When the New Year rolled around, I was all set. I had my goals outlined with step by step actions that I needed to take for the next 90 days before I officially retired from the corporate work force and set out on my own business adventure. I had a good head cold, but I was ready and raring to go. I could still get some work done even though I was feeling under the weather with this little drizzle.
The first week after the new year started with my boyfriend having routine surgery for a hip replacement and I stayed with him while he started his recovery. Then near the end of that week my father called me and said he was on the way to the emergency room with stroke symptoms. I told him I’d meet him at the hospital and hung up. “What? Wait, on his way? How was he getting there?” I called my son and asked if he was with my dad and he confirmed he was not! Oh geesh… “Curt get your butt to the hospital d find Grampy. I’ll meet you there” Talk about stress and a spike in blood pressure. He actually drove himself to the hospital. Thank God he didn’t hurt himself or anyone else. On top of that, it wasn’t a full-on stroke, but it was indeed a mystery. My drizzle of stress turned into rain as the next few weeks had me running to doctor appointments with him.
Then the storm set in mid February… more family issues started popping up. I had a new granddaughter born in November last year with a hole in her heart. I was solicited to help get her to doc appointments. No prob I got this. Then my son discovered that the baby’s mom had been using drugs and confronted her. That’s when the shit hit the fan. She walked out leaving my son and the baby. We had to look for daycare and a lawyer. Court dates ensued and next thing we knew my son found out that his now ex-girlfriend had been smoking marijuana through the whole pregnancy. Temporary custody was established. And within 2 weeks of going to court, the baby wound up with a good cold herself.
Her cold worsened and turned into a full blow virus with pneumonia. She was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). After her being there a week, my cold blew up and I now had swollen glands and a sinus infection. I couldn’t go to work or visit my little grandbaby. 2 weeks in ICU and she started feeling better. After a week of antibiotics, I was finally able to see her again.
Now the baby was getting strong enough to have surgery to close the 7mm hole in her heart. Things were getting back on track…NOT. It started to pour. My son’s ex-girlfriend was staying with a family whose house burnt down while she was at the hospital with the baby and my son. She and the family were left with nothing. On top of that, the day it happened was the day the baby was being moved from one hospital to another to prepare for her surgery. My son called me, and I had to leave work in a panic to go help him.
Once the baby was settled in at the new hospital, I got to go back to the office for another 2 days when I was out yet again because my dad needed a minor cardiac procedure followed by the baby’s heart surgery the very next day. Again, thanking God that all went well with both but within 2 days of the baby’s surgery, I came down with the flu. WTF??
Talk about everything hitting at once. It seemed like the past 2 months had everything in my life going haywire. Talk about stress and anxiety. Fortunately, I know a little bit about this topic as I’ve been studying it now for several years and was able to avoid the deeper depression that can follow when stress and anxiety go unaddressed.
First of all, I was AWARE that none of what was happening around me was anything I could control. Realizing this was the first step in trying to keep calm. I emphasize “trying”. Yes, when in the midst of everything even I can get overwhelmed and stressed and that’s okay. Life is full of ups and downs. The key in balancing our mind and emotions is realizing this and focusing on how quickly we can come back into BALANCE.
For starters, I made sure that in between all the perceived chaos, I made time to connect with nature and source. Whether it was admiring a plant in a hospital lobby or touching a tree outside near the curb. I also listened to some guided meditations as I drifted off to sleep which helped in keeping my mind from wondering.
To bring myself fully back into balance, I had to ask myself some serious questions along the way and I had to come up with real answers.
What was I feeling overwhelmed and stressed about? How was this affecting me in each area of my life?
How did feeling overwhelmed and stressed about events serve and not me?
How could I be grateful for both the perceived negatives and perceived positives in each situation?
Once I was able to answer these questions honestly, I was able to bring my mind and emotions back into balance. By doing this along the way I could focus on my own health body, mind and spirit and focus on moving forward, on being DYNAMIC. If I’m not in good health, I can’t provide valuable support to my family or clients, nor would I be able to perform productively for my employer.
Stop being Stressed, Anxious and Depressed (S.A.D) and start being Balanced, Aware and Dynamic (B.A.D). When you transform From S.A.D Ass To B.A.D Ass ™ you can get through any storm life can throw at you.
Love & Light
Dawn-Marie