Life can be considered a rhythm. A rhythm has beats that stay in harmony. Song writers compose their music with a certain rhythm in mind. With every beat we know that we are alive. However, there are times when the beat gets out of rhythm. For example, when a crisis occurs the rhythm of life is interrupted with anxiety and stress.
How you handle a crisis or stress can determine whether you end up feeling overwhelmed or come out stronger. Author and psychologist Jeffrey Rossman, PhD, suggests four things to do. First, he says acknowledge your feelings. The biblical character David said, “When my spirit was overwhelmed…You knew my path.” God already knows how you feel, and stifling your emotions just saps your energy, leaves you tense and depressed, and slows the healing process.
Second, he says confide in someone. That doesn’t mean pouring your heart out to everybody and anybody. It means opening up to those who love and care about you. As the Bible teaches “a friend loves at all times and is born, as is a brother, for adversity.” Many studies have confirmed the power of social support to help us through crisis.
Third, start a journal to record things in your life as this will assist you in the rhythm of life. Writing about a traumatic event is a way of letting it out. It minimizes your chances of becoming sick or depressed because the more you write, the more your negative responses of the memory diminish.
Last, avoid using the blame game by believing that it is the other person’s fault. Blame-shifting makes others responsible for your pain and more often than not, it results in lingering grudges that prolong your misery and interrupt your rhythm of life’s joy and peace. Let go of toxic bitterness and judgment. Stop feeling like a doormat. Remember that you can forgive while taking steps to make yourself less vulnerable. And Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
