These Dark Days: A Possible Solution

We should all be concerned about the future because we are going to have to spend the rest of our lives there.                          Charles F. Kettering

Tell the truth and run.Tell the truth and duck.     Anon

There is the magnetic pull for all of us in these challenging years to pile on the negative thinking then pine for the days when we did not have to obsessively worry about every news report. For some of us this effort is Herculean or worse: the myth of Sisyphus. Here comes that rock again! Time to roll it up that long hill... 

One way to combat all of this negativity from the news is to simply pull the plug, turn it off and use the time to do something productive, soothing or satisfying. For many people that is quite a challenging order and very difficult.  Many of the clients I saw in my long years of practice had issues from their past that caused them to slip into a negative groove etched out in their brains. For some it was abuse or neglect, others had a deep insecurity. When reminded that their world is being threatened by a host of intimidating bullies they'd fall into a hole so deep it took a long, strong rope to pull them out. Obviously, the client had to help. First of all they had to hold on to the rope, then they had to make sure that the person [or persons] doing the pulling were trustworthy. When you don't have that trust it's difficult and scary to reach out for help... that is when chronic depression sets in. 

Here is a partial list for overcoming negative thinking.

1. In order to master your past, seek the best help you can find and afford.
2. Develop a sense of personal boundaries.
3. Take risks: if you are withdrawn seek companions, if you are only a social butterfly, develop your solitude skills.
4. Make sure your motivation for what you do in life is out of love, not fear.
5. Stop blaming [yourself and others] and squarely assess situations that are emotionally loaded and find a solution.
6. Rule for perfectionists: the perfect is the enemy of the good, embrace the good.
7. Saving others is merely a ruse for not focusing on yourself and for feeling superior.
8. I've said so before, no one is better than you, no one is worse than you.
9. Tell the truth and run or duck depending on the circumstances.
10. Be willing to trust, be willing to forgive.
11. Be a human being not a human doing.
12. Ask for what you really want.
13. Be compassionate to others and also to yourself.
14. Make sure that you are moving the body: stretching, exercising, walking each day.
15. Kiss, kiss, kiss, hug, hug, hug the ones you love---just for the joy of giving and receiving.

Are there any questions? Feel free to contact me or simply reply to this post. Thanks for reading.

susansmagicfeather copyright 2017 Susan R. Grout all rights reserved