It's Ok Not to Be Ok

Introduction

Answer these questions: Do you ever feel like you are alone although you could be in a room full of people? Do you feel like even though you try to pace yourself daily that you can't help but be stressed out? Have you felt like so much is going on in your life that you are about to have a nervous breakdown? It's okay, don't fret! You're not the only one going through this and won't be the last one either. But you can overcome this. You might feel like you want to give up and say, "What's the use?" but what good will it do?

You are not crazy; you just need a place and some time to experience relief, peace and tranquility, and a safe space. I too have been through this and currently am in the recovery stages. This article will help you from the beginning, where you feel like you don't know where to start, to the end where you can comfortably say you have a handle on what would normally cripple your day to day tasks and interactions.

Assess Yourself (And Be Honest)

Before you can get a solution, you have to start with a problem. According to aa.org, which is Alcoholics Anonymous, in their meetings their first step in The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is to admit that they are alcoholics. No, you may not be an alcoholic, but you do have a stumbling block that cripples you on a daily basis. Your first step is to admit that there is something or some things that are disabling you from the normalcy of life. Saying you're okay is not going to cut it if you in fact are not okay.

You have to get to the bottom of what is actually wrong so that you can eliminate it from the root. Am I anxious because I have this big project due at work this week? Am I feeling depressed because my mother died but I am hiding my feelings so that I can be the strong one for my other siblings? Is stress taking over me because I put more on my plate than I wanted to? Only you know what is going on inside of you and only you know what you feel comfortable doing to make it go away.

(This article is part of a book that I am writing entitled It's OK Not To Be OK being released in early 2020. I am releasing only aspects of the book each week. You are welcome to pre-order your copy by leaving your name and e-mail address to [email protected].)

References:

N.A., (1981). The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Retrieved from https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/smf-121_en.pdf