We are a culture obsessed with the surface -- how we look, what we accomplish, our things, our money, our trips and our followers.
When we focus so much on our exterior life, our interior world becomes weak and untended. We are glass castles, fragile and susceptible to mental health traumas, big and small.
We label ourselves as "depressed" or "anxious" because we believe having a title for our discomfort gives us reason as to why we can't live the life we dream of, and why we feel so bad.
"I would, it's just my ADHD or my chronic fatigue syndrome or XXX," we say to ourselves.
But we can be more proactive with our mental health.
If we know how to dance with negative thoughts, how to use and repurpose them, we will not be used by them.
Next time negative thoughts creep in, try DSR! Take these 3 steps..
1. DISASSOCIATE:
We all have negative thoughts. And some of us more than others because we've allowed ourselves to get comfy with these disempowering ideas.
But thoughts, both good and bad, come and go. Problem only comes when we attach to, and identify as a thought.
We are the OBSERVER of our thoughts. We are not any one thought we have - there is distance between who we are, and what our thoughts are.
When we feel unhappy about ourselves or a situation, we can remember that this is just a thought we have, not a truth.
2. SUBSTITUTE:
We all have particular "flavors" of disempowering thought to which we attach. For some, it's anger, for some it's depression. It's whatever we've allowed ourselves to feel and practice over our lifetime most regularly.
*****WHAT IS YOUR FLAVOR OR DISEMPOWERING EMOTION? THINK OF IT NOW BEFORE READING ON*****
When we're in our particular flavor of rut, we can train ourselves to substitute that disempowering belief for one that better serves us.
Let's say we get anxious in new social settings. Because we're so used to this response, our environment triggers anxiety for us regularly, and our body physiologically responds. Our blood pressure rises, our heart races and our breath shortens.
In order to stop responding with anxiety, we have to choose a substitute meaning/emotion with the same intensity and replace it with our old one.
Excitement could be a good substitute for anxiety. Our body will respond the same way, but if we reframe the situation and remind ourselves we are about to meet someone new, or have an engaging conversation, then we can better handle our old anxiety as new EXCITEMENT.
What would be your substitute emotion/meaning?
3. REPEAT:
Just as we've unknowingly trained ourselves to respond with our disempowering emotion, we must do the same with our new, empowering emotion.
Over and over again.
Our first response to triggering stimulus will be our old emotion. It takes practice and discipline to re-identify with our empowering emotion. So stay with it!
When I am feeling low, it helps me to remember I am just dealing with thoughts. And no matter what, thoughts can be changed.
Be well,
Brie
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