Put Your Oxygen Mask on First

You’ve heard the wise instruction to put your own oxygen mask on first?

That instruction means you first need to take care of yourself, then you can help take care of others.

If you don’t take care of yourself, then you won’t fully be able to assist others.

The instruction applies to many (if not all) areas of life and that instruction needs to be heeded.

It needs to be heeded now, especially on the heels of the U.S. Presidential election. As the announcement of Donald J. Trump as the U.S.’s 45th President-elect has resulted in great emotions sweeping our nation’s streets and sweeping across the screens of social media.

The sweeping emotions range from anticipation, anxiety, anger, rage, disgust, disappointment, fear, disbelief, depression, shock, sadness, despair, frustration, embarrassment, to feeling sickened and saddened by closed minds, ignorance and unkindness. And probably many more.

Are you wondering how to put on your own oxygen mask in this situation?

If yes, please read on…

You put your own oxygen mask on by taking care of your own emotions.

First, you start by articulating what is going on that has you feeling that way, acknowledging your emotions to yourself, and feeling the feelings that are going on in your body.  It’s important to own your feelings and emotions with “I” statements – “I feel like ______ and that makes me _______.” And fill in the blanks for yourself.  Take ownership of what is going on inside of you.

You might not want to hear this, but what I have to say next is true and puts the onus of responsibility in your own lap.

The reactions you’re personally having about the election are YOUR reactions. That is – it’s your own stuff o deal with, not someone else’s. The words or actions you hear or see from others that bring up feelings and emotions from deep inside of you, other than love, joy, or compassion, are things YOU need to work on. Not stuff someone else needs to work on.

These are emotions and feelings you need to own and process for yourself.

Whatever reactions you are having are related to situations from your past that you haven’t yet dealt with or fully healed. They are related to something that happened to you, usually in your childhood, that you formed a core belief about. And that core belief is no longer serving you.

When you take time to process your emotions you are putting your oxygen mask on.

What are some tools to help me process this stuff?

• Journaling – writing down all your thoughts and feelings and emotions to clear out your head and acknowledge what is going on inside of you.

• Praying – praying to your higher power and asking for help.

• Tapping – Using Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help clear out the emotions

• Working Out – going to the gym or for a run or walk to get the stress out of your body.

• Listening to Music – listening to music and belting out the tunes at the top of your lungs.

• Talking with Friends – Talking with friends with the purpose and intention to move to a better feeling place while expressing your emotions.

The sooner you step into self-care, the sooner you process your emotions and feelings. Which means, the sooner you address your reactions, THEN the sooner you will feel better and the sooner you’ll be able to help others. And the self care snowball continues…the sooner your community will start to shift to a better place and the sooner the U.S. will shift to a better feeling place. Eventually as a collective, we will move towards love and peace.

Click here to find out all about the EFT tapping points and where they are.

Reduce stress and Feel calmer with this 8-minute Exercise.