Spike! Not the name of my new puppy ;)
Yes, I did recently get a new 6-month-old puppy… but his name isn't Spike. (It's Buddha, actually.)
“Spiking” is when all of a sudden whatever is happening is too much… too much input, too much noise, too much isolation, too much overwhelm… and you find yourself no longer being the best version of yourself.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, is experiencing spiking in their own way. A friend shared she threw a potato across the room she was so frustrated.
I was visiting (online of course) with a group of women about this phenomenon… several said it felt like a pit or even quicksand. If this is your sense, think about reframing your perception to “Spike” instead.
Here’s why:
You want it to feel like something you have control over, or that you can come down from. If you're in a hole or on quicksand, it can feel like there's no way out, or you can't ground.
Versus a Spike… which you can more easily flatten, imagining yourself coming down off the mountain and breathing in oxygen-rich air.
So why are we spiking?
When we're in unknown territory – i.e., times of change – it is absolutely normal that old imprints, stories, or shadows are triggered.
This is actually your brain trying to keep you safe by activating even more fears in the unknown.
That means everything that you perceive as negative is up for healing.
So how do you work with a Spike?
The first step is to be present and acknowledge it.
What caused your spike? What are the feelings underneath the spike? What story does your head create? What are the side effects?
So embrace your Spike. Do not ignore it or bury it. If you need to, write it down.
Here are three personal examples, all from just the last week:
1. The life insurance I’d applied for in January red-flagged my travel plans to Peru (which are all now on hold). And the word “ceremony” was too much for the underwriter. The policy was denied less than 14 days before my current policy was due to expire. SPIKE!
• Feelings: Hopeless and helpless • Head story: Might as well die while I still have insurance • Side effect: I want to bury my head in the sand
2. I watched a video by a doctor, talking about how Covid-19 can lead to pneumonia, and that death by pneumonia is like drowning in your own lungs. SPIKE!
• Feelings : Fear - My biggest death fear is drowning • Head story: I have to isolate myself from everyone… don’t ever leave the house • Side effect: Tell my daughter to never visit me again, ever, ever again!
3. My husband (who works in Alaska) sent me a strange text in the middle of the night and then didn't reply to any of my texts the entire next day. SPIKE!
• Feelings: Concern turning to worry and then to anger • Head Story: Maybe he's sick, or ignoring me, or OMG he wants a divorce. • Side effect: When my husband does call, I actually yell at him – poor guy. (All my texts to him came in at once – 5 minutes before he called.)
What have your spikes been? Who has been spiking around you? What losses are you experiencing? Was your business and life moving forward with big plans until this? What memory-making moments, like prom, vacations, graduation, sports seasons, college visits, are you and your family missing?
In my next post, I’ll share a simple practice for how you can rewire your brain and create the vibration of transformation so you can quickly and easily come down to the oxygen-rich air at the base of your emotional mountain.
With love,
Linda (and Buddha)