Dealing with a temporary setback

Inner strength and Power

There are times when we experience a sudden setback in life and often it seems to appear from nowhere. Someone says something hurtful or treats you disrespectfully and for a short time it leaves you feeling vulnerable and lacking in self confidence.

How can you bring yourself back into balance and in line with your inner power again? These experiences often give us the opportunity to realise just how much inner strength and resilience we do have.

Here are 7 ways to not only overcome the setback but also feel even more empowered.

• 1. Recognise just how much this situation has affected you.

Regardless of what other people say about what has happened, only you know just much of an impact it has had on you. Take some time out for yourself to really get in touch with your feelings and nurture yourself. Write down in a journal all the feelings that come up each day. Acknowledging how you really feel is one of the most important ways to rebuild your confidence back.

• 2. Check your energy levels right now.

You may be feeling physically drained and emotionally depleted due to unresolved circling thoughts. This is perfectly normal when we have been in deeply triggered emotionally. The trigger is often a familiar one, so good to recognise that too.

• 3. Taking care of yourself.

If you have dedicated your time and energy to others, and feel that you have been let down or not appreciated for your efforts, these feelings mentally and physically can be devastating. Take some time off work and be with yourself to process your feelings slowly and with care and attention. Being in nature at this time is very enriching. Repressed emotions do not go away, they simply build up in the physical body and can cause illness.

• 4. Speak to someone.

Speaking to a close friend who you know and trust to help you though the emotions and offer you some balanced and positive feedback on the topic will be reassuring.

• 5. Seeking professional support.

Contact a therapist who you feel will understand what you are going through and specialises in these matters of re-building your self esteem and managing difficult emotions to regain your strength and confidence. Talking about it and hearing back all that you have said is a powerful and well recognised psychological strategy for overcoming self doubt issues during such times.

• 6. The facts of the matter, matter.

Writing down some facts about what actually happened, engaging the left, logical part of the brain whilst the right brain is dominating with emotions, is absolutely necessary in order to get back to a state of mental and physical balance. We must never underestimate the power of the illogical mind. When we go into a place of self doubt, we often lose sight of who did what to whom and may take the blame for most things which is far from the truth. When things go wrong, all parties hold some level of responsibility. Be kind to yourself and see how hard you tried to make things right but did not get the support and trust you needed.

• 7. Remember a time when you got through and got stronger

Recall times in the past, write them down, to prove to yourself how you overcame these temporary challenges and rose above them, becoming even stronger and more determined to succeed in your life goals.