Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Are obsessive scary thoughts ruling your life? Do these thoughts seem beyond your control? Here’s how you can quickly address them and begin to feel better.
Ninjafrodo2
Posts: 234
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:05 am

Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by Ninjafrodo2 » Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:35 pm

Wow look at us on lesson 10!!! How awesome are we? If a thought of how its not true or how i'm full of crap just came up, that thought is a liar and its time to write through that thought!

So another recap I think is in order.

-We started off seeing the signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression,
-We learned how to identify when we are feeling anxiety and what to do when the body symptoms come up,
-We learned how to talk to talk to ourselves in a more positive, supportive, encouraging and loving way and why its so important
-We learned about the importance of setting realistic expectations for ourselves, others, situations and life in general
-We learned the importance of healthy eating and exercise
-We learned about what healthy anger looks like and the importance of expressing it
-We started to learn about being assertive, expressing our truth, setting boundaries and enforcing them
-We learned how we can change our thinking so that we are anticipating positive outcomes with situations that have not yet happened
-We also learned a bit about being solution oriented and releasing guilt/shame and why its important to our self-preception and our own happiness in life

And now we are learning how to approach the scary thoughts that come up in a way that is going to give us back our power over ourselves and help us to move forward, to come at any challenge feeling strong and to create a deeply satisfying and exciting life.

This is going to be a great lesson, a great chance to grow and to feel good about ourselves, even more than before!!!


Mike

Ninjafrodo2
Posts: 234
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:05 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by Ninjafrodo2 » Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:45 pm

Image

This is an interesting lesson and one that is very important. This also has the potential to be a really fun lesson too, this is where we can bring out our humor!!!!Yay!!!! Its time to stop being so adult and be foolish and silly! This is not about growing up, its about growing young and staying there just like foreveryoung's name states! So lets go do that.

By the way I posted a really awesome note on facebook that I want to share with you guys. I hope through my experience and insight today it sparks something positive for you guys....so here is what I wrote.

I'm still going strong with facing my fears...at least 1 a day and sometimes up to 3 or 4 and one thing I wanted to mention that I find really interesting. Its not so much that I'm facing something that triggers a feeling of fear in me, i'm facing the very thought process that has caused me to feel fear in the past that seems to keep coming up. Its not really about the external situation itself but my perception of it, my perception of myself, my perception of how I will react, how I feel and what I tell myself about the situation that causes the fear.

Alot of this is just beliefs that are still hardwired in my mind, beliefs that are not valid and yet they are so ingrained and strong that they produce very strong feelings that make things seem real and in alot of situations its only by facing the situation is it possible to actually challenge these beliefs, find new evidence that is counter to the old belief and through that it starts the process of dismantling it and replacing it with a new more healthy and realistic belief.

For instance, the main fear I was working with today was one of getting trapped into whatever i'm doing and that I'd keep pushing myself and pushing myself and become overwhelmed and not be able to stop. Way back when I was a kid I started doing just that and I became overwhelmed and I kept practicing that and practicing that and it became a way of living. So now when i'm faced with a similar situation, it becomes automatic to think that this is inevitable when it really isn't, when it all comes down to it, its about my perception and the thoughts that I focus on.

So I ended up doing a bunch of house cleaning today for a few hours, I felt the fear and felt overwhelmed and bad but then I took a break, I wrote through the thoughts that were coming up, I felt alot better and then went back to it and I actually feel pretty good and pretty accomplished which I have to say is a much different response to what I was afraid of! I just need to do this and practice this over and over again like I did with the negative belief and eventually this will become a way of living instead of the old way, a healthier, more empowering, more supportive and more satisfying way of living.


I'm thankful for the experience today where I was able to challenge my old belief that i'm going to push myself too hard and I'm really proud of myself that I was able to face it and overcome it coming out feeling good about myself.


