What does getting through adversity mean? Getting through a tough or difficult time that you did not think you would make it through.
We all go through periods of adversity, you cannot escape it. It isn't the lesson or hard times that change you, it is the way that you handle the situations that change you. We all do different things to get through adversity. Granted- it is ideal to get through adversity in a healthy way, but getting through it in general is always good. And also remember that something that seems like the world is ending to me, may not seem the same way to you. Our minds are very complex, mine works completely different than yours works. And that is okay!
The point of this post is to give you different ways that you can get through these hards times. Use them all, use a couple, or even just one of them, I hope they can help you even the slightest. You can also notice that all of these tie into each other. It is almost like a snowball effect, if you start to practice one of these, the others will fall not to far from the tree.
BREATHE. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.
Honestly, this one is point blank. Breathing is scientifically proven to lower stress and anxiety ;)
Try to understand your feelings
Not only try to understand the feelings you are feeling, we know what it feel likes to be happy or sad.. But try to understand why you are feeling the way you are feeling. Where are these emotions coming from? Sometimes this can take time. Digging into your mind is not the easiest thing to do, but the more that you start doing it, the easier it gets. Being able to understand your mind is such an amazing accomplishment, it will be able to help you with more that you think it will.
Speak up
Don't be afraid to talk. Talk to your parents, your partner, your friends, a counselor. I know that this is super cliche, but it is true-- you are not alone. There is someone out there who will listen to you, but you will never know that until you try. Sometimes just venting to people and getting things off of our chest is relieving in itself.
Find your happy place
I have a couple different happy places. Also remember that your happy place doesn't necessarily have to be a place. It could be a person, a thought, a thing you do... It doesn't have to be a physical place. If you don't know where your happy place is, that's fine- it's really easy to track down. Where in this world do you feel like yourself? Where do you feel like you can accomplish anything, and get out all of your negative emotions? My happy places would (mainly) be the gym and my house. If I am in NEED of a happy place, but I cannot reach either one of those (I.E.- I am on vacation or something) I just need to be alone. Not in a 'I am a loner and I don't like being around people' sense, just I need some time to get my mind off things. Playing a game on my phone, taking a power nap, doing a few quick pushups, or a 6 minute abs workout. Think about all of the different things you like to do, then think deeper, do they give you a sense of security? Do they make you feel at ease? Like there is no anxiety that you could possibly be feeling? There is a very good chance that is your happy place.
Identify your stressors
This can also fall under- Where are your emotions coming from? A stressor is something that is causing your stress. If you don't know what is making you stressed out, how can you fix it? Dig deep and look for the things that make you feel stressed out. The quicker that you identify the things that make you stressed, the quicker that you can work towards removing or fixing these stressors.
Get your priorities straight
Maybe you are not paying attention to the things that really matter in life. Like work or school. I know hands on that about 1 month into a new semester, I always start to slack off a little. It is always like clockwork once I hit that one month mark. Just recently I have been trying to stop this in it's tracks, because I have started to notice it. Like I said before, when you identify your stressors, it makes it easier to fix the issues at hand.
Remember: ME, ME, ME.
Helping others and being there for others is important. It is good to do random acts of kindness, but you cannot put others happiness before your own. You need to be able to find a balance with being there for others and being there for yourself. I have recently just been bit in the butt with this, so this is currently the stage I am at right now. I am trying to remember what it is like to love myself and be there for myself. There is a fine line between helping people and being used, know that line and make sure you choose which one you want to be wisely.
If you don't know where to start with this a great place is always meditation and yoga.
Learn to accept yourself
Have you ever written a list of things you worry about? You should try it. You would be surprised how many things will be on that list (believe me I tried it). So with that list... put a line through the things that you have 0 control over. Now, the ones left on the list, change them. Work on them. Focus on bettering them so you can start to accept yourself more. You cannot change what you cannot control, remember that. This also falls under the category above this one. Once you begin to love yourself and you being to put effort towards bettering yourself, you can being to learn to accept yourself. Learn to accept yourself. Know that you make mistakes now and you will continue to make mistakes for the rest of your life. How you handle that mistake is far more important than the mistake itself. (Unless of course you have been making the same mistake over and over again, then there might be a some else wrong there.)
Eliminate the pessimism in your life
This one is huge. Is there someone in your life that you cringe when you have to be around? Or someone that makes you feel less than you are? If you do have someone like this in your life, there is a very high chance that this person is the source of a lot of the negative emotions that you are feeling. This person or this thing could be your stressor. You need to do the best you can to eliminate this stress from your life, it could make a world of difference.
Picture your life a year from now
Will this situation really matter? Some things seem so important and we feel like they will last forever in the moment, but they won't. We tend to look at tomorrow, but not a year from tomorrow. Some times we lose great things, so better things can fall into place. Every single things happens for a reason. We may not like that reason and we may think it is 'stupid' but nonetheless, it happened for that reason and one day you will understand why it did. Make sure you look at the big picture here.
Put your plans into action
Don't keep saying that you are going to change something, actually change it. Actually start pushing yourself towards getting through this adversity. This cannot beat you, but you can certainly beat it. If you can take some extra time out of your day to do some things that need to get down, whether that is decluttering something, thinking, or getting ahead in school work, you are definitely eliminating future stressors. Keep your head up and do not stop pushing yourself towards getting through this. Do not make this a year long phase. Put an end to your worries and stresses as soon as you can.
