Your boss says he has to lay some employees off so beware, your doctor calls and tell you to call him right back, your daughter calls from jail...you get the idea; bad news can come in many ways and at any time it's all in how you deal with that news that matters.
When you get bad news you're going to feel that the world is spinning out of control, you won't quite understand how "this" could have happened or what the meaning of it is. For some people their imagination might get the best of them, filling in all the unknowns by finding worst-case scenarios and dramatizing them to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Others will start to blame themselves revisiting the news over and over again until they can become the new "normal". In the immediate aftermath of bad news, the anxiety, blame, and fear can feel destabilizing but it's important to remember that your bodies immediate response is only there as a warning for you to be on guard- a self protection. Flight or fight is a common response to where your mind and body are mobilizing to protect you and the intensity of your initial response will subside; for some people in a matter of hours, others days or weeks, it typically depends on the bad news and the created emotional trauma because of such events.
So when it come to "bad news" it never comes the same way or at the same time for any of us but believe it or not the universal body for most people will react the same way- flight or fight. To want to runaway or be in denial is a very natural response, just as to be heightened in your senses to the point of wanting to fight your way through the situation to make the "bad news" just disappear. Doctor Randal Mclock has worked with hundreds of men and women who have dealt with serious diagnoses, especially cancer, and he has found that his patients albeit scared, angry, and frustrated, (not in that order) when first hearing the bad news typically will let the emotions ride there course but always after a few days he receives the message they are ready to fight the disease. "People want to live, and they want to be in control, fighting back helps them accomplish this," Mclock says.
Try your best not to dwell in the past no matter the news you have received because dwelling on the past only contributes to a cascade of anxiety and self-recrimination yet does nothing to change your current situation. Focus on changes you have made recently, explore new avenues that can provide understanding, comfort, and support.
When you can let go of emotion, the clutter of blame, and anything else that is weighing you down you can then move forward to put energy into an emotional and mental transformation where you become more empowered to claim the situation and take back what you can control.
When you get bad news you're going to feel that the world is spinning out of control, you won't quite understand how "this" could have happened or what the meaning of it is. For some people their imagination might get the best of them, filling in all the unknowns by finding worst-case scenarios and dramatizing them to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Others will start to blame themselves revisiting the news over and over again until they can become the new "normal". In the immediate aftermath of bad news, the anxiety, blame, and fear can feel destabilizing but it's important to remember that your bodies immediate response is only there as a warning for you to be on guard- a self protection. Flight or fight is a common response to where your mind and body are mobilizing to protect you and the intensity of your initial response will subside; for some people in a matter of hours, others days or weeks, it typically depends on the bad news and the created emotional trauma because of such events.
So when it come to "bad news" it never comes the same way or at the same time for any of us but believe it or not the universal body for most people will react the same way- flight or fight. To want to runaway or be in denial is a very natural response, just as to be heightened in your senses to the point of wanting to fight your way through the situation to make the "bad news" just disappear. Doctor Randal Mclock has worked with hundreds of men and women who have dealt with serious diagnoses, especially cancer, and he has found that his patients albeit scared, angry, and frustrated, (not in that order) when first hearing the bad news typically will let the emotions ride there course but always after a few days he receives the message they are ready to fight the disease. "People want to live, and they want to be in control, fighting back helps them accomplish this," Mclock says.
Try your best not to dwell in the past no matter the news you have received because dwelling on the past only contributes to a cascade of anxiety and self-recrimination yet does nothing to change your current situation. Focus on changes you have made recently, explore new avenues that can provide understanding, comfort, and support.
When you can let go of emotion, the clutter of blame, and anything else that is weighing you down you can then move forward to put energy into an emotional and mental transformation where you become more empowered to claim the situation and take back what you can control.
About the Author:
Altegra Health offers free social and public programs to help you get in shape mind and body.
No comments:
Post a Comment