Have you ever had something happen in your life, and you think you adequately dealt with it, but it turns out that maybe you didn’t?
You lost a job, a loved one passed away, or a relationship fell apart.
When it happened, perhaps you had a good cry or slept a lot more those days after the event. You wore your favorite comfy clothes and binge-watched your favorite show. If you lost a job, you mourned the missed opportunity and the idea that you would no longer work with your teammates. If a relationship fell apart, you tried to make sense of it, but how long can you focus on that?
Sometimes, things do not make sense. There are times when the circumstances that caused the event were outside your control. Budgets get cut, people get sick, and disagreements happen, right?
You do your best to deal with it and move on.
But then it happens…
That event you thought you dealt with starts to show up unexpectedly. You find yourself getting overly emotional at inappropriate times. You lash out at someone without reason. You lose motivation for everyday tasks.
You think to yourself, “What is wrong with me?”
If we don’t take the time to check in with how we’re feeling, our emotions will eventually bubble up to the surface.
This just got personal…
This week’s topic hits me hard because it is a big part of my struggle with anxiety and depression. This happened to me. I thought I was handling life’s challenges, but it turned out I wasn’t.
Sure, I was doing my best to deal with it and move on, but that wasn’t enough.
Eventually, my body said enough!
Time and time again, I experienced an event and failed to check in with how I was feeling. Looking back, I can see a lot of subtle signs, but back then, there was a lot I didn’t know. Eventually, these emotions bubbled over until I was unable to function.
You see, my body had been trying to tell me something, but I wasn’t paying attention.
