There are times in life when everything seems to be going wrong. You may feel like you’re stuck in a rut, with no hope of things ever getting better. When you reach this point, it’s important to remember that you are not alone.
Every single person goes through tough times at some point in their life. The key is to find ways to cope with the pain and keep going. And although I want to clarify that I don’t specialize in mental health, I have been dealing with similar feelings during my pregnancy and only had my husband’s support and help through it.
So now that things are looking more positive and brighter, I thought about sharing some tips to help others overcome such feelings. This article does not replace the precious and valuable help that a professional can offer nonetheless.
Steps to take when you hit rock bottom emotionally:
1) Identify what you’re feeling:
When you hit rock bottom you can be feeling a lot of things at the same time, and besides that, you will be feeling everything at an increased level which can be very overwhelming. The first thing you need to do is to separate and break down everything you’re feeling.
You can do this by writing a list of things that are contributing to making you feel that way or simply identifying your emotions if you prefer. This will help you put everything in perspective and understand what you’re feeling more clearly.
Once you do that it’s natural to start feeling a little bit more relaxed because you are beginning to understand what you are going through emotionally. If you think about it it’s similar to sharing with a friend or a family member your problems and worries. You are essentially letting go of your emotions so you can begin to understand how to control them.
2) Assess each emotion individually:
We can’t control what we feel, but we can control our response to what we feel. Hitting rock bottom means that you are emotional and you can’t figure out why you are feeling what you feel. It also means you are far from being able to control your emotions.
However, now that you learned to identify each one of your emotions you can begin to tackle them separately. It will only make you feel overwhelmed again if you try to control them all at the same time. It may be frustrating knowing that you can’t get rid of this sensation all at once but if you put your effort into it you are guaranteed to overcome it.
For example, if one of the things that you’re feeling is anxiety you need to find out what is causing you to not feel safe in your own usual environment. Once you find out the cause you need to figure out a way to eliminate it to help yourself feel safe again.
Or, if you feel angry all the time it probably means that there’s something that’s bothering you and you weren’t yet able to resolve it. Figure what makes you angry and try to make peace with it and if not possible confront the situation so you can move on.
3) Think of ways you can overcome it:
If you hit emotional rock bottom it probably means that you were overexerting yourself, that you’re trying to control too many things at the same time and inevitably something had to give.
We are only human and we can only take up a limited amount of emotional load, once we try to carry more than we are capable of, our mental and physical health can deteriorate. You probably reached this point because you were trying to be there for every person you love in your life but you forgot about yourself.
You can only be of help and add something good to other people’s lives when you take care of yourself first. Now that you hit rock bottom that’s exactly what you’ll have to do. Think of ways you can share your own burden with othres, and think of things that you should probably change in yourself.
So maybe you should be a little selfish for once and take good care or your own self first, so you can be better support for those in your life who need it.
4) Share it with someone:
If your mental health is so damaged that you can’t function normally you need to remember that you shouldn’t be alone in these circumstances.
As soon as you feel that you are starting to lose control and begin to feel too overwhelmed find some time to meet with a friend or simply call them so you can talk. Not only will your friends and family appreciate the fact that you know you can count on them, but you will also feel the support you need during this hard time.
Even if after talking with your loved ones you still feel that you can’t cope with everything consider talking with someone who can give you professional advice. Sometimes, a professional opinion can make you see things in a better light and help you control your emotions with methods you never thought of.
5) Change some of your habits if necessary:
Is the life you lead beneficial to you? Maybe you need to change your routine, not entirely but make some adjustments so you can have a more stress-free life. This could include going for a walk twice a week just to empty your mind or having a regular sleep schedule.
Everything that you can do for yourself a little selfishly to help you reduce your stress levels is getting you a step closer to better being able to control your negative emotions. It will also be easier to focus on the positive ones after that.
If you always wanted to take up a hobby but kept pushing that aside because you had other priorities consider picking up that idea again. Doing something solely for yourself to spend a couple of hours per week in peace can be very beneficial for your mental health.