Managing Yourself after a Traumatic Event

I am writing this article now because tomorrow it will be one year after the attacks to Brussels airport and Maelbeek underground station. Maelbeek used to be my station. I got off there each morning and also that morning, 22 March 2016, I was there. I usually go to work early, that morning I went even earlier. I dreamt of snakes, I couldn’t sleep any more.

Then, at around 9 a.m. a man made himself explode in the underground. I heard people crying in the street, a few minutes later we have been asked to lock down, nobody was supposed to go out of the building. It was one of the toughest day of my life.

I had to go twice to the psychologist. The European Commission offers a very good psychological suppor to their staff.

Here is what I learned that I want to share with you:

  1. try not to watch the news or the Internet. If you want to be informed, you can listen to the radio;
  2. talk and spend time with your beloved ones;
  3. don’t over work to avoid thinking at what happened, take regular breaks and do also some work-out or relaxing activities;
  4. try to get back to a normal routine, go to work, see friends,  etc. If you feel like, you can do some volunteering, it will help you to overcome the frustration of being useless;
  5. write a journal and make a list of your concerns and decide what to tackle first. But take one step at a time;
  6. avoid taking big decision about your life while under distress or overwhelmed by emotions;
  7. remember that your reaction is normal as you have been exposed to an abnormal experience. Be gentle with yourself. If about one month after the event you haven’t recovered, please talk to your doctor who will recommend what to do.

 

Law of Attraction – A Personal Journey

I read The Secret by Rhonda Barnes in a very difficult period of my life. I lost my job, was about to leave the house I was living in because it has been put on sale, and didn’t want to buy it. A friend of mine offered me that book. I didn’t read it immediately. I put it in my bookshelf, among other books I wanted to read.

Then I moved to another, unknown country for me, Estonia. I got a job offer for Tallinn. It sounded great and perfect. Only after a couple of months there, it turned out to be a nightmare. My former boss was a egocentric woman, very capable in manipulating people. I truly believe that she harassed me for all the years I worked with her. An investigation carried out later on, confirmed my feeling.

I started to think a way out from that situation. Not easy to find another job, I sent out a lot of applications without result. I decided then to enrol with a coaching programme, to become a professional coach. To be a coach, you need to coach yourself first.

During my studies and training, I stumped in the Law of Attraction (LoA). Then, I remember The Secret, started to read it, finished in a couple of days.

I realized that LoA had worked for me but according to my wishes! I thought that I would have lost my job for a long time and my boss fired me with almost the same words I thought! Too many negative thoughts produced only negativity in my life. So, I said to myself that if it had worked for the bad, it should work for the good. I started my path towards a purposeful life and I reached the first step. My dream, the purpose of my life, is still far away, but stone after stone I will build my house.

You should know that LoA doesn’t work as soon as you start the practise. You need to change your mindset, and it takes time. Miracles don’t happen the day after, but when you don’t expect, your wish will come true.

I can help you with setting your goals to start your practise with the LoA. If interested, please, get in touch with me by clicking here.

Being Assertive

To communicate with confidence you should be assertive. What is assertiveness? The Dorland’s Medical Dictionary defines it as a form of behavior characterized by a confident declaration or affirmation of a statement without need of proof; this affirms the person’s rights or point of view without either aggressively threatening the rights of another (assuming a position of dominance) or submissively permitting another to ignore or deny one’s rights or point of view.

If you would like to know your level of being assertive, fill in the questionnaire!

Then, check the results. If you would like to improve your communication skills by being more assertive, or change your communication style, schedule an appointment with me by clicking here!

Becoming Resilient

What is resilience? Resilience is the capability to recover quickly from difficulties and withstand stress and catastrophe. Resilient people have the optimistic belief that failures can be opportunities to learn, develop new skills, ideas or career options. You can read further on what it means to be resilient here.

According to psychologists, you can develop resilience in several ways. First, exercise regularly and get enough sleep, so that you can control stress more easily. The stronger you feel physically and emotionally, the easier it is for you to overcome challenges. Then, focus on thinking positively, and try to learn from past experiences. Build strong relationships with colleagues and friends, so that you have a support network to fall back on. Set specific and achievable personal goals that match your values and will drive you to achieve your purpose. Work on building your self-confidence.

Have a look at those stories of individuals who have shown resilience to overcome failure and achieve success:

famous entrepreneur stories

23 Incredibly Successful People Who Failed At First

Would you like to learn how to respond to the challenges of your daily lives in a more balanced and sustainable way?

Would you like to understand your own personal feelings, needs and limitations?

Would you like to start thinking positively and to be creative?

Get in touch with me, I will help you to get there!