Tragedy has reached our ears and hearts once again. The sadness and fears put upon us as a nation and as individuals, can feel overwhelming and daunting.  I am taking this opportunity to provide some thoughtful suggestions that will provide some much needed healing.

My personal love and support goes out to all the families and loved ones in Orlando, and to everyone who suffers in some way every day due to wreckless and senseless crimes.

1. Take a deep breath. This will calm you and bring awareness to your attention. Check in with your emotions and take notice of where your thoughts and emotions are landing.
2. Find a few words that help you to express yourself as you desire them to be heard. It sometimes helps if you write them out. In difficult moments you may struggle with articulation, and you want to appear genuine. Finding the right words also helps identify which emotion is strongest for you.
3. Act accordingly. We all want to be supportive, but if your outpouring of comapssion will add chaos or distraction to the moment, hold off until your actions can better be received by the person you are reaching out to. Wrongfully placed support goes unnoticed, or judged.
4. The swell of emotions that result following a traumatic event disrupts your life – whether you realize it or not. Your body is reacting to what you are feeling. You may have difficulty sleeping, your stomach may feel upset. You may lose your appetite. Your muscles may stiffen up causing you to feel tense. Your heart rate and blood pressure shifts. When you get a moment, move to a relaxing space and take inventory on your body. What does it need Right Now? Rest? Food? A Hug? Alone time? A glass of water? Remembering to Nourish your body will provide you the strength you need right now.
5. Visit yourself. In the coming days, journal. Tap into what you are feeling and ask yourself some questions. If you are holding onto thoughts or feelings that are hurtful or negative, do your best to honor them, and let them pass – even if only temporarily, so that you can focus on moving into a more powerful place of mind. Writing thoughts out is an excellent way to “let go”.  Respectively, make the effort to begin recovery. At the end of each day, incorporate a good practice (which can be done in a few creative ways – find which strategy  you like the best, which finds results, and is easily doable for you. Pick one, or do them all! ). Here are a few suggestions on how to find Gratitude: – find an empty jar and each day place a small note in it reminding yourself of something that made you happy today. – at the end of every day, in your journal write down 3 things that made you smile. – name something positive that happened on that day. – write down what you wish to do tomorrow that will have a positive influence in yours, and someone else’s life.

These things can be done when facing stress any day. Developing good habits helps to reduce the feelings of stress and makes every day more enjoyable.