Sometimes I feel like when something goes wrong in my life (this time, major back pain that I could not get under control), there’s a domino effect and other things just keep going wrong, one after the other. It can be frustrating – especially on top of everything else going on in the world right now. It can make you just want to curl up in a ball and hide for a few days, just hoping that things blow over.

And there’s definitely something to be said for feeling your feelings and shedding a few tears – I do both of those things and more. But once I’ve allowed myself to acknowledge those emotions, I try really hard to consciously focus on the positives rather than wallow in the negatives.

This is on the front of my mind right now because of the health issues I’ve been dealing with, but I think it’s something that’s relevant for everyone this year. There are so many terrible things going on in the world, and we each have our own personal issues that we’re all dealing with on top of that. What we’re dealing with is relative and personal – what’s gut-wrenching for one person might not even rate for another – but that doesn’t make it any less difficult to handle. I’ve found that really, the only way to not get totally overwhelmed when things start going wrong is to think about what’s still going right.

For example – the upside of dealing with health issues during a pandemic is that I’m not missing out on any plans because I’m not feeling well. I’m surrounded by my supportive family, and I have a great medical team willing to squeeze me in for a telehealth visit and really listens to me and trusts my intuition about how I’m feeling. Plus, there are so many episodes of shows on Netflix and Hulu to watch while I recover! These are all things that I’m incredibly grateful for.

Does it still suck that I had to deal with this right now? Of course. But I can acknowledge that while also acknowledging the good things going on, too. For me, it’s the only way to get through.