When initially overwhelmed, it often feels like we are in a washing machine, going back and forth, spinning around really fast. There are clothes all around us, some with zips and clips that scratch us every so often. Because there is lots of water (things going on) around us, we start gasping for air. We move faster and faster to try and catch up, to get everything 'washed' so that we can rest at the end of the wash cycle.
But instead, the cycle continues - there are always clothes to wash.
Our brain, recognising that we are in this never-ending cycle, can trick us into thinking nothing is real. We are now in a movie, walking through life without being noticed. It might feel as though if you were to reach out to others, they won't hear you or see you. No one seems to notice that you are there, they don't even look at you. That's what happens in a movie, everything is surreal.
If this is sounding familiar to how you're feeling now, please combat these thoughts and please seek help. Go and see your doctor, a psychologist, or a psychotherapist. Counsellors may also be able to help.
This movie, your movie, sometimes doesn't end well.
It has one of those endings where you are left feeling hollow, disappointed, cheated. We now have feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. We are all-consumed with our thoughts, negative thoughts, thoughts that we begin to believe are real. Logic, what's that? Sleep, what's that? Talking, ha, that stopped a long time ago.
This movie has a tragic ending, if we allow it to.
We are now drowning and there is no one around to help us (or so we think). We've been there before; we don't need help, we can help ourselves, eventually we will pop out of this wave if we keep swimming, won't we? After all, you don't want to seem like an idiot, a failure, a loser. Besides, I don't want to burden others, they have things going on themselves.
You will eventually pop out of the sea if you hold on to what has kept you going, the very things that you love about life. The hook, that's what crisis negotiators call it, the few things that we look forward to each day. The things that give us hope, the things that we come back to every now and then. You see, the heart can rule the brain if you allow it to. So what do you love?
Let's talk!
Are you in a washing machine, are you in a movie, or are you drowning?