The merits of a meltdown...

I think I've decided that there are merits to having a good old fashioned emotional meltdown like the one I had yesterday. As terrible as I felt yesterday, I feel 1000% better today! And upon reflection, I think a proper emotional meltdown can be good and may even be necessary sometimes to help clear out all the crap that builds up internally. And boy, did I wallow in my misery yesterday and I think going with my pain actually helped in much the same way that a good cry helps wash away the hurt.

In a bit of serendipity this afternoon, I was watching a profile on a world class athlete from the late 80s who suffered a terrible tragedy that interrupted his career. During one race early in his comeback, he said that he hit an emotional wall and wanted to quit right there and then. He went on to describe the huge emotional meltdown that he went through during one point in the competition. He said that that emotional meltdown wound up being the turning point for him during the competition, and he went so far as to say it helped him clear all the crap in his mind that was holding him back. He essentially gave into all the negative feelings during this meltdown and in a sense was able to exorcise them from his system. Following his meltdown he decided to stay in the competition, and ultimately wound up winning. He credits the meltdown as being a necessary element during his comeback and the road to success.

So I think that next time I have an emotional meltdown like I did yesterday, I'm going to try and remember that it can be a good and necessary thing to help clear out the cobwebs. I think that in addition to the meltdown yesterday, I spent a good part of the day berating myself for feeling the way that I felt. Geez, I gotta work on these ridiculous standards that I've set for myself. And hopefully, I remember this little epiphany the next time!