You Feel Fine, And Then You Don’t. Why?

Your day has been fine. Work is challenging, but you’ve kept your cool and been productive. Then your supervisor stops by and lets you have it about something you worked on last week, says she’s disappointed in you, and then marches out of your office. You take a break for five minutes and go outside for some air.

Most people would be feeling down or anxious if their supervisor just slammed their work product in an aggressive, rather than constructive, way. But you’re feeling way worse than the norm. What happened? Why is this so different than the other occasional times this sort of thing has happened in your career.

After some time, you think more about the words she used: “I’m disappointed in you.” That’s it. That’s the reason. Those exact words tormented you as a child when nothing was ever good enough for your mother.

The moment you just experienced is a trigger. Something happens now that triggers a difficult memory or feeling from your past, and this affects your mental health. We all have these moments. They just vary in intensity, the subject matter, the experiences then and now, and the responses then and now. Sometimes a person will become very anxious and even have a panic attack, others depressed, and others in recovery from addiction are pushed back towards considering their drug of choice.

So how do you handle moments like this?

​The first step is insight: Having an understanding of what is going on. Without insight, you can’t formalize a plan to deal with your feelings.

In my example above, you have insight. Once you have it, there is often a small sense of relief because you finally know what’s going on. If it’s a trigger that happens more than once, and you develop your coping strategies, you’ll be able to defuse the situation quickly and get back to living your life without the emotional pain from the trigger.

Managing these situations is something I have years of experience and expertise in. I can help you develop insight and a plan so you can effectively handle these difficult times. Give me a call at (302) 273-0700 for a FREE consultation. You can also message me. I look forward to helping you feel better.