What did you learn from your most painful life experience?

First, for context, let me quickly assess what I go through when I go through something incredibly painful:

• Inability to sleep
• Loss of appetite
• Anxiety
• Obsessive behavior (such as attempting to plan ahead to anticipate worst-case scenarios)
• Crippling worry
• Struggle

Here is what I've learned:
In my case (Not yours. Mine.) a lot of what makes a painful experience is self-inflicted.

As such, here is what I remind myself to do to better navigate what life throws at me: 

• CALM DOWN, Dushka.
• Get some sleep. In order to remain clear headed and functional you need to sleep.
• Eat. I know you don't want to. Eat anyway.
• Anxiety and worry accomplish nothing.
• Anticipating every worst case scenario is pointless and contributes to anxiety. You can't, so don't.
• Even in the midst of horrible, horrible things, most of what you worry about is not going to happen.
• And finally, trying to hold on to the way you want things to be makes everything worse. Let  go to allow the pain to move through you instead of lodging inside you. Nothing is yours to keep.

Read other answers by

Dushka Zapata on Quora:

• What are some things that look easy but are difficult?
• How do I make at least one random person happy every day?
• What is the most important thing you ever lost?

Read more answers on Quora.

from Quora http://ift.tt/2atwRcx