Mike

Ninjafrodo2
Posts: 234
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:05 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by Ninjafrodo2 » Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:48 pm

Oh and another thing that I want to mention is that I came up with a new idea to practice focusing on accomplishments. I'm playing videogames again and whenever I complete one challenge, I focus on that I did actually overcome it and say good job. Sometimes when it feels empty or even negative to do that, I will immediately look at my thoughts to find the error in my thinking, replace it and then try again and then i'm usually open after that and then I get the benefits of the new focus.

forever young 06
Posts: 284
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:19 pm

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by forever young 06 » Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:24 am

Mike you know how to express your feelings. I can't find the words to express how I feel. You are doing a good job on facing and replacing. I really loved the picture you posted I could Imagine myself setting on that bench feeling good about everything.

I too could work on my house. I tend to stress with throwing things away and getting organized. I am not good at it. I think I could start on that because it does produce anxiety and I feel stress and usually walk away from it saying it is not worth it. I way try that today if it is not just a messy drawer and believe me I have a lot of them. Thanks mike for all your unput very helpful

Ninjafrodo2
Posts: 234
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:05 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by Ninjafrodo2 » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:00 pm

You're welcome ForeverYoung and the good thing about those situations is that they give you the opportunity to see the negative thoughts (which I remember has been a challenge for you to identify) and then an opportunity to start to change them and then change yoru perception of the situation which will ultimately change your experience.

you said you can't find the words to express how you feel. Do you know how you feel? Do you know which emotion/emotions?


Mike

Ninjafrodo2
Posts: 234
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:05 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by Ninjafrodo2 » Tue Jan 21, 2014 1:57 pm

Lesson 10 is about finding and using your humor again in order to counter obsessive thoughts so I only thought it appropriate to find ways to laugh at these things. Yes these things are still a challenge and they can be very scary but lets do what we can to find a way to lessen those fears and take the edge off and I guess laugh the troubling thoughts away.

So today I want to share something from the best thread on this entire form...Its called Denice's Program for causing anxiety and depression. The purpose is specifically a comical standpoint and it fits in perfectly for this lesson. This is a post originally by Frank From Japan although the names got messed up when they changed the website...here it is;
HA HA !!! :D :D :D

As Denice says, don't take these seriously! It's really funny when you've worked passed alot the initial hurdles and got things under control. Here's a few more....

Expect yourself to have that university degree that you know you deserved and had a right to, eventhough everythings going fine without it! ;)

Demand your inlaws to be *nice people* and think the same way as you, afterall that's only FAIR! And afterall, you've made sure that your partner now thinks the same way as your own parents right?! ;)

If you get splashed by a passing car while walking on a rainy day, remember that the driver of that car, eventhough they've never met you, they got up extra early that morning to intentionally plan it out and do it! ;)

When the guy at the supermarket gave you the wrong change, remind yourself that yes, it ALWAYS happens to you only, and yes, he planned that one out especially for you, because he was the guy driving the car that splashed you in the rain that morning! ;)

Then you remind yourself, that these things only happen on rainy days. ;)

Then you see the weather report, and there is rain forecast for the WHOLE week ahead. Wow, there's gonna be some trouble brewin ahead! So that requires bingeing out on all the junk food just purchased from that rip off supermarket. ;)

Mike

Ninjafrodo2
Posts: 234
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:05 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by Ninjafrodo2 » Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:57 pm

Image

So I listened to lesson 10 and a few things popped out for me.

Recognizing that when the obsessive thoughts come up, its because something is bothering me that I just don't want to deal with and by giving them power, one thought can lead to another thought which can lead to another thought. Good to keep in mind.

