When Life is Tough

Are you ever cruising along life's highway and things are going pretty well when all of a sudden the curves start coming at you so fast you are overwhelmed, weighed down and soon you find yourself on the outskirts of "Defeatville"or maybe thinking you should put a down payment on a place at the "Funny Farm."

It's crazy how quickly life changes and things that can be good one day are hard the next.

 Miscommunication and relationships are strained.  A funny feeling head and grandma is in the hospital having suffered a stroke, and then another and another.  Cold temperatures and vehicles don't start.  A mild fever and your child has migraine headaches for a week.  A family member decides to change up Christmas plans. Kids in post secondary stressed with final exams. Extra projects expected at work. Try to do something good and it back fires and bites you in the butt.  And the kicker is sometimes the things we do for enjoyment,our stress relievers also add to the pile.  A bike ride and the shifters don't work, a run that ends in a sore knee.

The point is we all have things that cause us stress or maybe cause us frustration or worry and most of the time they are kind enough to spread themselves out so we can recover a bit and get ready for the next one.  What do you do when it all comes at once?

I don't know.
Ya that's right.  I don't know.
It's easy to get sad, unhappy, frustrated, and wallow in self pity for awhile.  Maybe get hopeful when there is signs of improvement then hit the bottom again when there isn't.  What a roller coaster ride it is and if you don't like roller coasters, then prepare for a uncomfortable journey.

I found this encouragement online through a google search.



Now I know the author means well and with a positive mindset, these are doable things.  But when you are on overload, not so easy.  Let me state the reasons this does not work for me.  When you are in the midst of adversity, it does seem like finding peace, health, harmony, money etc is impossible.  There is no way in heck that I believe in myself or am kind to myself; there is usually a beatdown happening.  Typically, I question everything I do, withdraw, feel down and out or grab the chips or ice cream a bit too much.  Make a plan?  Who's thinking straight enough to do this?  And the nerves part, I am probably 1 nerve away from losing my mind. And most of all, when you are neck deep, I'm not sure I can ever count to 10 never mind remember 10 things.

So the only thing that really helped me was knowing that nothing lasts forever.  I may not make the right choices and handle everything perfectly, but I will try my best with what I have at this time. Thanks Teddy;)





And as time passes a bit, I do start thinking about the strength I am gaining from a tough time and the kind of character I want to see in myself.



And somewhere along the way, a friend, relative, co-worker or complete stranger shows some kindness and you have a good cry or you hear about someone else's struggles and you gain perspective and realize that you will survive.  And you will be stronger.

For the past 2 weeks, my greatest accomplishment has been not completely losing my mind.

What has helped me has been trying to stay somewhat to routine.  I still get up and run or bike in the mornings.  It hasn't been as long or as intense as normal but I still stay to routine.

I try to get extra sleep.  Sometimes it is hard to eat and some people have trouble sleeping when they are in a crisis but I have tried hard to be in bed an hour earlier every night than my usual.  I make better decisions and cope better with more rest.

If I need to cry, I do.

Don't think too far ahead.

Do something productive each day/evening.  My ambition is in the negative numbers so it has been a push doing this but doing laundry or sorting through a drawer, making Christmas cookies, wrapping gifts.  These have all helped me kept me busy but not too much and helped me think about something else but not too hard.

When the chips are calling my name- I go walk on the treadmill or read a book by the fire.

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.  It is very easy to start blaming mostly just out of frustration.

I have listened to a LOT of podcasts.  Inspirational stories, nutrition, spiritual well-being, triathlon or running.  I can turn them off when I want to and again, it helps take my mind off things and hopefully impacts my mojo to point upward.


 Sometimes life is tough.  I have little advice except to say that if you have a heaping load of worry and stress, you aren't alone.


What are your best ways of coping in tough times?