positive? thinking

Stacy d · Post by **Stacy d** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:43 am

anyone get in irritated moods and when you think about trying to do something to make you feel better you just get more and more angry? i try to go work out cause i know that is good for me but i get irriated and want to almost throw a temper tantrum at the thought of doing anything positive. I am up to week three even though i have had the program for a while and how exactly to you get yourself to bleieve positive thoughts? I cant seem to grasp it. it doesnt seem like these cds really teach me anything

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:03 am

Well i am up to week three as well and i am a very negative thinker i realized but it is helping me, but we have to realize it would not happen over night. We have to give it time cause as Lucinda says the negative did not start overnight. Just write out all your negatives and replace them will positive. For example i can't seem to grasp it an this is not working for me that is a negative...Try thinking well i am on session three an it will take time but practice being positive and you will be alright.. For me i am really trying but when you are marry to someone who thinks nothing is wrong with them an you love them an they come around you with negative an you trying to learn how to be positive that is a challege so let us hang in there together as a team. Hope i was some help.

lottepop · Post by **lottepop** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 2:39 pm

I, too, have trouble thinking positively. I monitor my thoughts and there's a lot of negativity. It's hard to feel the positive. I was brought up in a very critical household with little praise and affection, so it's always been natural to feel bad about myself. I guess in a strange way it's comfortable. When I catch myself being negative and challenge my thoughts...it doesn't seem to work. Also in some situations I'm in there doesn't seem to be a brighter side. I've got to be persisitent about it. I've been in over 25 years of various therapies with no result. That includes years of cognitive therapy. Can I really be helped by Lucinda's program?

Scott

Mudgy · Post by **Mudgy** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 3:02 pm

It is perfectly normal to be irritable and angry at this point..You are facing your fears...You will be feeling much better, soon....Just focus on the positive...You must replace all negative thoughts with positive ones...You need to check in on your thoughts, and make sure to replace the negative ones with more positive realistic ones...It does work...Make sure to listen to the relaxation tape, and do the deep-breathing....
I finished the program 5 years ago, and I was totally housebound from the panic attacks..Now, I go and come as I please with a new-found freedom...You are worth the effort..Keep up the good work..These negative feelings will pass...
God Bless!!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:27 pm

Ms. T Bones,

Your post was very inspiring to me. I have suffered from severe depression and panic/anxiety disorder for the past six months. I began the program in February and swore a month ago that Lucinda had already begun to change my life.

However, this past week has been a difficult one. I found myself sliding backwards. I didn't go to the gym for an entire week when I've been going every day for over a month, barely left my house...I felt like mashed potatos basically. I feel like I am losing a little bit of hope. The compassionate self talk is hard in itself...but I've found myself doing "what if" thinking again....should I do as Scott recommended? Write down my negative/scary thoughts and turn them into positives? What else can I do to get back on track?

May God's grace be with us always.

lovesranchlife · Post by **lovesranchlife** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:50 am

Originally posted by Ms. T Bones:
Dearest Goober,
I am sorry that you have not been feeling that well, lately...I found it very helpful to wear a rubber band on my wrist, and when I caught myself thinking a negative thought; I would flip it, and replace my negative thought with something more realistic..Something that made me feel warm, loved, safe and secure...You are not having any type of set-back...There is no such thing as a set-back...You are experiencing a growth spurt...and it will pass...No big deal...I found journalizing very helpful...I would also write myself love letters..like you would write a child, whom you love dearly...I also bought a portable cassette player, some blank tapes, a microphone, and some earphones...I recorded my own voice on these tapes..telling myself every positive affirmation, that I could come up with...I also practiced the deep-breathing exercises constantly....Ever seen a baby with anxiety???? Probably not...That is because they automatically deep-breathe...You will be fine...Don't give up...Keep up the good work...
May God Richly Bless You On Your Journey To Recovery.....[/QUOTE]I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow!!!!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:20 am

hi stacy. i too get very irritated. as a matter of fact i am pretty irritated right now and i do not have one reason to be. i want to run out of my office screaming, so i go to the bathroom a lot. my head really hurts and has for 2 days, thta is the only thing that i can think of that is making me irritated, oh yea, my neggative thinking. i know i am doing it, but i cant seem to catch the thought and write it down.

