Opinion

We have all just experienced the most dreadful and horrific calamity and catastrophe. Have you been able to adequately process or even understand this collective trauma? Some of us feel utterly devastated and crippled, but under pressure to carry on with our lives. We may not give ourselves time to reflect or to even mourn.

Do you feel in control of your own emotions? When was the last time you said or did something without even giving it a second thought? Are you one more minor inconvenience away from losing your sanity? Are you keenly aware of how you treat yourself and your loved ones?

We were taught as young children to always think of others first. To this day, you may struggle desperately to see things from his point of view. You try awfully hard to put her first and at the center of your life. For most, this is extraordinarily important. But some of us take this way too close to heart. In the process, we surrender and abdicate our own selves.

Do you often feel like you should be more like everyone else? Do you suspect that you are “different” from most? Has it become a cause for shame or self-consciousness? Some of us spend our lives trying to make sense of ourselves. We often look inward and reflect upon our thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Sure, there are some situations in life that require extensive deliberation and reflection. Are you making a life-changing decision, or are you simply plagued with doubt, and overthinking yet again? There you go, rehashing that conversation with him and reliving that event with her that did not go too well.

Did that one mistake remind you of all the blunders and bad ideas that you generated in the past? Did you call your entire existence into question? Perhaps this time you can choose a fresh route away from self-loathing and self-flagellation.