Interview with the well-known health expert and coach

“The insidious thing about a crisis is that it comes unexpectedly and affects us so massively that the ground is pulled out from under our feet. Crises can never be immediately eliminated or overcome; it takes time. But if we have good crisis management skills, we will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our attitude and how we deal with the crisis determine whether we overcome it or break from it.” Coach and health expert Abbas Schirmohammadi, author of the paperback “Help in Nasty Times” and co-author of the audio CD of the same name (together with Susanne Hühn), always sees personal crises as an opportunity to develop further, recognize and correct shortcomings, and emerge stronger. “Sometimes a crisis opens our eyes to the fact that the path we were on was wrong, and leads us to the right one.”

“Help in Nasty Times” began with a meditation CD that you released last year with Susanne Hühn. What motivated you to also release a book of the same name, and what is new about this guide?

Abbas: The topic "Help in Nasty Times" literally forced itself upon us, as since Corona, unfortunately, more and more people are falling into crises – health, financial, professional, relationship, private – and are seeking professional help. We experience this every day in our work. Susanne Hühn and I are both coaches with a lot of experience and know-how in crisis management. With the audio CD, we created a five-step program that can mindfully accompany people plagued by crises and empower them with new strength to move from nasty times into a better, happier, and more successful present and future. However, the space on an approximately 70-minute CD is somewhat limited, so we focused there on healing meditations that support those affected through the crisis. The demand for the topic was very high, so we decided to write a book of the same name, in which we convey a lot of theory, but also numerous self-tests, check-ups, and exercises to better understand the crisis, accept it, and, above all, find solutions to leave the nasty time behind. The over 170-page book goes into detail, provides examples, comforts and encourages; it is a lively and interactive coaching program.

A crisis arises when something has been wrong for a long time and all attempts to make it right have failed. However, a crisis is also an opportunity, even if we don't want to hear that in bad times: it drives us to act.

What does it actually mean to go through a crisis?

Abbas: The insidious thing about a crisis is that it comes unexpectedly, triggered by a violent event, and affects us so massively that the ground is pulled out from under our feet. We feel helpless and powerless, like victims of circumstances. Crises can never be immediately eliminated or overcome; it takes time. It is a kind of life test that demands a lot from us. But if we have good crisis management skills, we will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our attitude and how we deal with the crisis determine whether we overcome it or break from it. We go through several phases, from deep pain and a feeling of powerlessness to hope, until finally new strength is found to leave the valley behind and aim for new heights. Often, we can “spin straw into gold” from the crisis – that the crisis helps us in our development and we emerge from it much wiser and stronger.

According to you, accepting what is, without ignoring negative feelings or sugarcoating anything, is crucial for overcoming a crisis. How can this be achieved, and what conditions must be met for it?

Abbas: Yes, exactly, accepting the crisis and what has happened is the first step back to a functioning life. We must accept what has happened, because the past is unchangeable. Life can look different from one day to the next. The current state always applies. Feelings and emotions are what make us human. Suppressing them would not be a good idea, because what we suppress eats us up from within or comes back to haunt us at another time. We must feel and sense. Negative feelings are allowed, they must even be. It means accepting them, but then also turning the corner to create something new and positive from them. Anyone who is honest and authentic with themselves has a much better chance of getting out of the crisis than someone who sugarcoats it. This requires an integral, stable personality. The more firmly we stand with both feet in life and see this as an opportunity, not as a burden, the more we can create the conditions to successfully process and overcome the crisis.

Your book aims to help people emerge from a crisis, no matter what it looks like, stronger and more mature, step by step. What specific steps are required for this?

