For many people (pessimists in general) it's a lot easier to see the glass as half empty or even empty when their expectations, desires, needs or hopes seem to all end in disappointment or disarray. Optimists on the other hand don't always see the world through rose colored glasses but it is easier for them to hang on or do what they can until things improve.
I've been there. Discouraged, filled with despair and anger. Feeling alone and let down and wondering what could I do to just hang on another hour let alone another day. Discouragement isn't fun. Despair isn't healthy and anger doesn't help. They all add to your stress and stress is the number one killer today.
So, what can you do when your world seems to be going down in flames and you have no options? First of all you always have options? You may not like some of them but you always have them. There are a number of things depending on your mindset, life outlook and attitudes. Spiritual people, not just the people who talk about spiritual stuff, seem to do a better job of accepting but they too can get stuck wondering which direction to go or which decisions to make and when.
Losing a home is big stuff. Having a car repossessed can be big stuff. Losing a job can be big stuff. Losing a business can be big stuff. But I ask you no matter what you may have lost; will any of it matter in 100 years?
Life is lived now, not in the past or future and yet the past or the future is where most people spend most of their waking moments. You're past is history - bad choices, poor decisions - whatever. Your future may not be what you hoped for, planned for or want but at least you have a future. If you are dead, you have no future. (I'm talking here about spiritual issues folks and what you may believe or not believe.)
I can't tell you how to weather difficult times. This will be a function of your upbringing and conditioning, your experiences and their lessons, your attitudes and your beliefs and your dreams and your acceptance of life as it is not as you want it. The Quakers have a great saying - "Pray, but move your feet."
As soon as you turn your life and future over to your company, the government, your spouse, your parents or any other outside person, organization or situation you will never know true freedom; emotional freedom, financial freedom, spiritual freedom and psychological freedom. You will always be dependant on outside forces or circumstances to determine the quality of your present moments and your future.
I don't like bad times anymore than anyone else but over the years I've learned that everything has a flip side. Good/evil. Healthy/unhealthy. The simple ones; day/night, working/unemployed etc. I can tell you that nothing lasts forever. The good times are always interrupted with bad times and the bad times are always followed by good times. If you are too short term focused you will miss the lessons and the growth wherever you find yourself at any given moment.
I have weathered 4 recessions during my speaking and writing career and I won't bore you with all of the negative stuff. Not that I don't want to share it, it's just that I don't want to have to keep it in my consciousness. I won't say I love adversity or problems but I will say that any success I have had as an author and speaker during my career has been due to the fact that I did have these down periods but that my focus was not on what was happening or why, but what could I learn from it or do about it. Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can.
I'm reminded of the Serenity prayer.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. This friends, says it all. Whining doesn't help. Staying tuned to the TV hour after hour watching bad news doesn't help. All this stuff does is make it worse and keep it around longer.
What can you do? For starters; let go of the emotional hold this stuff can have on you. Easy to say but difficult for many people to do. Why? They don't really want to let go. I know it might sound strange but a lot of people like bad things because it gives them something to talk and whine about. I guarantee that these people, no matter how good things are will always find something to complain about. Get over it! Give it a rest! Move on! Life isn't perfect or fair imperfect or unfair. It's just what it is. It's reality.
Next, hang out with people who are optimistic and positive. Read some self help books, even bad ones are better than none at all. Fill your mind with hope and desire. Set some goals. Start a journal. Pick apart the adversity and look for its lessons. Relax. Meditate. Pray. But more than anything do something. Doing something no matter how seemingly unimportant or minor is better than reading the paper and the constant reminder of how bad things are.
Want to stay negative, worried, stressed? Turn your life over to the media.
