances will build resilience and enable you to come out stronger.
6. Be close to your support group
Being close to your family, friends and loved ones in times of crisis can dramatically change things and give you the strength, support and courage to handle it all.
Eventually, time heals most wounds and you come to accept the finality but it’s when you’re in the thick of it that you feel most lonely and vulnerable.
That’s exactly the time you must surround yourself with people who understand and care for you — members of your support group — to tide over the difficult times.
7. Take care of yourself
It’s only human to feel depressed and withdrawn when you are going through a bad time and experience feelings of sorrow and distress.
Most people find it hard to switch off from the sad state and focus on themselves. They neglect their basic needs and stop tending to themselves altogether.
Never do that. One setback, failure or mishappening does mean the end of life.
Take care of yourself, be patient and kind and it’s only a matter of time when you’ll emerge from this all, stronger.
In Conclusion
Navigating the rough waters might pose a challenge but sometimes you have to muster all your strength and willpower and brave these extraordinarily tough times with courage and fortitude.
In testing times, it is your resilience that will help you not only cope up but bounce back, adapt and regain control over your life.
