What to do when you're feeling down and out

By Vicki Hess

Is there anything you can do if you’re feeling numb; exhausted; angry; disconnected; afraid (feel free to fill in how you’re feeling)?
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YES – It’s time to SHIFT!

Stop and breathe
Almost all solutions start with this step. If you don’t stop and consciously take a breath, your sympathetic nervous system takes over and your cognitive thinking skills decrease. When things get tough, you want your brain to work at an optimal state. Take another deep breath for good measure.

Harness Your Knee Jerk Reactions
It’s easy to start complaining, yelling, withdrawing or feeling even more of what you were feeling to begin with. These reactions take you down a path to a darker, scarier place. They aren’t helpful. They usually lead us away from feeling better. They layer on the angst.

Identify and manage your emotions
Where are you feeling the ache, the pain, the sadness, the anxiety? Name it. Touch it. Think about it.

Now breathe into that spot. Keep moving outward and relax all the muscles in your body. Relax so much that you feel like a wet noodle. It’s impossible to be in a panic state when your body is fully relaxed. When you practice this frequently, you can do it in front of others, even in the middle of working. It’s an amazing skill to cultivate.

Find new solutions
Focus on WC2 – “What Can We Control?”

Put on your powerful WC2 decoder ring and only focus on things that you can do something about. Take your energy away from all that is BIG and SCARY and UNKNOWN. Direct your thoughts toward little things that YOU CAN DO NOW to ease your mind, your body and your soul.

Take One Positive Action
Make it count. Do you need a nap? A shoulder to cry on? Professional counseling or therapy? Maybe you need a chocolate chip cookie or a phone call to a beloved family member. Do you need a walk? A run? A yoga class? A good book? A mindless movie or TV show? Your favorite song? Do something nice for yourself. It doesn’t have to take long – it just takes action.

Depending on your job, you might be facing the most challenging days of your life, caring for people in an environment that is more unknown and upsetting than ever. You might also be facing time alone at home, furloughed from your job, missing the daily hum of work and worrying about the future.

Regardless of where you are on the continuum and how you feel, all is not lost. You can SHIFT toward your own Professional Paradise…even in a pandemic.

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