With stress overload, financial strain, and relationship crisis on the rise it’s no wonder we are seeing more depression, anger, exhaustion, and anxiety in the people in our communities, family, friends and within ourselves.
It takes an immense amount of energy to maintain resilience and those who seem the strongest are often most in need of support, they just don’t always know what that means or how to ask for it.
Have you ever been in that moment when someone asks, “how are you doing?” You can’t in honesty say great, fantastic, wonderfully thank you! but you don’t feel safe saying sad, stressed, terrified, or angry. Your response ends up somewhere in between, like “oh you know” …. “We are getting through” …. or “I’m doing alright”. When in reality one day from the next may feel like riding a roller coaster of unpredictability and misfortune. If you are honest with yourself and scared to express what you are truly experiencing, you most likely are in a survival state, not a thriving state.
What does it mean to be in a survival zone versus thrive?
There is a fundamental difference between thriving and surviving. Surviving means, “to continue to live or exist,” while thriving can be defined as “to grow or develop well, to prosper or to flourish.”
We all would like to live in a place of peace, freedom, and ease. No one I know wants to be simply existing, but many of us are in survival mode most of the time. Many people have had to make what feels like endless adjustments and deep dive into the hard work of creating thriving opportunities for themselves in a landscape that is filled with adversity. Some days feel immensely successful, and some days feel incredibly hard. Therefore, having the skill set to be able to bring yourself out of a state of survival is key to living a more centred life.
What keeps us stuck in a survival state?
Fear of the unknown, navigating the uncertainty of life circumstances, trauma or developed habits to name a few. Luckily simply envisioning a life beyond surviving puts you closer to a thriving mindset.
How do you know if you are in a survival zone or thrive zone?
Even though things may seem bleak it’s ever felt there are things that you can do to make a shift to feeling better, more grounded, or releasing some of the stress you are carrying. The first thing is to release any shame and affirm to yourself that, there is nothing wrong with being NOT OK.
Asking for help:
Seeking support emotionally/mentally could seem completely like a foreign concept to you. Surround yourself with those who inspire you, teach you, calm you, or who are professionals in the realm of emotional wellness. It resources and motivates you to keep moving towards what you want and need for your unique sense of balance.
Offering Compassion:
Compassion towards yourself and others is crucial in the thriving game. Vulnerability is hard but everyone is going through something and that doesn’t make us weak or a failure. Sometimes we just need to hear that things are going to turn out alright or that we are doing the best we can in the circumstances.
Resourcing yourself:
This is of immense importance to combat mental health challenges!
Resourcing Yourself is taking intentional and impactful action to follow your needs in times of strain that move you from a state of reaction (survival) back to a state of response (thriving). I will be share more detail on this in my next blog!
