3 steps to feel better when your life is spinning
photo by Brannon Naito
Today, I want to share my experience of feeling awful and how it can help you feel better when you feel awful in your life.
Have you ever had vertigo?
OMG, it’s the worst!
There’s this little floating crystal in your ear that, in some people (me!), gets outta place—it makes some people (again: me!) feel like they’re spinning on a Tilt-a-Whirl.
That first time this rogue crystal got loose was in 2014—I was spinning for 3 days with little hope, because I had no idea what was happening or how to fix it.
I’ve since discovered the Epley maneuver, a physical therapy exercise to help shorten the time I experience the symptoms.
So, why am I tell you my vertigo story?
Because, it started again last week.
But THIS TIME, in addition to having the physical therapy tools to help myself, this time... I had MIND MANAGEMENT tools to help MY MIND cope with the spinning sensations.
Now, I want to teach you some of these mind management tools for your life—
When your life is spinning, or you feel out of control, over-worked, overwhelmed, tired, sad, bad, mad, and you can’t control it…
Remember two (2) things:
1) Let go. Know that you can’t control that circumstance that is happening. But you CAN control your thoughts about it.
2) Know that the worst thing that can happen to you is that you experience a feeling.
it’s three (3) things, actually:
3) Everything in the world is constantly changing—this feeling you’re experiencing won’t last forever.
What to do when your life feels overwhelming
1: Let go
First, notice the thoughts that you’re having about whatever situation you find yourself in—for me, it was:
I don’t want this.
I want to be healthy.
I want to be able to sleep flat tonight.
This makes me feel old.
Old people get vertigo.
I’m never going to feel good again.
I’m going to starve to death, if this spinning feeling continues.
I know... I can get a little dramatic at 3:00am. [shrug]
😊
All these thoughts created feelings of anxiety and resistance in me.
So first, I had to recognize that I was having LOTS of thoughts about this, before I could let them go.
All distressing situations are caused by our thoughts and feelings about [that thing] that’s going on.
2: the worst thing we can experience in the world is a feeling.
So… as my head was spinning the other night, I reminded myself that the worst thing I can experience is a feeling.
Believing that, I was able to move on and get curious. I took notice of exactly what those feelings felt like in my body:
a quick heart-beat
a tightness in my chest
waves of nausea
But none of the sensations I felt were constant.
They came in waves.
3: Everything in the world is constantly changing.
I’d notice them, then they’d move or go away entirely.
But the feelings and sensations I was experiencing weren’t constant—Hey, is that hope? This won’t last forever. This feeling is not going to kill me.
The same rules apply to our regular ole stressful, busy, overwhelming, scary, beautiful life—
What do you do when your world is spinning or feeling out of control?
Answer: Notice it. Accept it. Get curious about where and why you are resistant or anxious about it.
It’s our resistance to the pain or the situation that makes it so hard, so stressful, so [insert terrible feeling you’re trying to avoid].
The resistance is what creates suffering.
So when I just accepted it. And allowed myself to feel it and get curious about what this feeling felt like in my body... it was less scary.
We all want to experience pleasure and ease and not feel pain or suffering. Of course we do!
But telling ourselves that we should never experience pain is what creates resistance and suffering.
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Remind yourself that pain is part of the human experience.
Notice your thoughts,
the feelings and sensations you have as a result,
and remember that everything changes—that this won’t last forever.
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