Tag: Self-Regulation

A healthy, regulated nervous system is vital for good mental health. The nervous system is responsible for discerning our general wellbeing and it warns us when we’re no longer safe. For example, we may be experiencing fear or heightened anxiety in the face of a confrontational conversation with someone we love. We may feel that by our hearts racing, having trouble thinking clearly, shortness of breath, or wanting to run away as we’re having that conversation. Other times, we may shut down, disconnect or ghost people in order to avoid a challenging situation. In any of those scenarios, our nervous system is experiencing some sort of dysregulation through overstimulation or shut down. We do not feel safe and our nervous system is working properly by letting us know and moving us into the primal, protective part of our brain. 

Maybe we face that fear and address the challenging conversation a ...

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Thoughts About Thoughts

March 13, 2023

 

 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) suggest that our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected, and that what we think and do impacts the way we feel.  It follows that monitoring and changing thoughts where needed can change one’s life.

 

It’s reported that the average person has more than 6,000 thoughts per day. Becoming aware of these thoughts and thought patterns is imperative to changing behaviors and emotions. We will only feel as good as our thoughts allow us to feel.

 

Think of your mind as a thought machine that’s at work during all your waking hours and sometimes even when you’re in a deep sleep.

 

Where do thoughts originate?

 ·       Experiences

·    &n ...

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“I didn’t mean to hit them! I just got really mad all of the sudden.”

“I can’t concentrate on anything right now!”

“I wasn’t trying to distract the class, I was just feeling kind of hyper.”

“I planned to go home to finish that project...next thing I knew, I had finished 4 episodes and a pint and half of Ben & Jerry’s.”

“I know I have to get my work done, but I don’t really feel like it.”

“I didn’t really want to snap at you like that...I guess I was just hangry.”

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My guess is that you’ve heard one if not all of the above statements at some point. Whether you’re a student, a parent, a teacher or an employee, chances are high that in the past week you or someone you care about has felt unmotivated, unable to focus, out of control of impulses and/or emotions. If you’re a kid, or if you’ve ever been a kid (that should pretty much cover everyone, I think) then you know the feeling ...

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