When we’re in crisis, fear and anxiety is likely to emerge. Why?
Because crisis feels dangerous, and danger sets off anxiety. See if it’s possible to just observe, even if you’re tempted to feel better fast.
If we make room for these difficult feelings rather than trying to eradicate them, our minds and bodies will eventually recalibrate and begin to relax. It’s a little counter-intuitive; we often imagine that if we stop worrying about ourselves everything will fall apart. But when we can settle that worry, a more expansive view can develop.
Something similar happens when we’re staring at a placid body of water or walking through a forest – there is a sense of being part of the larger natural world, of which our momentary struggles are a small but meaningful part. There’s room for it all when we can slow down and just notice what we’re experiencing.
Trying to get rid of difficult feelings is what fuels addiction, binge eating, excessive drinking. It’s an understandable and human response to suffering. But the more reliable path toward relief, involves giving our suffering some time to just be, without adding anything to it or insisting it disappear. It’s not a passive approach, but it is a gentle one, in the same way a caring friend or parent observing a loved one’s distress, would bear witness actively and patiently.
Crisis Calls Us to Look Inward
