This campaign is to bring people together to help those who are suffering adversity and require support, reassurance, and guidance at this challenging time as we near Christmas and New Year.I
This initiative is to call upon society to raise awareness to help those who are suffering adversity and desolation irrespective of what age, social group, or life situation they’re from, and help individuals overcome personal hardship. We all need it at some point in our lives.
Encouragement and shared experience can sometimes be what they need to hear.
If you have some useful advice that helped you, please share through any social media using #iovercameUK
e.g. I eliminated negative people from my circle of friends #iovercameUK
OUR AIM – If we encourage enough people to participate, we might just start making a difference to how society reaches out to the people who need it.
OUR REQUEST TO YOU – Make this a gesture of goodwill at this time of year. When people face upset especially at Christmastime where the focus on love, family and generosity heightens the sense of isolation for those suffering hardship. Be a voice of support to those who can’t see a way forward or find the help to change their situation.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
- Please post your experience of how you overcame a difficult or traumatic challenge in your life, and share your advice and lessons learned.
- Do this as a tweet, a post on Google+ or blog, a short video on YouTube, or an image on Instagram.
- Share this using the hash tag #iovercameUK and it will appear together with all the other posts on Storify so that anyone can see and share with those who most need it.
Thanks for your contribution, and your voice in reaching out to those who will one day be able to look back and share how they too overcame immense life challenges.
HOW TO TACKLE TOUGH TIMES
Throughout life we face many challenges that can sometimes seem insurmountable. The very nature of being immersed in a crisis often amplifies when fear kicks in, which adds fuel to the already ‘burning fire’. It’s in those moments that we search for solutions, for help and guidance, and of course some support and love from others. The very nature of being in a crisis can sometimes prevent us from seeing solutions or at the very least, the tools to help us to overcome them. Overcoming adversity pushes the parameters of who we are as human beings, and challenges us to become wiser and stronger. The solutions are there at some level, we just need a helping hand to reach a level so we can see that. It’s deeply ingrained in our human nature to help others, especially when we’ve overcome adversity ourselves.
Here are some practical steps to help people climb out of that cycle of depravation we often find ourselves in:
- Go for a walk. Often our environment is a factor that’s amplifying or even causing a negative situation. Getting out into nature to walk helps to transmute that negativity. Walking 20 minutes a day outside in a natural environment can change our perception of our world.
- Get involved in a group. Isolation can lead to us compounding our negative thoughts and behaviours. Choose support groups or like-minded societies who help endorse positive messaging to assist your mindset.
- Christmas and anniversaries can be stark reminders of loss of loved ones or situations that re-establish painful memories. Plan ahead and make it an occasion to celebrate or share with people who create positive new memories for you.
- Get creative. Using your mind in a creative way enhances it by using alpha frequency brain waves, which also boosts the immune system and reminds you of your best self and gives us a sense of wellbeing.
- Get active. Get the body working for you. If your body slows down it amplifies a stagnation of mind, body and spirit. Getting active and doing something you enjoy such as walking, swimming, yoga or dancing can wake your body up to release endorphins which interact with receptors in your brain. This reduces your perception of pain and triggers positive feelings.
- Sleep well. Getting the right amount of sleep helps to improve positivity and reduces our sensitivity to fear and anger. Going to sleep before midnight and avoid being stimulated by TVs or computers improves our ability to relax more so.
- Spend time with people you love and serve you on a positive level. Eliminate those in your life who are energy drains or make you feel out of sorts. We’re affected constantly by those around us, so choose your company wisely.
- Become aware of your thoughts, feelings and your body’s response to them. Go on a Mindfulness course. It teaches you that once you become mindful of what you are feeling on a physical and emotional level, you are more capable of acknowledging the thoughts and more likely to change them.
- Help someone else. Professor Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania found that doing a kindness towards others produces the single most reliable momentary increase in wellbeing of any exercise that they tested. Volunteering on a regular basis can extend this improved state of mind.