Handling Bad News

Bad news comes into the lives of us all.  It's pretty much inescapable.  So the question isn't so much how to avoid it, as how to handle it when it happens. 

1. Allow yourself to feel your emotions.  Recognize and allow your sadness, regret, despair, and so forth.  They are your emotions, and you have a right to feel them.  Your emotions are a part of who you are.  But don't get carried away by them.  Recognize them, but don't wallow or dramatize them.  They are what they are, you are what you are, and it is what it is. "I feel angry" is different from staging a tantrum.  
2. Try to separate out in your mind the actual, correct truth from your suppositions and projections of what this news actually means.  Don't color it worse than it is already, by your suppositions.  You'll suffer enough without making it worse based on no factual evidence.  (Orea's Note: My mother used to tell me that when Eisenhower was elected, she was sure that the world would come to an end.  It obviously didn't.  This seems like a perfect example of projecting a further disaster from a piece of bad news.) 
3. Find something constructive to do about it.  Send a sympathy card, say a prayer, donate to an appropriate organization.  You get the idea.  It helps. 
4. Don't dwell on it.  Keep yourself occupied-to-busy.  This will help the news to settle into your consciousness and lose its painful edge.
5. Be philosophical about it.  Whatever it is, there are many others who have experienced something similar, and most of them have survived it. (wink)  And then there are the many who have something much worse going on.  So keep it in perspective.  
6. Remember that there is sun after clouds, and joy can follow grief or disappointment.  None of the pain is likely to be permanent.  The one thing you can count on not to change, is that things do change.  Ponder that one for a while! 
7. Reach out for help and comfort.  Allow your friends and loved ones to help you if they can.  We and our kind are always near, and ready to help.  We care, and we know your burden can get heavy, indeed.  No fancy words, no rituals are needed.  Nor is intercession necessary.  Just let us know in any way you care to, that you need us, and we'll be there lickety-split.  

We love your language!  And we love you who use it. 

Our love and blessings are always on standby for you.  Just ask, friends, just ask. 

Namaste.