Recovery Enthusiast/ Recovery for Women

 We can often trace the most significant challenges in our life to just a couple of poor decisions. Effective decisions require clear thinking and accurate perceptions of the situation and how the world works. It's easy to allow mental errors to lead to making a poor choice.   It's not always easy to make a wise decision, but we can do things to increase our odds.   Consider these mental errors that can degrade your ability to make a wise decision:   Failing to consider the long-term implications. Short-term thinking can lead to long-term challenges. Many of us focus more on the short-term than the long-term when making decisions. We choose the yummiest food to eat or the most enjoyable way to spend the next hour. ●      In most cases, we are better served by considering the long-term implications of our decisions.   For example: I would love to sleep in or hit the snooze button when my al...

 There’s a lot of talk about intentional living. But what does that really mean? Intentional living is living with purpose and making decisions that support that purpose.   It’s the opposite of what most people do. Most people are satisfied with the status quo and only take action to deal with their disasters as they happen along the way.   Intentional living is about choosing the type of person you want to be and the type of life you want to live and then holding yourself to it .   Steps to living an intentional life and stop relying on luck:   Understand that choices matter. An intentional life is all about making choices that make sense for you and your beliefs. Your choices determine the direction of your life and are the first step to creating the results you experience. ●       Your greatest power is the power of decision. ●       Your past doesn’t ...

We can often trace the most significant challenges in our life to just a couple of poor decisions. Effective decisions require clear thinking and accurate perceptions of the situation and how the world works. It's easy to allow mental errors to lead to making a poor choice.   It's not always easy to make a wise decision, but there are things we can do to increase our odds.   Consider these mental errors that can degrade your ability to make a wise decision:   Failing to consider the long-term implications. Short-term thinking can lead to long-term challenges. Many of us focus more on the short-term than the long-term when making decisions. We choose the yummiest food to eat or the most enjoyable way to spend the next hour. ●       In most cases, we are better served by considering the long-term implications of our decisions.   For example: I would love to sleep in or hit the snooze button ...

  I joyfully anticipate doing things out of the ordinary. Ok, maybe not joyfully but I do my best to  do things out of the ordinary because I know that, by going outside of my comfort zone, I am equipping myself for a brighter future.   My past is my teacher and prepares me for the future. I let go of the idea that what I have gone through previously will dictate my fate. I can take comfort in knowing that because of my past I am a stronger woman today.  I let go of the fear that has kept me repeating the same patterns over and over and, instead, I reach for something new and better!   I recognize that the path is not always straight and clearly lit. I let go of the idea that I must be able to see every eventuality before I start out. If I can see the step in front of me, that is enough. This is frightening at times, yet I let go of the idea that I should be able to branch out without nervousness. Jitters - and even outright fear - are inevitable whe...

 Some believe that fate determines their lives. Others abide by the expression, “Life is what you make it.” Although it’s fine to believe in fate, if you want something different, exhilarating, or exciting in life, it might not work out so well to sit around waiting for fate to produce it. Instead, why not see your life as something you have a hand in?         Use these strategies to create the adventures you yearn for:   Try something different. Shake up your routine. For example, if every Friday night you go to the same restaurant for seafood, this Friday, go to the new vegetarian restaurant across town. Or go crazy and go on Thursday! Stop taking the path of least resistance. It’s not unusual to take the path you perceive as “safe”– that provides you with the least obstacles and roadblocks. However, sometimes, you might be compelled to take a rougher road, especially if the end result provides a great adventure. Struggle now to win great...

  Productive Versus Unproductive Thinking   How much of your time do you spend thinking each day during your waking hours? Most likely, at least 99% of the time. But how much of that thinking is productive?   There are two basic types of thinking: productive and unproductive. Productive thinking helps motivate us, reach our goals, and create the life we desire. On the other hand, much of the unproductive thinking we do is actually harmful to our happiness, contentment, and success.   What types of thoughts do you find yourself spending the most time on?   Consider how unproductive these types of thinking are:   ·        Thinking about the past in a way that creates regret. This is a common type of negative thinking that has no positive benefits. Remembering that time you embarrassed yourself in high school or had a huge argument with your partner only serves to lower your mood and put you into an unresource...

Psychologists have a name for that. It is actually part of our stress response system. You might have heard of the fight or flight response. Psychologists have recently recognized a third characteristic of this response which is freeze . The freeze response is a way of protecting us from danger by a sort of  camouflage with not moving; you become "invisible." The thing is, our stress response automatically triggers regardless if it's an actual life and death situation or psychological stress. When you are overwhelmed and feeling stressed out, it's vital to reduce the intense feelings. I have another post that goes into more detail about TIPP skills they use in DBT , and you can click on the link here for that post. Once you reduce the intense emotions, then you can think cognitively. What I'm going to talk about in this post is more of a preventative measure, and by doing the skills, you will hopefully prevent feeling overwhelmed. Like anything else, they ...