Mayday, Mayday

by karine Galland

How do you reach out for help?

The Mayday international radio distress signal created in 1923 comes from the French “m’aider” (help me). It must be repeated three times in a row case of an immediate life-threatening emergency on board.

What about your own distress signals? Do you have an efficient system to you reach out for help when you are feeling down and out of control?

If you have never thought about it, this first of May is a good opportunity to reflect on your own social support network. Because even badasses need a little help sometimes!

When do you reach out for help?

Do you pay attention to the inner and outer warning signs or do you wait for a vital emergency?

Do you initiate the talk when you feel you need help or do you wait for the “right” time for others to help you?

How do you ask for help?

  • You just ask.
  • You scream, you cry, you let the drama queen out.
  • You use humor but with so much derision it’s not clear you really need help.
  • You close down and remain silent until somebody worries about you.
  • You drink, smoke or scroll your feelings away.
  • You work or exercise until you burn out.
  • You become obnoxious until someone starts a fight, and then you let everything out.

Who do you reach out to?

  • Close family and friends who are always there for you.
  • Long distance friends or acquaintances, less intimacy allows you to get more personal.
  • Coworkers who have been through the same life challenges.
  • Doctors, because each of your problems turns into a new health issue.
  • You confide in strangers while shopping, in a bus or a café.
  • You keep it all to yourself and deal with it, or hope the problem is going to go away somehow. Because you do not want to bother anyone, you do not want to look vulnerable, or perhaps you think your problems aren’t that big of a deal compared to what others are going through.

Of course, there is not 1 ideal solution! Getting awareness and clarity on your own distress signals will enable you to validate your system or improve it accordingly. Let me know what works for you!