A Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Posted by Goody on 04/14/08 in Travel and Leisure
How can we anchor ourselves when suddenly faced by crises that seem overwhelming? Frequently these crises will effect us personally or those to whom we are the closest.
Our knee jerk reaction is the most common and understandable in these situations. Can we change that reaction? If so how?
It is probably the most important to ‘catch’ ourselves before we fall to the emotion of the moment. I knew a young mother named Julie. Her son was playing near their home with his friends when suddenly she heard the screaming and shouting of many children. Rushing to the door she heard to her horror that her son Max had fallen off the scaffolding of a low rise building going up in their neighborhood.
Julie thought she would faint. She pulled herself together quickly, grabbing onto the door jam for support. She began to breathe….Julie decided that she would walk, quickly, walk rather than run to the scene. The children were screaming at her, she blocking out the sound of their screaming, holding herself back for a couple of minutes that seemed like eternity.
This story has a happy ending Max is the father of four young rambunctious children today. Julie can laugh about it… now.
Using Julie’s example we will postulate:
1. Anchoring ourselves during the initial shock or ‘hit’ of crises may help us. Use any inanimate sturdy object on which to grab.
2. To the best of our ability we need to focus on functioning and staying conscious when shock hits.
3. Be kind to ourselves no matter what our circumstances or outcome.
4 reasons to self care during crisis
1) Effective listening requires concentration
2) An ‘eye’ on the situation and its changes requires alertness
3) Good judgement requires concentration/focus
4) Quick thinking requires mental acuity that saves the day, situation or life you love
7 Ways to self care
1) BREATHE Take a deep, deep breath, hold it. Imagine you are capturing the intensity/insanity/negativity of this moment – Now blow it out feeling the negativity flying out of you. Breathe deeply again and slowly exhale allowing positive, hopeful feelings to enter.
2) 10 minutes of exercise,
3) A stress breaker massage
4) Take a walk in a park or garden conservatory/Atrium, smell the flowers
5) Take a nap
6) SMILE
7) A small act of kindness to someone you don’t know has huge results –savor them
Your comments and opinions are so appreciated please feel free to email: comments@employeeenergizer.com
Tammy Gilden is the owner of Employee Energizer, a division of Relax E Gram, a company that provides corporate on-site massage to workplaces, gift massages, and compassionate touch massage to terminally ill patients, seniors and others US and Canada wide. 1-877-MPLYNRG (675-9674) to questions or to arrange for massage.
www.employeeenergizer.com
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