Thoughtstopping...
I should have....
I need to....
I have to....
I meant to....
What if I only I had....
I wonder if I'll be able to....
I can't believe I didn't...
I'm so mad at myself for not....
This is my mind all the time - racing with thoughts of past or future events. Worry, fretting, concerning myself with things I can't control yet trying to control them.
I saw the counselor on Wednesday and he introduced me to the idea of Mindfulness. From mindfulness.com:
You are not your thoughts. Our thoughts take us away from being here now. If I am thinking about the past, or worried about the future, I am a prisoner of my thoughts. When I take a moment to observe myself having thoughts, I am no longer the thoughts. I get to be and observe at the same time.
One of the best things he told me about is thoughtstopping and I think I know some of you who could use this one too. Here's my interpretation of it:
Identify that you are thinking about something that's stressing you out. For some of us, that's the hard part!
Ask yourself if this thought is something you can or can't control.
If it's something you can control - can you deal with it at that exact moment or not? I find myself at midnight worrying about something that's going to happen three days from now. Well, clearly I can't do anything about that, so when I thoughtstop I tell myself - Okay, that's not something I can deal with right now so there's no reason to stress over it.
If it's something you can't control it might be more difficult. I find myself worrying about E going to kindergarten (she's only 3 1/2). That thought scares me, but guess what - I can't stop it. She's going to go to kindergarten. So, I have to tell myself that's something I can't control and spending time worrying about it doesn't do me or her any good.
Maybe this isn't exactly the right way to use it, but doing it this way has been helpful to me.
L goes back tomorrow for his one year allergy testing. They'll be looking at environmental allergens and maybe, just maybe we can take him off the $400 formula!!!! Whoo - hoo!
I need to....
I have to....
I meant to....
What if I only I had....
I wonder if I'll be able to....
I can't believe I didn't...
I'm so mad at myself for not....
This is my mind all the time - racing with thoughts of past or future events. Worry, fretting, concerning myself with things I can't control yet trying to control them.
I saw the counselor on Wednesday and he introduced me to the idea of Mindfulness. From mindfulness.com:
You are not your thoughts. Our thoughts take us away from being here now. If I am thinking about the past, or worried about the future, I am a prisoner of my thoughts. When I take a moment to observe myself having thoughts, I am no longer the thoughts. I get to be and observe at the same time.
One of the best things he told me about is thoughtstopping and I think I know some of you who could use this one too. Here's my interpretation of it:
Identify that you are thinking about something that's stressing you out. For some of us, that's the hard part!
Ask yourself if this thought is something you can or can't control.
If it's something you can control - can you deal with it at that exact moment or not? I find myself at midnight worrying about something that's going to happen three days from now. Well, clearly I can't do anything about that, so when I thoughtstop I tell myself - Okay, that's not something I can deal with right now so there's no reason to stress over it.
If it's something you can't control it might be more difficult. I find myself worrying about E going to kindergarten (she's only 3 1/2). That thought scares me, but guess what - I can't stop it. She's going to go to kindergarten. So, I have to tell myself that's something I can't control and spending time worrying about it doesn't do me or her any good.
Maybe this isn't exactly the right way to use it, but doing it this way has been helpful to me.
L goes back tomorrow for his one year allergy testing. They'll be looking at environmental allergens and maybe, just maybe we can take him off the $400 formula!!!! Whoo - hoo!
posted by JAB @ 11:12 AM
1 Comments:
At 6:49 AM,
NB-C said…
J-
I a big believer in mindfulness...check out the book Wherever You Go, There You Are." I've read it a dozen times and it helps center me and get me back into a more peaceful state. Hang in there! Will call soon!
Love ya!
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