Chapter 3 THE LOOP
The anger-guilt feedback loop is inevitable, self-sustaining and hard to escape.
You get angry, frustrated at the lack of progress, you feel like you're just spinning your wheels, and no one cares, no one will listen, no one will change, no one will learn.
You accuse those still displaying optimism of wearing the proverbial "rose colored glasses". You berate them for not being realistic.
You berate yourself for not having a positive outlook and berating those who do.
You feel you can't step back or accept limitations, mostly because you can't "unlearn" what you have learned.
You can't deny the stuff that makes you angry and sad, at least not for long.
Your body may choose a physical ailment to slow you down. Or you may succumb to mental or emotional exhaustion, have a breakdown, become depressed. You may have a hard time mustering the energy to do what you once enjoyed.
Or you feel guilty for actually having the audacity to want to enjoy yourself when so many are still suffering.
You may turn to mind numbing substances, escape through too much sleep, be unable to sleep, eat too much or have no appetite, further compounding the exhaustion.
You get crabby, snap at loved ones, yell, become impatient, all of which makes you feel more guilt and anger.
So what do you do in the search for answers? I wish I knew.
I find that answers generally lead to more questions. If I had all the answers, I wouldn't be writing this now.
Writing in a journal is one of the ways I deal with things. Inner peace through outer expression can be a very useful tool to invite introspection, tackle mental exasperation or face emotional challenges. As countless self-help books offer suggestions to deal with the stress of life's ups and downs, I suggest you do what ever you need to do in order to make the process your own.
It may take time, after all, life's problems usually don't build up overnight, nor can they be solved as quickly.
The anger-guilt feedback loop is inevitable, self-sustaining and hard to escape.
You get angry, frustrated at the lack of progress, you feel like you're just spinning your wheels, and no one cares, no one will listen, no one will change, no one will learn.
You accuse those still displaying optimism of wearing the proverbial "rose colored glasses". You berate them for not being realistic.
You berate yourself for not having a positive outlook and berating those who do.
You feel you can't step back or accept limitations, mostly because you can't "unlearn" what you have learned.
You can't deny the stuff that makes you angry and sad, at least not for long.
Your body may choose a physical ailment to slow you down. Or you may succumb to mental or emotional exhaustion, have a breakdown, become depressed. You may have a hard time mustering the energy to do what you once enjoyed.
Or you feel guilty for actually having the audacity to want to enjoy yourself when so many are still suffering.
You may turn to mind numbing substances, escape through too much sleep, be unable to sleep, eat too much or have no appetite, further compounding the exhaustion.
You get crabby, snap at loved ones, yell, become impatient, all of which makes you feel more guilt and anger.
So what do you do in the search for answers? I wish I knew.
I find that answers generally lead to more questions. If I had all the answers, I wouldn't be writing this now.
Writing in a journal is one of the ways I deal with things. Inner peace through outer expression can be a very useful tool to invite introspection, tackle mental exasperation or face emotional challenges. As countless self-help books offer suggestions to deal with the stress of life's ups and downs, I suggest you do what ever you need to do in order to make the process your own.
It may take time, after all, life's problems usually don't build up overnight, nor can they be solved as quickly.
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