Another thing Lucinda said to replace that obsessive thought with something more empowering which is the opposite of that thought which I thought was also important. Its one thing to catch an obsessive thought and to write through it but another to replace it with something else...This is my thought process on this one. The obsessive thought is a result of some kind of lacking, perhaps you don't feel confident in your ability to do something, perhaps you lack a positive outlook on a situation and instead to just recognizing it, you are replacing it with something empowering that actually fills in the lack or rather it changes your perception so you open yourself up to what you were not open to before. We all have all the wonderful qualities we've dreamed about already within us, we've had them since birth and its not really about learning them, its more about opening ourselves up to them, even love. The only thing that really stands in the way when it comes down to it, is the negative and sometimes obsessive thought.

Also Lucinda mentions to make sure you are careful with who you tell and yeah, I definately have to agree. I actually did end up in a mental health facility because I told my friend's boyfriend about obsessive scary thoughts and talked about the example of stabbing people with a knife in the book and he went and twisted it around and told my friend that I had that thought and also said I coudln't control it. The boyfriend was jealous of me and twisted my words around in order to get me out of the picture and out of my friend's place (I was staying there because I had nowhere else to go). I even seen warning signs that this person was not a safe person to talk to or even be around and yet I ignored them....so the moral of the story, don't tell you obsessive scary thoughts or even bring up the subject with a friend's jealous boyfriend especially if there are warning signs! :P

Image

THH
Posts: 860
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 10:53 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by THH » Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:02 pm

For me this time through I have again picked up on the depression. Depressive thinking being first and sadden over loss.
I can think I'm never going to get well, in a sickness
Or I am old and falling apart. I miss the good old days, I can't do this.
I am going to be on the look out for the good. ( The book says : Instead of focusing on discouraging, sad thoughts, look for the good. We didn't say see the good but LOOK for it. Its there)

I love this as I think it will help me. So this week I am going to be looking out for the good. ;)

I do not notice myself thinking about hurting myself or anyone else. I see obsessive behavior such as worry, what if, and anticipation. These thinking patterns I can easily obsess over. Again it is noticing when I start into the gloom & doom cycle it has become a learned behavior that I have no idea where it came from, but I am very good at it! I also am doing much better at not trying to track down why, but rewrite what is next. And in a positive light! It is going to take some time but I think I can do a much better job at it now that I know what I am looking for.

THH
Posts: 860
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 10:53 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by THH » Tue Jan 21, 2014 8:26 pm

Mike,
Love the picture!
Also
The obsessive thought is a result of some kind of lacking, perhaps you don't feel confident in your ability to do something, perhaps you lack a positive outlook on a situation and instead to just recognizing it, you are replacing it with something empowering that actually fills in the lack or rather it changes your perception so you open yourself up to what you were not open to before.
This also stuck out to me. Thought replacement is a challenge to me. At times I do better than others, but something for me to work on.

Ninjafrodo2
Posts: 234
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:05 am

Re: Empowering Group Program Run-through part10

Post by Ninjafrodo2 » Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:02 pm

THH;
I'm so happy for you that you are able to realize that you're depressed?!?!?! lol
I to have those doom type thoughts especially the one about how i'm not goign to get better and its a liar because I already have gotten better and now i'm just working on getting even more better and more and more and more until I'm a superhero or god, one or the other.
Image

Let us know what good it does for you to look for the good and how good that feels to focus on the good and tell us what good you do find in your search for the good. Was that good? Did I do it good enough? :P

you may not have hurting yourself or other thoughts...i seldom get those but its more of the doom and gloom thoughts and by the way before I even had a chance to think of a response after reading your post a very very clear and loud message came through in regards to what you said.
Again it is noticing when I start into the gloom and doom cycle it has become a learned behavior that I have no idea where it came from
YOUR MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sometimes its good to track stuff down and sometimes its not. sometimes whats best is to just see it as a memory of what someone said from the past and sometimes its best to see it just as a thought and to write out about how unrealistic it really is. Would it help if I posted my thought replacements on here again to help give you some more ideas when it comes to doing it on your own?

and which picture is it that you love? I posted a few.

Post Reply

Return to “Session 10 - How to Address Obsessive, Scary Thoughts”