Posted by gardenergirl on May 30, 2004, at 23:21:00
In reply to Postive thinking, posted by Angel Girl on May 29, 2004, at 11:23:57
Hi Angel Girl,
For some reason, I didn't see your post earlier. You probably already know this, but negative thinking is such an evil part of depression. It's circular. Negative thinking is a symptom of depression, AND the more negative your thinking gets, the more likely you are to be depressed. I had a similar childhood in that nothing I ever did was enough. There was always some aspect to what could be called praise that suggested what I did wrong or could improve. I'm a big proponent of the concept of "enough" now. That we are okay just as we are. It is enough. (That doesn't mean we can't choose self-improvement, but we don't need to beat ourselves up over stuff.)I'm sorry CBT wasn't helpful for you. If negative thinking and irrational thinking is primary thing for you, it's a good way to address it. But it can come across as very critical to sensitive people (like me). Who wants to be told they are irrational, after all? If you can remember that you came by this negative thinking honestly...it's not a flaw or your fault, it helps. Then you can think of trying to identify and change negative beliefs similarly to working out to tone and develop certain aspects of your body. If your abs are weak, you do crunches, right? If your thinking is off (again, you came by it honestly), then you have to do brain-crunches.
Another way to go, however, is to try a therapy that is more expressive and validating. You may not work directly on irrational or negative beliefs, but as you start to feel better through expressing yourself to someone who gives you unconditional positive value, then your thinking starts to change as depression alleviates.
We all respond in our own unique way to therapy and to our symptoms. I hope you can find an approach that is helpful for you. You deserve it!
Take care,
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:351840
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040525/msgs/352267.html