Managing setbacks – what is a setback?
A setback usually may disrupt your daily routine or activities and can last for a few days to several weeks. A setback stops or limits many activities. It can make you feel down, disappointed or frustrated.
What triggers setbacks?
Setbacks can be caused by many factors, such as feeling very low, having a virus infection, family illness, crisis with a child or elderly relative, working overtime or going on holiday, worry over debts.
An example of a setback
Often there can be a combination of factors. For example:
- My tooth pain with infection
- Getting angry with my brother, John
- Sleep problems, waking hourly
- Fallen out with the neighbours
- Worrying about Angela, my sister who drinks too much alcohol and who will look after her children
- Not enough money to pay the telephone bill
There will always be setbacks
Sadly setbacks are inevitable. However the good news is that learning how to plan for setbacks will make a real difference to:
- The impact that they have on your day to day life
- The length of time that they last
- How often they happen