So what will you use to get through adversity?
We all go through periods of adversity, you cannot escape it. It isn't the lesson or hard times that change you, it is the way that you handle the situations that change you. We all do different things to get through adversity. Granted- it is ideal to get through adversity in a healthy way, but getting through it in general is always good. And also remember that something that seems like the world is ending to me, may not seem the same way to you. Our minds are very complex, mine works completely different than yours works. And that is okay!
The point of this post is to give you different ways that you can get through these hards times. Use them all, use a couple, or even just one of them, I hope they can help you even the slightest. You can also notice that all of these tie into each other. It is almost like a snowball effect, if you start to practice one of these, the others will fall not to far from the tree.
BREATHE. TAKE DEEP BREATHS.
Honestly, this one is point blank. Breathing is scientifically proven to lower stress and anxiety ;)
Try to understand your feelings
Not only try to understand the feelings you are feeling, we know what it feel likes to be happy or sad.. But try to understand why you are feeling the way you are feeling. Where are these emotions coming from? Sometimes this can take time. Digging into your mind is not the easiest thing to do, but the more that you start doing it, the easier it gets. Being able to understand your mind is such an amazing accomplishment, it will be able to help you with more that you think it will.
Speak up
Don't be afraid to talk. Talk to your parents, your partner, your friends, a counselor. I know that this is super cliche, but it is true-- you are not alone. There is someone out there who will listen to you, but you will never know that until you try. Sometimes just venting to people and getting things off of our chest is relieving in itself.
Find your happy place
I have a couple different happy places. Also remember that your happy place doesn't necessarily have to be a place. It could be a person, a thought, a thing you do... It doesn't have to be a physical place. If you don't know where your happy place is, that's fine- it's really easy to track down. Where in this world do you feel like yourself? Where do you feel like you can accomplish anything, and get out all of your negative emotions? My happy places would (mainly) be the gym and my house. If I am in NEED of a happy place, but I cannot reach either one of those (I.E.- I am on vacation or something) I just need to be alone. Not in a 'I am a loner and I don't like being around people' sense, just I need some time to get my mind off things. Playing a game on my phone, taking a power nap, doing a few quick pushups, or a 6 minute abs workout. Think about all of the different things you like to do, then think deeper, do they give you a sense of security? Do they make you feel at ease? Like there is no anxiety that you could possibly be feeling? There is a very good chance that is your happy place.
Identify your stressors
This can also fall under- Where are your emotions coming from? A stressor is something that is causing your stress. If you don't know what is making you stressed out, how can you fix it? Dig deep and look for the things that make you feel stressed out. The quicker that you identify the things that make you stressed, the quicker that you can work towards removing or fixing these stressors.
Get your priorities straight
Maybe you are not paying attention to the things that really matter in life. Like work or school. I know hands on that about 1 month into a new semester, I always start to slack off a little. It is always like clockwork once I hit that one month mark. Just recently I have been trying to stop this in it's tracks, because I have started to notice it. Like I said before, when you identify your stressors, it makes it easier to fix the issues at hand.
Remember: ME, ME, ME.
Helping others and being there for others is important. It is good to do random acts of kindness, but you cannot put others happiness before your own. You need to be able to find a balance with being there for others and being there for yourself. I have recently just been bit in the butt with this, so this is currently the stage I am at right now. I am trying to remember what it is like to love myself and be there for myself. There is a fine line between helping people and being used, know that line and make sure you choose which one you want to be wisely.
If you don't know where to start with this a great place is always meditation and yoga.
Learn to accept yourself
Have you ever written a list of things you worry about? You should try it. You would be surprised how many things will be on that list (believe me I tried it). So with that list... put a line through the things that you have 0 control over. Now, the ones left on the list, change them. Work on them. Focus on bettering them so you can start to accept yourself more. You cannot change what you cannot control, remember that. This also falls under the category above this one. Once you begin to love yourself and you being to put effort towards bettering yourself, you can being to learn to accept yourself. Learn to accept yourself. Know that you make mistakes now and you will continue to make mistakes for the rest of your life. How you handle that mistake is far more important than the mistake itself. (Unless of course you have been making the same mistake over and over again, then there might be a some else wrong there.)
Eliminate the pessimism in your life
This one is huge. Is there someone in your life that you cringe when you have to be around? Or someone that makes you feel less than you are? If you do have someone like this in your life, there is a very high chance that this person is the source of a lot of the negative emotions that you are feeling. This person or this thing could be your stressor. You need to do the best you can to eliminate this stress from your life, it could make a world of difference.
Picture your life a year from now
Will this situation really matter? Some things seem so important and we feel like they will last forever in the moment, but they won't. We tend to look at tomorrow, but not a year from tomorrow. Some times we lose great things, so better things can fall into place. Every single things happens for a reason. We may not like that reason and we may think it is 'stupid' but nonetheless, it happened for that reason and one day you will understand why it did. Make sure you look at the big picture here.
Put your plans into action
Don't keep saying that you are going to change something, actually change it. Actually start pushing yourself towards getting through this adversity. This cannot beat you, but you can certainly beat it. If you can take some extra time out of your day to do some things that need to get down, whether that is decluttering something, thinking, or getting ahead in school work, you are definitely eliminating future stressors. Keep your head up and do not stop pushing yourself towards getting through this. Do not make this a year long phase. Put an end to your worries and stresses as soon as you can.
So what will you use to get through adversity?