Life feels overwhelming right now; it’s undeniable. If you have felt that the precipitous challenges facing you are a bit too much to handle, you are not alone.
For instance, at the height of 2020, 65% of adults across the United States did report being stressed by current circumstances. That is almost two-thirds of all adults with highlymphatic uncertainty about life and its future. By 2023, most participants rated their stress levels between 5 and 10 on a scale of 1-10. This general stress among people can be attributed majorly to the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and general anxiety about security and the future.
Your personal stressors may not even directly relate to societal issues but could be worse because of them. Life has ups and downs, but if you feel it is all hard work with no play as usual, then this article is for you. We will discuss the factors creating personal hardship, societal issues adding strain, how to overcome life’s difficulties, and finding meaning amidst chaos.
Why Is Everything So Much More Difficult for Me?
You might wonder why everything feels so hard, especially when you look around at others who don’t seem to be having such a hard time—nowhere near what you are. There are many reasons for this.
Well, first off, everyone’s on a different journey. Your peers are having private struggles or are just at a different time in life. The saying goes that “comparison is a thief of joy,” so best to just worry about yours. Indeed, if anything, the struggle may reflect that you’re engaging in serious personal development—I mean, really hard work.
Various factors can make life feel uniquely hard to us at times. For example, you may well be in a developmental phase that brings about significant change—going to college, changing jobs, getting married, having children, getting divorced, or having your adult children move out. Change is difficult because it requires a shift in our behavior, and research indicates this process is not linear. It has starts and stops, progress and regressions. Don’t get discouraged—just the difficulty you are having can be a sign you are making some important changes.
Understanding Personal Challenges
One can only understand why life seems extra rough if there is a regard for personal challenges. Various factors can, at different levels, amplify our difficulties. Family problems can be very gnawing. You may feel lonely and ashamed if you have suffered from childhood trauma, are dealing with complicated family relations, or are estranged from your family. More important still, the feeling can become even stronger when one sees that some people have great family support.
Interpersonal problems also add to the issues of life. You either may be undergoing a breakup or facing the loss of someone or experiencing conflicts at your workplace. However, in the absence of community, it is social isolation and loneliness that becomes the cause for ill health. Researchers have found that poor quality of sleep in older adults was directly proportional to the feeling of loneliness with several issues in their health conditions.
In addition, you may be in the midst of a crisis of addiction, abuse, poverty, or chronic illness. Such major life challenges can hardly be disregarded and needlessly have to make life seem extraordinarily hard. Although we have action plans that can help you work your way through such stressful circumstances, first it is important to understand how the world contributes to your feelings.
Societal and External Factors
As we emerge from a pandemic, we enter economic turmoil and existing oppressive policy-making that has crushed the rights of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. It quite literally feels like salt in the wound for those living with [.] chronic illnesses and the sentiment would be that it is finally over when COVID-19 is anything but gone.
Student loan debt, financial stress, inflation, fears of a recession, and suppression of civil rights may increase your concerns about your safety and that of your loved ones. So often, our culture will blame the individual for problems stemming from larger systems. Licensed marriage and family therapist Alegria Louise Demeestere shares the importance of recognizing the systems—not ourselves or others—as the cause.
What to Do When Life Gets Hard
Knowing why life seems hard is one thing. Working out what helps when it feels that way is another.
Coping with Anger
Most of us, when life has become too overwhelming and possibly that we have reached our breaking point, do feel very angry. “Your anger is going to try to tell you something,” said Demeestere. Getting curious about the anger instead allows people to harness it productively, as opposed to acting out or turning to unhealthy behaviors to quell it.
Rest
Rest is a mighty force against our human culture that’s always goading: Perform and act. Demeestere underscores the rest demanded by well-being. “When your mind is well-rested, it’s going to be sharper and more creative,” she says. Such clarity does help in taking meaningful action to the benefit of both self and community.
Seek Support
Think about additional support, such as therapy. It will not take away your hardships, but it can help you to begin getting through them. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone. Resources like Inclusive Therapists, Therapy for Black Girls, Therapy for Black Men, and Latinx Therapy will match you up with a person who knows exactly what you require. The National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network and places like the Open Path Collective offer therapy at affordable costs.
Reading is also a very great means for getting compassion and sublimity. There are books that help in coping with hardship and fending off stress and create resilience, such as “No Bad Parts” by Richard C. Schwartz, “All About Love” by bell hooks, “Rest is Resistance” by Tricia Hersey, and “Pleasure Activism” by adrienne maree brown.
Practical Steps
Of course, in addition to these more long-term strategies, there are things you can do right now, when you’re in a tailspin. You can call a friend or loved one, get some fresh air, exercise, do some breathing or yoga, or even do some kind of affirmations that support yourself.
Finding Meaning in the Midst of Chaos
Feeling overwhelmed with life’s challenges, of course, is understandable; however, their very foundations could be known, and learning efficient strategies for coping makes all the difference. You don’t have to be alone in your struggle. The acknowledgment of personal and societal factors, seeking support, and practical steps would clearly enable one to handle life’s challenges and create meaning amidst life’s chaos better.