Managing Stressful Situations

Life often hands us challenging circumstances.  Sometimes, I get so tired of all the cliche sayings...you know..."this too shall pass", "follow your intuition", and "everything happens for a reason" Although I know that all these sayings may be true, it's often frustrating to when I really just feel sorry for myself and be mad-at least for a day or two.
Recently, life has been challenging for me-I'm going through a divorce and now I've been diagnosed with Lyme disease.  Sometimes I feel like I'm those moles on the whack a mole game you see on the board walk.  You know, the game where the moles keep trying to come up and someone whacks them back down.  I keep trying to keep my head above water and life keeps pushing me back down.  How do you get ahead when you can't see two feet in front of you I often wonder? Why is God giving me these challenges all at the same time? 
One thing that often helps me in the moment is something that comes from the AA 12 Step Program called H.A.L.T (hungry, angry lonely, tired).  Isn't it ironic that as mothers we constantly rule these things out when our children are having a difficult time but forget to assess ourselves when we are struggling?  Often times, when we meet our basic primal needs such as food, sleep, and love, we are able to step outside the stressful situation and see the big picture  (which of course is always something manageable!)