Ms. T Bones - you give me hope. when you said you wore a rubber band and when you had negative thoughts you would turn it, i thought you were going to say you popped your wrist with the rubber band. i guess that would be a negative thing to do.lol i cant seem to catch my negative thoughts, but i know i am doing it because i am down and anxious. i want to go home (my safe place) i have to remember i am my own safe place.

i wish you luck stacy, and if you figure out how to get out of these irritated feelings let me know. all i know to do is try the breathing technique, read your cards and try to have possitive thoughts.

best wishes

imkay

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:37 am

To All--I think it's crucial to have some faith that the course will work in alleviating your symptoms. It's hard perhaps because we've tried so hard with other methods and therapies that failed. I'm working on Session 3 and, not surprisingly, it has been the most difficult. I try to tell myself that recovery is a gradual process with plenty of pitfalls (after all, we are creatures of habit). In the beginning, anyway, the cognitive restructuring doesn't seem believable; my feelings stay the same. Still, in time some of it will break through and I'll get better. I need to remember that Lucinda's course has 15 sessions; I have a long way to go. I am building a foundation. You are, too. Ao let's all rally together to be patient with ourselves and the course. It's easy to be cynical. I challenge myself about the doubts. They don't go away so far, yet I continue nonetheless. We all must continue. Try to get some exercise, talk to a supportive friend, read an uplifting book (including one of Lucinda's), make a good meal for yourself, watch a favorite television show. In other words, distract yourself. I tell myself as bad as my pain is, it usually lifts and gets better. While I'm going through it, it does a number on my morale. Again, we all need to calm down. People have responded to Lucinda's program who are even worse symptom-wise than us (although that sometimes feels impossible!). We need to be strong and do the work. We're all in this together. We can't give up. That would be the only failure.

Scott

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 3:32 pm

Thank you everyone for your input. It helped a lot. and btw snapping the rubberband might not be abad idea lol. I should try writing myself love letters thats a great idea! I just need to try harder. My problem is i do the minimum when it comes to difficult things. I listened to the cds but doing what she says is the hard part. I have a job interview tomorrow and already im thinking" oh its a doctors office they probably dont have medical benefits" cause most doctors dont. Instead of looking forward to it I am thinking about all the bad things that could happen. Thanks again everyone and keep your heads up. this program has to help there is living proof we just have to bleieve in it and wrk at it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 3:54 pm

Hey Everyone,
My heart is going out to each and every one of you...I completely understand how each and every one of you feel...In order to get the most out of the program, you must repeat-repeat-repeat, and repeat the positive self-talk....You must talk to yourself, and comfort yourself...What would you tell your child if it was thinking this way, and you knew it???? You would probably say, Honey, everything is going to be okay...I promise you...You are safe, secure, healthy, and content. I love you and will always be there for you. You are never alone, and you need to stop scaring yourself...Talk to yourself constantly in this compassionate manner...
Remember..You are the adult and you are comforting the inner child who lives within you...The child who may need to be shown some extra compassion and love...Imagine yourselves, holding this inner-child's hand (the younger you), and hugging it up close to you...You may need to get a picture of yourselves, when you were a child, if you cannot remember what you looked like at a particular age...Say all these comforting things to that inner-child...You are the adult, and you are taking excellent care of the scared inner-child that lives within each of us...Let this child know that it is never alone...Never-ever...This is called healing the inner-child, and I did this a lot while in bed at night...It made me feel so peaceful...There are so many techniques one can use to make him/her feel better...These are just a few...I really pray that this helps...God Bless....