We live in an age where we’re frightened of losing our jobs, therefore we put-up with situations that are unsatisfactory and badly-paid. Simply because the devil we know is better than the devil we don’t. When we have kids and mortgages or rent it’s not so easy to walk-out.
Over time we become bone-weary unable and incapable of caring too much about the world we live in as it takes all our energy just getting through the day in our own world.
- What to do in the meantime though? Well the first thing is letting-go. Remember the five stages of grieving.
- The first is shock and denial,
- the second is anger,
- third bargaining
- fourth depression
- fifth anger
You might say that only relates to grieving – but it relates to any loss in your life.
Any of us who’ve suffered and have felt as described in the beginning of this post will know the feeling of being ‘locked-in’. Of being powerless to change circumstances of what’s happening to us. There it is right there, the clue. The loss is the inability to have any control over the circumstance – not to mention the possible loss of dreams for our future we may have had instead of the reality.
I would say what we may do first of all is to accept our circumstances whatever they are. The more we struggle against them the more painful it becomes. I call acceptance ‘creative acceptance’. Just in case we may think accepting something is the same as saying ‘it’s okay’. Creative acceptance is just saying to yourself this is my reality for now. I am going to accept it and allow it to happen. I’m willing to guarantee that once we have done that it will get easier to bear.
Lots of people advocate exercise as a way of coping with anxiety and I’m not knocking that – whatever works for you is wonderful. I don’t like exercise so I’ve had to find other ways of coping. The ways of coping might be dependent upon how you as an individual are feeling. If you’re feeling energetic and physically okay exercise may well be the thing for you – if you don’t like the gym or running maybe you’d like putting on your favourite music and free-movement dancing in your house. I must admit to thinking always of Mrs Doubtfire with the vacuum cleaner when I think of free-movement about the house. But whatever works is good.
Peace
I love writing so writing is often my way-out. I wrote poetry when I felt down, it sometimes amazed me how it turned out. I once was really angry over something, I can’t even remember what now, but I wrote a poem and what came out was really beautiful. Not a trace of my anger came through. When I thought about it later I realized that an art-form takes emotion and uses it as energy this is the way art transforms emotion into beauty.
So I would suggest art as a form of therapy for everyone. I don’t believe it matters if you’re talented or not, that’s not the point. The point if for you to cope with your feelings and if you can do that through music, writing, painting or any other form of art then all strength to you – do it.
What’s important to remember is emotions, including anxiety, are forms of energy which can be used creatively for your good, not as a means of your own destruction.
Take Care.
letsgo 