Stress Center Peer Support

Hello All:
I had the same obsessional thought for over a year and a half everyday when I would wake up and once or twice throughout the day. It wasn't a scary thought but it was a thought about a past relationship I had been through, it ended on a very bad note and although I am over that relationship and what had occurred .. I still have the thoughts about it from time to time and it is so frustrating and depressing at times. I feel as if the thought is no longer obsessional, but just a bad habit that I picked up and even though I use the skills I learned in the tapes.. it isn't really helping and now I have developed this fear that the thought will never go away. Has anyone experienced this or have any advice for me? I feel as if, if I didn't have this one thought about what happened years ago, I could truly feel content in my life and be present in the moment. I try really hard not be self depricating and to stay in the moment and to know that I control my thoughts and my life but sometimes the thought pops up randomly into my head and I get upset and then I go into a mental snowball of thinking. any advice/words would be really great right now. thank you!

Obsessive thoughts become habit over time. You need to choose a thought to replace it with and everytime that it pops into your head replace it instantly with the new thought. Make sure it is a pleasant thought that will be healthy for you to remember It will take time and consistency but you will eventually realize that the thought that has been there for so long is no longer there!! I hope this helps, it has definately helped me replace some really old, annoying thoughts!!

thank you.

Does the positive thought necessarily have to be related to or a positive response to the negative/obsessional thought? Or can it just be replacing a negative habitual thought with something generally positive and uplifting? My fear is that when I replace the negative thought with a positive thought, that I will then be reminded of the negative obsessional thought and situation every time I am reaffirming the positive thought to myself. It's hard.