I have been lying on the couch (metaphorically speaking) for a week with another cold ~ the second since the beginning of April. Who gets two colds, back to back, over a matter of weeks??? Not fair! Life is passing me by as I toss and turn at night constantly being awoken by wretched coughing jags that make my eyes water and my chest hurt.
Last night, I dragged (drug?) myself from the couch to the bed weighed down by all the feelings that go hand in hand with depression. I wanted nothing more than to knock myself out and leave my body for a week. I took the usual dose of Nyquil that I seriously considered doubling. Lying in bed it occurred to me that part of the reason I was feeling so badly was because I had all these tapes playing in my head that I had not been aware of. "I feel so lousy." "I'll never get better." "Life is so hard." "Everything is always going to turn out badly." My mother schooled me well in this dialogue and it manages to appear when I least need it.
It dawned on me that, "I don't have to think those thoughts. I can choose others." (Bless you Louise Hay - though I have to say you do take it a wee bit too far for me.) I began to wonder what to replace them with so I began a mental search for a few positive statements to tell myself instead. Like "I love flowers." "I love the color of my hair right now." "I'm grateful that my children are good people." Though they were not traditional Louise Hay positive affirmations, they worked for me. They took my mind off of the negative, descending path of doom I was on and put it on a much more pleasant path. Within minutes I began to feel better. I still had a cold, but the cloud of despair had lifted. More positive thoughts began to emerge completely on their own.
I may have been high on Nyquil but it is true that our thoughts have tremendous power over us...and the way we feel, think and act. Just one or two minor adjustments to thought patterns can make an enormous difference in our health and well-being, as many of you know. It's the very subtle, unconscious dialogue that goes on when we're not paying attention that can cause the biggest problem. Becoming aware and saying "Stop, drop and roll" may be all we need to do to make big changes. No, there isn't a fire, just the fire of hell that can be created by negative thinking!
Last night, I dragged (drug?) myself from the couch to the bed weighed down by all the feelings that go hand in hand with depression. I wanted nothing more than to knock myself out and leave my body for a week. I took the usual dose of Nyquil that I seriously considered doubling. Lying in bed it occurred to me that part of the reason I was feeling so badly was because I had all these tapes playing in my head that I had not been aware of. "I feel so lousy." "I'll never get better." "Life is so hard." "Everything is always going to turn out badly." My mother schooled me well in this dialogue and it manages to appear when I least need it.
It dawned on me that, "I don't have to think those thoughts. I can choose others." (Bless you Louise Hay - though I have to say you do take it a wee bit too far for me.) I began to wonder what to replace them with so I began a mental search for a few positive statements to tell myself instead. Like "I love flowers." "I love the color of my hair right now." "I'm grateful that my children are good people." Though they were not traditional Louise Hay positive affirmations, they worked for me. They took my mind off of the negative, descending path of doom I was on and put it on a much more pleasant path. Within minutes I began to feel better. I still had a cold, but the cloud of despair had lifted. More positive thoughts began to emerge completely on their own.
I may have been high on Nyquil but it is true that our thoughts have tremendous power over us...and the way we feel, think and act. Just one or two minor adjustments to thought patterns can make an enormous difference in our health and well-being, as many of you know. It's the very subtle, unconscious dialogue that goes on when we're not paying attention that can cause the biggest problem. Becoming aware and saying "Stop, drop and roll" may be all we need to do to make big changes. No, there isn't a fire, just the fire of hell that can be created by negative thinking!
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