Life is full of unexpected, stressful, and difficult periods and events. Whenever these challenging times arise, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, overworked, and overall dissatisfied with your life. Even more worrisome is that humans often ignore these feelings or chalk them up to weakness whenever they arise. This causes this situation to feel even worse, creating a never-ending cycle of stress, anger, and dissatisfaction.
To stop the cycle head-on, we must recognize how we are feeling, understand the situation fully, and take active steps to be more compassionate to ourselves and problem-solve our way out of the situation. For many people, stopping the cycle is really difficult. Either they feel as though their feelings are not important or rational or they feel as though they can handle their emotions simply by ignoring them.
Many people especially ignore their feelings whenever they feel like this situation is not "bad” enough to warrant their emotions. One damaging thing humans do is comparing ourselves to others. When you compare your difficult situation to that of another, it is easy to feel as though your situation is not that bad and that you should simply get over it. This causes the situation to compound until emotions explode.
What Counts As A “Time Of Chaos?”
To avoid making the mistake of discounting your emotions, it is important to recognize when a situation is difficult, challenging, or chaotic for you. Every person has their own limits, meaning you should not compare your chaotic times to that of another.
In short, a chaotic time is anything that leaves you feeling stressed, overwhelmed, overworked, or chaotic. It does not matter what the situation or event was. The only thing that matters is how you feel in response to the situation. This can include your actual emotions, as well as how you plan to react to the situation.
Anything from a failed test to a death in the family can count as a time of chaos. It is important to accept that anything that causes you to feel negatively counts as a chaotic time. You owe it to yourself to accept this fact so you can learn tools to better navigate those times in a healthy and functional manner.
Negative Effects Of Chaotic Times
It is important to correctly navigate our feelings and responses during chaotic times. Many studies have shown that chaotic events or periods result in costly and life-altering health effects. For example, poorly-managed chaotic times can lead to the following:
To combat these unwanted health effects, it is important to healthily manage ourselves during these times. Mindfulness is one of the best ways to learn how to find your calm amidst a chaotic storm. By practicing mindfulness, you can learn how to better comprehend the issue at hand, connect your rationality to your emotions, and respond to people and yourself in a more compassionate and respectful way.
Simply by practicing mindfulness every day, you will be able to better handle any situation that comes your way. It will help you to become more compassionate and resilient, allowing you to tackle all of life's challenges confidently and eagerly.
Life is full of hardships, challenges, and chaos. If we do not properly handle ourselves during these difficult times, our body, mind, and spirit can and will suffer. Luckily, mindfulness is one tool for combatting feelings of stress or inadequacy during times of chaos. It allows us to calm down, better connect to our rationality, and respond respectfully and compassionately.