Abbas: The five-step program is structured as follows: 1. Come to rest and safety. 2. Recognize who in you is experiencing the most stress. 3. Utilize your resources and talents. 4. Develop new strengths and spin straw into gold. 5. Make new decisions. In detail: First, calm down and, in all the chaos, find an inner, safe place from which you can look at what has happened and take stock. Then, recognize which inner part of you experiences this crisis as a crisis and which inner parts are stable and perhaps even uninvolved – this tells us which part we need to take care of and which part of you can provide its resources. Afterwards, you will get to know new inner resources and spiritual sources of strength that want and can be there for you now. With the help of these newly gained sources of strength, you can examine the painful crisis closely and even recognize your own role in it. We spin the straw of the crisis into the gold of insight and healing. Once you have recognized your own role, you can make new decisions with this insight. Your inner strengths help you to master the crisis and continue your path in a new, more self-determined way.

To be successful in this, one needs certain tools to get closer to oneself and learn how to help oneself. What are these, and how are they used?

Abbas: The most important tools that Susanne Hühn and I know and use successfully are placed and explained in the book. The core of the book consists of exercises, check-ups, self-tests, and meditations belonging to the five-step program, which help one to get to know oneself better, unlock new resources, provide relaxation and a clear mind, but also encourage and impart important impulses for crisis management. We offer many inner journeys, e.g., "Rescue for the Inner Child," "The Inner Place of Peace," "Help for Your Most Severely Affected Inner Parts," and "The Island of Strength." In addition, there are the following self-tests, among others: How well do I know myself? How well can I transform my fears into strength? How well do I integrate past mistakes into my future planning? Helpful are also check-ups like "The Ten-Point Model" and "The 7-Sentence Biography." Anyone who reads and works through the book intensively will get much closer to themselves and learn to help themselves.

Our inner child – i.e., those parts of us that struggle with emotional burdens – often suffers from the fear of failure. A crisis often overwhelms the inner child, so we should give it our attention.

Your five-step program aims to help activate resources, discover new talents, and spin straw into gold. Can every defeat, every loss, and every failure truly be turned into success? Or can a crisis also lead to abandoning one's previous path?

Abbas: If the previous path was a wrong one or not the optimal one, a crisis can help to recognize this, and then precisely this insight is the achieved success, the gold spun from straw. Sometimes a crisis opens one's eyes to the fact that something is going or went wrong. A crisis is always an opportunity to recognize and rectify grievances. In it, one can activate one's resources and discover new talents that can be used to overcome the crisis. What happens next, there are different paths: correction of grievances, embarking on new paths, changing behaviors, gaining new visions, and much more. Every defeat serves us to emerge from it stronger. Of course, defeats can also break us; this danger exists. But whoever has a stable personality or builds one will be able to accept the crisis, learn from it, and, with renewed strength, embark on new, more promising paths. The greatest successes are often the result of difficult learning processes that were necessary to march forward with determination, clarity, and impact.

If a crisis becomes overwhelming and even daily life can no longer be managed, professional help is necessary. How does one recognize in time when this point has been reached and it can no longer be handled alone?

Abbas: The danger in any crisis is that it can overwhelm you to such an extent that it becomes too much. If you feel a total lack of strength and helplessness and/or experience intense depression, it is important to seek professional help quickly. The timing of when a crisis hits is also crucial: if you are already weakened, suffering from relationship, health, financial, or professional problems, then your defenses and resources are weakened, and you have fewer options to remain stable. If you can no longer manage your daily life and/or spend the entire day in bed dispirited, professional help is definitely advisable. Psychotherapeutic naturopaths, psychologists, or coaches specializing in crisis management can offer valuable support and guidance. However, as long as we can accept the crisis and steer towards the light at the end of the tunnel, we are on the right path independently, for which our book and CD want to be helpful guides.

Book Tip:

Abbas Schirmohammadi: Help in Nasty Times. Mastering personal crises in five steps. With meditations, exercises, check-ups, and self-tests. Foreword by Susanne Hühn. Mankau Verlag, 1st ed. September 2024. Paperback, 12 × 19 cm, 175 pp., €12.90 (D) | €13.30 (A), ISBN 978-3-86374-737-4

Link Recommendations:

More information about the paperback "Help in Nasty Times"
To the reading sample in PDF format
More information about the audio CD "Help in Nasty Times"
More about author Abbas Schirmohammadi
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