A life crisis can come in different shapes and forms. It can be in the form of a calamity, health issue, work problem, or the loss of a loved one. Regardless of what form the crisis comes into an individual’s life, it often ends up with grief. Even some Sydney motivational speakers have gone through some life-changing crisis that eventually served as their inspiration to speak up and encourage others to be strong.
What is Grief?
Most people associate grief with the experience of losing a loved one, but this intense feeling of sorrow is more common than you expect. For example, you experience a mild version of grief when you wake up in the morning and realise that you now have wrinkles. You’ll think about it for a while and grieve for the loss of your youth. It’s great if you can get over it right away, but some people end up experiencing a midlife crisis.
People experience grief during the end of a relationship, after losing a job, or when they are sick. People may also grieve after losing their home and properties to a natural calamity or any kind of tragedy. You can listen to Sydney motivational speakers for some inspiration to keep moving forward, to find the strength to hope and believe that better days are coming.
Life Crisis and Grief
As mentioned previously, a life crisis comes in different forms, but it usually ends up in grief. You can do your best and try hard to avoid problems, but it is not possible not to encounter any issues at all in this lifetime. You cannot control some things– this is frustrating, but sometimes you need to face the truth, grieve, then move on.
Regardless of what kind of loss you experienced in the crisis, you must follow the natural process of grieving. The sooner you acknowledge the situation, the sooner the process can start and the sooner you can embrace life again.
Things You Must Understand About Dealing with a Life Crisis
Here are some things that you should understand about dealing with a life crisis:
Pain is natural.
Feeling pain during a life crisis is natural– these unpleasant emotions are necessary expressions of grief. People often go through five stages of grief which includes the following:
- denial
- anger
- bargaining
- depression
- acceptance
You cannot control these feelings. You can hide them but that’s just denying that you feel them. The more you deny or minimise your emotional pain, the more you are prolonging your grieving process. Some people think that if they push their feelings deep within them, the pain will eventually fade away. If you have watched many Sydney motivational speakers, you know for one that most of them, if not all, will tell you to face your fears.
Feeling pain is scary after you have just gone through a life crisis, but accepting them is the only way you can start your healing.
Everyone handles a life crisis differently.
Some people like to make contingency plans right after a calamity so they can move along, while some like to just take some time to process what just happened. Some people feel sad when they find out that a loved one is terminally ill and they can’t help but show their sorrow, while some can keep up a strong front and be everyone’s shoulder to cry on. People handle life problems differently.
Although grieving during or after a life crisis is common, no two individuals handle the grieving process the same way. People can go through the same five stages of grief but end up with a different story. The depth and duration of each stage are different for everyone. So try not to compare your progress with everyone else.
An example of how differently people handle a life crisis is the coronavirus pandemic. Some people don’t mind staying inside their house, while some people can’t wait for the lockdown to be over so they can go out without the fear of the restrictions.
Healing has No Timetable.
You can’t put a time limit to your healing. The same way that you can’t schedule your life crisis to happen at a certain date, you can’t just tell yourself that you will be finished dealing with your healing within a week, a month or a year. On top of that, you also have to do something for time to be able to heal you.
For example, if you lost your long time job, you can’t fully heal from it and its effects unless you pick yourself up and find a new job. Of course, other forms of life crisis will take longer to deal with for example the loss of a loved one or recovering from a natural calamity.
Sydney Motivational Speaker Tips for Dealing with a Life Crisis
Different people handle a life crisis in different ways. Also, one issue may be manageable for one person, but difficult for another person. When life throws anybody a major life challenge, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution and time frame. However, that does not mean that you can’t do anything about it.
Here are some tips that can help you through a life crisis:
Accept the situation.
There is growth in discomfort. It is understandable why people dislike facing uncomfortable situations, but running away won’t solve anything. You need to accept that the crisis is happening or has happened then start to cope and move on.
Allow yourself to feel.
Give yourself the chance to absorb what’s going on and process your feelings. You can try writing on a journal to track what’s on your mind or talk to a friend or a therapist to help you understand your emotions. The idea of feeling more pain after a life crisis can be scary, it may be tempting to ignore it and hope that it goes away. However, keep in mind that to be able to move past the feelings is to move through them.
Do not rush.
Some people deal with a crisis relatively fast, while some take longer than the others. But no matter which one you are, keep in mind that it is not a good idea to rush. As mentioned previously, healing has no time table. You can’t adapt to life after the crisis right away– the same way most of the world was scared and restless for weeks after the first time the coronavirus was declared as a pandemic. It took a few weeks before people have adjusted, and some have yet to come to terms with it.
Regardless of what kind of life crisis you are going through, give yourself time. Do not rush your healing.
Find the core of your fear.
Find where your emotions are coming from. What triggers your fears? Why is this crisis shaking you to your very core? In these trying times, it all comes back to our fear of death. Finding the base of your fear allows you not only to remedy the symptoms but also to confront the cause.
Take care of yourself.
The stress of a life crisis can push you to do things that are harmful to yourself. For example, you may be tempted to depend on alcohol or stress eating. It can even come to the point of self-neglect. Try to fight the urge to give in to the crisis. Take care of yourself.
Say NO to Pity Parties
You can talk about how terrible you feel about the situation if you think that it can help you move forward, but if you keep talking about it only to feel sorry for yourself then you have to stop. Your friends and family do not want to see you suffer, so instead of just talking about how terrible a situation is– discuss how you can contribute to its resolution as well.
Try to hold on to hope.
When you are in the midst of a crisis, it is easy to feel helpless. It is almost effortless to believe that this is your life now. That it’s going to get worse from here on out. Keep in mind that life is not a bed of roses, and each challenge is an opportunity for you to grow. This is just one chapter of your life. Wait till you get to the next, happier chapter.
Conclusion
Whether it’s about the coronavirus pandemic or some other life crisis, life is going to keep on throwing you lemons. But you know what– keep making lemonade. If you feel like you’re at the bottom, keep in mind that the only way is up. Time alone can’t heal you, you also need to help yourself. A life crisis will not last forever, so handle it the best way you can, but keep in mind that there is no rush in recovering.
