Coping with Family Crisis

Like all aspects of life, in order for us to grow and overcome our fears, struggles, and insecurities, is to go through a crisis. It can affect us and our family, but this crisis causes us to be stressed and feel anxious. Which is not all that bad for us. When we feel stressed and anxious about something, our mind is doing everything to find a possible solution. It is fascinating what we can do. In fact, it all depends how we perceive the situation and what we can do about it. For instance, for some families it may be a disaster that the provider may have lost the job and there is no way out. For some others with the same situation could cope with this dilemma and find solutions. Like this example, there are many situations that we face that you may find it stressful. 

How do we cope with stress? There are negative and positive outcomes to this. Sometimes when we are under stress, we turn into drinking alcohol, smoking, chew our nails, drive fast, negative self-talk, eating too much or too little, and feel tense all the time. This causes that we may find ourselves to be stuck in a box only sinking deeper and deeper and not being able to come out of that box. 

Whereas, when we cope with stress in a positive way, is to first take deep breaths and try to relax our muscles and clear our minds. Getting some sleep can help with that and can help us feel fresh. It is important to be productive and keep our body healthy and exercise. When a family is under stress, the best way to cope is to talk about it and find ways to interact with one another and put that stressful situation aside for a moment. Only when you identify the stressor, things will get better. I know that when I get stressed out about something, I always sleep it off and it helps me to think clearly when I wake up.

 

Some of the stressors can be those on big life events such as getting a new job, getting married, (or being a new wedded couple and are trying to figure out financial pressures), moving to a new place (city, state, country), becoming dissatisfied with a career or job, gaining more responsibilities as the years pass, and sickness. Sometimes if may feel like it is too much to bear but we must remember that these experiences help us become wiser and stronger. Sometimes throughout difficult experiences can be beneficial to help another family. For instance, a military family whose spouse have been deployed can cause pain and loneliness to the family. When another family understands these feelings, they will be able to aid and lift the family who is going through a difficult moment in their life. 

It can also be challenging when we grief over someone who has passed because it causes stress to the family. For instance, a couple whose child dies can affect their marital relationship and cause of divorce. 

 

We must remember that stress and anxiety help us thrive because it helps us be aware of the situation. It is important to take responsibility and confront the problem and if the situation is serious, seeking professional help can reduce stress. It is imperative to believe in yourself and have ability to deal with the problem. Remember that your family have different strengths and the ability to cope effectively. Try to change the meaning of the situation and think of ways you can learn from this and how you might impact your family and others.