Adjusting….

Sometimes a change, unanticipated or not, can unexpectedly bring you to your knees. A gut punch of sorts, knocking the wind right out of your nervous system and making functioning in the world very difficult. Often feelings are stirred that can be very uncomfortable, difficult to tolerate in the body or feel very hard to accept and cope with. Maybe the “trigger” was identifiable such as the loss of a job or a recent break up. Or, perhaps, the reason feels a bit more perplexing or what you judge to be “not a big deal.”   Maybe it was in the context of some harsh words from a boss that landed in a piercing way, the end of an important friendship,  an illness or injury or a memory of something very painful. 

Maybe you are suddenly experiencing an onslaught of early morning panic and anxiety that seems to rise from nowhere. Maybe your body feels tense and clenched, a feeling of being “on edge,” unable to relax. Perhaps your mind won’t shut off, your thoughts racing so fast that you are unable to sleep. Or maybe you are taking to your bed with more frequency than usual, curled up in the quiet with the curtains drawn midday, a felt sense of no motivation to do what you typically like to do. Maybe the littlest task feels unsurmountable.  Suddenly the world and your life just don’t feel like they used to! 

Maybe feeling this way catches you off guard and you wonder what is happening to you. Maybe you judge yourself for reacting this way. You are usually able to cope with such things! These thoughts and feelings can be scary, like things are not alright. Like YOU are not alright. 

Thankfully, therapy can be extraordinarily helpful during these times where we are floundering or feeling vulnerable, not ourselves, our nervous systems on high alert or on shut down mode. It can take time to adjust and accept how something made us feel. Many times people have conscious or unconscious judgements about themselves that further exacerbate the psychic pain, making it even more difficult to cope with. In our work together, you will find the space to arrive as you are and feel heard. Sometimes life hands us these tender moments and maybe the reasons as to why we feel this way are not as important as how we can learn to hold ourselves with kindness and dignity as we navigate through it.