by Dr. Monica Dixon
Warning: Foul Language!
It’s that handle right above your head in your car, the one you forget is there until suddenly, you need it! Your crazy friend takes you out for a ride in their new wheels and takes the corners far too fast, so you quickly grab that handle above your head. Or, you come careening up to a stop light that’s just changed red while you’re cruising along at 40 MPH and you quickly reach for that grab handle to prevent you from flying through the windshield. That’s your “Oh Shit” handle, according to the Urban Dictionary!
Build a “tool box” to provide you solace during life’s trying times.
Dr. Monica Dixon
Yet it’s not enough to just have one in your car; as life takes on increasingly more complex problems that loom far out of our individual control, we each need our own designated “Oh Shit” handle as our life seems to careen out of control. For many of us, our “Oh Shit” handle may in fact be something not so healthy for us; grabbing a few beers when we’ve had a tough day at work, snarfing down a large fry after an argument with our spouse or soothing our broken heart after a break up with our partner with a giant bin of Twizzlers.
It is especially important during these difficult times to have a “tool box” of sorts that help you navigate the challenges, a list of things that can help soothe and protect you rather than further harm your mental or physical health.
Perhaps instead, your “Oh Shit” handle becomes:
- leaving the house for a long walk after a difficult family confrontation,
- a phone call to a dear friend after getting a lay off notice at work, or
- heading to bed for a nap when your life feels as if it’s careening for the side of the bridge.
For me, my “Oh Shit” handle is a great book. Within moments of experiencing some difficult life event, I can grab my most recent book and quickly be transported far away from what’s bothering me to another world. I use the incredibly awesome Libby app to always have a backup of great books from my local library system awaiting my reading time on my Kindle or phone. A dear friend of mine immediately grabs her giant dog and marches out the door for a several mile walk. Another friend grabs her current knitting project and quickly gets lost in the meditative clicks of her “sticks” as she creates her latest project.
Give some time to think about healthy, invigorating and soul-enriching things you can do when life tries to blind-side you, and use them to build that “tool box” to provide you solace during life’s trying times!