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13 years ago 0 6252 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Ashley

A lot of negative thoughts and actions are subconscious but like emotions they show on our faces. It takes a lot of work to carry a poker face. I can't do it.

When I am being led by my anxiety it shows in my face as a sad face  or a frown. i don't have to look in the mirror I can feel it.

I want my inner self to be happy and positive. I want my face to carry a smile.  I want the world to see that I am content and happy with me. I remember a person sitting with us at coffee, She was in a hurry and just taking a quick break. She had moved into her boyfriends big house and was cleaning it. She made the statement " I don't know why people want big houses, they are so much work to clean." There was a smile on her face and she was enjoying her coffee. The same statement with a frown would have changed our reaction completely. She was only making a statement. Not complaining. I want to be able to do this.
I want to be able to smile through my pain, physical or mental.

If your authentic compass is positive won't your life be?  I haven't got there but I am well on my way. Unfortunately I am a deep thinker and have a pensive look on my face too often that gets mistaken for a frown. Much like the look on your face. This is a thoughtful face but if it is mistaken for a frown people will open the conversation with something negative.  Try it some time and see the reaction you get. It doesn't work with self centred people though, to them you are just there not really there.

Still thinking on these,
Davit
13 years ago 0 11216 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Davit,
I would be interested in hearing your answers to those questions if you feel comfortable.  It is great that you are taking time to think about them!

Loves trees, 
 
Great answers!  What beautiful qualities and openness you want to share with others.  I have to say I would certainly be drawn to a friend who displays those characteristics.  I wish everyone in the world could display those characteristics! How will this new insight influence you and your relationships in the future? 
 
Members, feel free to answer these questions yourself and share you answers and/or thoughts
 


Ashley, Health Educator
13 years ago 0 356 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi Ashley,
 
Yes! I want to apologize, it was sloppy writing on my part to simply say "negative people". I completely agree. People should not be labelled. In fact, one of the friendships I had / have makes me sad because she is a good person stuck in a negative situation, and I can literally "see" the friendship we could have if she was able to find some support and help for the stress she has been dealt in life. She literally has not found time to do anything enjoyable with me for a year now, and its this feeling of "in another life, we could have been great friends" that i have. 
 
To answer your questions:
- I can usually tell that I am using my anxiety as a compass when I feel urgency to respond to something or someone. So now when I feel that sense of urgency, i use that as a flag to say "wait. go do something else for a while". 
- my authentic compass i think is very thoughtful and considerate of others and knows how to take care of myself.
- This last question is a good one. wow. i just realized how honest i wish icould be and how i hold myself back because i don't want to alienate people. I would  be honest about what i wanted and needed without preventing from others from same. Hearing people express what they really want and need in life is music  to me. Being able to say what i want and need and not being met with judgment, hostility, anger, resentment, neglect. that makes me feel authentic.
 
 
 

 

13 years ago 0 6252 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Ashley

Labels are easier to work with so we use them. Could we change it to people acting negative or positive. Some one I know just died and in the twenty or more years I knew her she never, and I mean never smiled or told a joke. She had a permanent sneer on her face. Her life was one negative thing after another. I tried to make her smile or laugh but it was not possible at all. She lived to be miserable and make every one miserable also. There was not even any neutral, she was just unhappy 24/7. Unhappy was her focus and it kept her from panic attacks as far as I know, I could be wrong, she never said, she could have been medicated to the eyeballs too. 
There are people like this and it is hard not to label them.
My friend M...........a has a positive attitude which is terrific considering she deals with dead people all the time. It is impossible to feel negative around her. Even being in pain does not change her attitude. She has never had a panic attack and does not understand the concept.
It is hard not to label her as a positive person.
The rest of us fall somewhere in between.

Tracking negative thoughts. Yes bring them forward and look at them do not try to hide them, or hide from them. Them bury them with positive thought.

I have to think a bit on your questions, they are very good questions.

Davit.
13 years ago 0 11216 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Lot's of great discussion going on here.
 
I think there are a few key points here that I want to pull to clarify and highlight (please add more or correct me if necessary):

  • Tracking negative thoughts is helpful to stop rumination and may even bring clarity around relationship issues!
  • Finding positive supportive friends is important but trying to control or force them to stay a friend can be counter productive
  • Being around positive people who look for solutions to their problems, express themselves openly and also offer non judgemental support in a reciprocal manner is helpful

I want us to be careful of labelling all people as negative or positive.  People are people but I can see how these labels can come about. However, someone being negative or positive at a certain moment can be dependent on many things.  Some people may appear to be more negative in some relationships and more positive in others because they may have certain patterns of interaction that has worked for them in the past.  For example you may find that you used to be negative with a friend but now that you want to be more positive your friend may need some time to adjust.
 
To answer your question  love trees, you are right it is sort of uncommon to talk openly about a relationship but it can actually be very healthy and also bring people closer together.  How you actually do this would depend on the specific circumstance of a relationship though.
 
