Yesterday I backed my car into a car that was parked on the street. It’s been years since I’ve had an accident event!
I dented their passenger door with my bumper. No one was in the other car, so no one was injured. But I was surprised at my reaction.
Part of me felt like it was all happening to someone else. Another part of me immediately began dealing with the situation. No one was home when I rang the doorbell, so I left a note on their windshield. I called my insurance company and calmly spoke to the Allstate rep for a half hour.
The whole time it’s like I was watching Juliana do all of this. It was really weird.
On my way home, I was asking Juliana #1 why she was upset. “She” answered things about why didn’t I use my back-up camera, why didn’t I look behind me more thoroughly, what a stupid thing to do, etc, etc.
The Juliana #2 said to Juliana #1 “Look at the good here, no one got hurt. Only the car’s door is dented. It could have been a really expensive car. And luckily you have time to deal with this today.”
All that wasn’t enough to help Juliana #1 feel the normal easy, calm self. Still feeling shakey, so I did some conscious breathing. Then I did heart chakra patting. When I got home I danced to move the stuck energy.
I’m sharing all of this to let you know that I’m in life school the same as you. I was surprised at how much effort it took to get me back to peace. And grateful I know some of the things to do!!
The entire first half of my life I didn’t know strategies or tools!!
So the main thing I learned yesterday is to upgrade my resilience. I need to help myself by doing more every day of what has proven to work. With all the fear and uncertainty going on in our country and the world, my plan is to increase the supportive self-help things that I’ve done for years in proportion to the increase of challenges around me. I want to be more resilient when surprises or unwanted things happen.
Strengthening and creating anew is what the Awakening to Joy Life Mastery Program is all about. You’ll learn tools for thriving in whatever stage of life and experiences you’re in. In Nashville beginning January 27, 2024.
So how about you? How are you helping your nervous system stay supported and resilient?
In case you’re interested in what traditional therapy calls stress reactions here they are:
Fight: facing perceived threats forcefully
Flight: running away from danger
Freeze: can’t move your body or act against a threat
Fawn: trying to please at the time of stress to avoid any conflict
And if you’d like to see how you’re doing yourself with resilience and stress, here’s a government self-assessment to stressors: Click here to see list
And finally, here are some standard ways to cope with your perceived threats: Click here to see helpful techniques