So you’re floating along, blue skies ahead, staring into a bright horizon. Life is good.

And a volcano erupts. In Iceland.

The blue skies become hazy. An ash cloud blocks the bright horizon. You’re grounded and the good is gone.

Major life disruptions can happen just as quickly as the eruption of the Icelandic volcano that grounded planes and stranded passengers all over the world. One moment things couldn’t be better. The next, financial markets crash and you’re unemployed. The doctor says your biopsy is positive. A call brings news that a loved one has died on the way to work. Lightning strikes and your house explodes in flames. And it takes some regrouping before you can figure out how to navigate around the new ash cloud that’s enveloped your life.

So how do you cope in the meantime?

• Keep floating. Try to avoid putting yourself under immediate pressure to just do something! Like the people stranded in airports worldwide because of Iceland’s volcanic ash cloud, just focus on what’s necessary: register for unemployment, schedule medical tests, make funeral arrangements, file insurance claims. But don’t feel you have to navigate the stages of loss in record time so you can immediately resume the good life. The ash cloud will move at its own pace, and you have to find a way to be patient with the experience.

• Seek help. Going through a sudden crisis can be an isolating experience, and you may want to just hide your head under the covers and tune out the world. Don’t. When the volcanic ash settles, it can harden like cement, making it that much more difficult for people in the vicinity to dig out and start over. The same thing can happen when you cut yourself off from other people in times of crisis. The pain or shame or bitterness you feel becomes comfortable … and eventually becomes a prison. Staying connected with others can help you keep moving forward through the haze. Everyone has experienced something similar to what you’re experiencing. Keep yourself from getting stuck by finding people you trust with whom you can share your thoughts and feelings.

• Be patient. No matter how thick the volcanic ash cloud, it will dissipate. The volcano will stop its eruptions. The haze will disappear. The cleanup will end. The horizon will brighten. And the world will return to a sense of normalcy. It may not be the same normal that existed before the eruption, but it will be a new normal for you—and you will grow accustomed to it just as you’ve grown accustomed to the world after other setbacks and tragedies. You are more resilient than you think when the sky first begins to darken. Always try to remember during the worst of times: This, too, shall pass.