You also make a very good point in a few posts, you used a perfect analogy - using your anxiety as your compass.  I can see that if you are using anxiety as your compass you may not authentically portray yourself to others and you may even steer away from positive relationships due to this compass.  I think this is such an important point to make because as we all know you are not your anxiety.  Although anxiety is a part of your life it does not make you, you.  Coming from this place of understanding I have a few questions for you to think about:

  • How do you know when your anxiety is being your compass?
  • What do you want your authentic compass to look like - what qualities of you do you want to show and share with friends?
  • If using your authentic compass only what do you think will change in your life?


Ashley, Health Educator
13 years ago 0 356 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Davit,
I don't think i even have to hesitate. yes i have attracted people who have problems they don't want to do anything about. yes. i want to change this. for years i repelled positive people. i actively disengaged from them, i can point to at least a few that i had to stop talking with because their positive outlook was something i was not ready for yet. their positivity drew out every one of my negativity core beliefs or dragons. so i lost some opportunities there. i see that now.
 
i've been more comfortable around people who've been through some crap in life because i've been through some crap too. but i guess the key difference is that i've been trying to overcome or at least address my issues not wallow in them fully. i've made big changes in my life that took a lot of courage to end relationships and change things that were not working in my life.
 
now i think i am shifting over. i'm more comfortable around positive people than ever before. i have found out what you said - that positive people are more cautious about who they let in. i don't always know how to act around them, i am like an awkward teenager on a date sometimes around them it seems. i know i have to 'be myself' but i guess that will become more comfortable over time. 
 
right now i still attract more negative people than positive people. my own anxiety prevented me from seeing this i think. i was busy being anxious. i didn't see what they were doing (or not doing). now that my anxiety is being monitored by me, i havve freed up some ability to see the people in my life for who they are , what they want with me and whether i agree about what they hope to share with me or not.
 
right now i have some anxious thoughts that i will "blow it" with a positive person i've started being closeer friends with. i'm so unpracticed at it. i have to think about what i say around her just because i think sometimes i revert back to being defensive or false self out of habit. i dont want to scare her off. i know its not the end of the world if i do but unlike so many other people in my life, she is actually fun to be around, inerested in me, and expresses concern if i say i am not feelign well for example or something like that. i know i can't hold on to her anymore than you can hold on to sand in your hand by holding on more tightly. but its tempting to try to exert control or use my anxiety as my compass which is what i did prior to this program.
 
this is really helpful to think about the stuff you post here.

13 years ago 0 6252 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
loves trees

Do you think you could be a magnet for people that want to dump there problems, it happens. It is easy to tell because they leave if you are not receptive. They need to be centre of attention and as long as they can be you can be their friend. If you are not just listening to there negativity but commenting, especially positive they dump you. Don't mourn them. They never were your friends. There are positive people out there, lots of them, they are cautious who they accept though. They don't want any more negativity, they want real people not pretenders. They are outspoken and not afraid to make their point. They are compassionate and will not be embarrassed by your condition or conversation. Much like your friends on this site. 

Here for you.
Your friend
Davit.
13 years ago 0 356 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi Ashley,
 
I think that because i've wanted new friends after having so many move away, that maybe i've been 'used' a bit by people who really were not very interested in me from the start but i didn't see that because i was busy hoping they would become my new best friend. 
 
tracking my negative thoughts has helped me, given my brain more space to pay attention to what people actualy do and say rather than ruminate so much which took up a lot of real estate in my mind all these years.
 
I havn't had many experiences with people, including friends, where we talk abouot the actual relatinoship / friendship. like sit down and say "what do you expect from me" and dialogue about our expectations or something like that. do people actually do that? I don't think i know how women actually talk to each other and keep a friendship going over time. mine always move away or stop talking to me for no apparent reason. that has happened a few times now. 
 
Like in my relationship, i don't think things would go well if i used my anxious thoughts as a starting point. those are negative thoughts like "you don't really care about me" "you are just using me" "why don't you want to get to know me better". Maybe as I continue through the program I'll find out how to verbalize what is underneath these anxious thoughts without causing the turmoil it causes when i 'throw' my anxiety at someone. What do you think? What have others experienced in terms of communicating differently after the anxious thoughts are managed better?

13 years ago 0 11216 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi Loves trees,
 
It is normal to be upset about the end of a relationship.  However, try to keep in mind that the time you did spend with them was not a waste, you did learn and appreciate them.  For the period of time they were in your life they did fulfill a role.
 
Your hopes regarding your other relationships is very healthy.  Have you talked to these friends about your hopes and perhaps asked them for suggestions on how you can support them?  I am sure you are aware that Depressed individuals may isolate themselves.  This is nothing personal to you and I am sure they are grateful for having you as a friend who is willing to help them through the rough patches.

Ashley, Health Educator
13 years ago 0 356 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi Ashley,
 
I guess the answer to "what if this person doesn't want to be my friend anymore" is that I'll be upset about the amount of time I put into that friendship and will have to grieve yet another loss. I know that this is a part of life. There are 2 friednships I lost this year after being friends with them for quite a few years, 10 years for one of them. but they both have their own issues that they have told me they stil ldon't have a handle on. so i am guilty of expecting too much out of htem. i had hoped we would help each other through the rough patches, like i imagine good friends do. they both dissapear as soon as they start to feel depressed. i really care about them. but i know i can't save them. 


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