When I don't feel ready to deal with something at least halfway gracefully, I prefer to leave it for a while and go do something else. Most of the things I've dealt with the best, I've dealt with "in the background". The "something else" I do could (but doesn't necessarily) mean taking a nap. Here's another example.

When I've tried to deal with something in a way that seemed to require a lot of energy, more often than not I've found my thoughts going around and around in pretty much the same closed loop with no sign of a way out. The way I tell that I'm dealing with something I am ready to deal with, is I seem to get more energy from it than I put into it.