Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch
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Tara Kong, MS, LPC-Associate Supervised by Melissa Barton, MA, LPC-S How can positive thinking impact your life? I once heard the phrase, “Change your thinking, change your life.” But is it that simple? Many people don’t realize the power of their thoughts. These thoughts can shape our lives by influencing our behavior in how we […]
Tara Kong, MS, LPC-AssociateHow can positive thinking impact your life? I once heard the phrase, “Change your thinking, change your life.” But is it that simple? Many people don’t realize the power of their thoughts. These thoughts can shape our lives by influencing our behavior in how we think. Positive thinking does not mean ignoring or avoiding difficult areas in life. Instead, it focuses on the positive, making the best of a challenging situation, and seeing others and yourself in a good light.
Why should we care about practicing positivity in our thought life? Will it make a difference in my life? Positive thinking has many benefits. These include better management of stress in one’s life, better coping skills in stressful situations, enhanced psychological health, better immunity to illness, better physical health, longer life, lower feelings of depression, and better cardiovascular health.
It can be difficult at first to change your thoughts. Start aware of the ideas that run through your head each day. Do you think things such as I can do complex things? I may have made a mistake, but I tried my best and learned for next time. I am good enough. Or do you find your thoughts lean more towards beliefs like, I can’t believe I did that? I am so stupid. Why can’t I do anything right? If you have negative thoughts, stop your negative thought pattern and change those thoughts to more positive ones.
Try writing in a gratitude journal. It is easier to stay positive by being aware of the positives in your life. I encourage people to try and think of three things each day that they are thankful for. Experiencing grateful thoughts helps people feel more positively.
Practice positive thoughts in the way you talk to yourself. Positive self-talk impacts how we view ourselves and allows us to handle stress better. Think of it as if you are talking to a good friend. Would you ever tell a friend they are so stupid? No! So don’t speak that way to yourself.
It is essential to balance positive thinking with realistic expectations. For example, someone may have dreams of being a famous YouTube star as they begin to post videos. If that person expects instant and high success, they will likely be very disappointed. Few people can make a living by posting videos; it takes time and effort. In some cases, people have taken positive thinking too far by refusing to change their mindset no matter how dire or upsetting the situation is. This kind of mindset leads to one not being able to be and experience authentic feelings and emotions. It also can put a lot of pressure on a person always to be happy, and they can experience shame or guilt if they are not always able to maintain a positive outlook. Bottom line: practice positive thinking with realistic expectations so you can be successful.
If you are ready to take control of your thought patterns, one of the therapists at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide counseling and mental health services. To begin counseling in Katy, TX follow these three steps:
Here at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including counseling for kids, counseling for young adults, teen counseling, couples counseling, eating disorder treatment, men’s issues, women’s issues, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, trauma counseling, family therapy, and group counseling. Our therapists strive to post blogs regularly. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and counseling services, please reach out to the Counseling Center today!
By: Julie Sekachev, M.Ed, LPC Associate Supervised by Melissa Barton, MA, LPC-S Have you heard of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for treating Anxiety? Have you tried just about anything to help you stop the anxious thoughts? Does challenging your anxious thoughts to seem like an uphill battle? Sometimes clients say that even though they […]
By: Julie Sekachev, M.Ed, LPC AssociateHave you heard of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for treating Anxiety? Have you tried just about anything to help you stop the anxious thoughts? Does challenging your anxious thoughts to seem like an uphill battle? Sometimes clients say that even though they know that there is almost zero chance that the things they worry about will come true, it is not enough to stop them from worrying. Anxiety is often irrational, and ACT can be a radically different way to stop the overwhelm.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was created by Dr. Steven C. Hayes (learn more about ACT here.)
It is a form of therapy that emphasizes being open to the experience (i.e., depression, anxiety, worry, fear, etc.) without pushing it away. Instead of arguing with our thoughts, we learn to develop a different relationship with them, one based on acceptance. So rather than the traditional methods you may have tried before, such as rationalizing your thoughts or changing them, we work on allowing them to be there while focusing our energy on things we can control.
With ACT, we “actively and willingly receive our thoughts, emotions, and histories” instead of pushing back on thoughts, which sometimes can strengthen their power over us.
Imagine that you have a stressful upcoming event, such as planning a party. What might an ACT-based approach look like?
Practice the art of diffusion. Diffusion is thinking of thoughts and feelings outside ourselves, like passing sensations or irrational messages outside us. We may notice our negative thoughts saying, “The party will be a total failure.” Such a negative thought is about how things could go or what may or may not happen. This awareness changes our relationship to the ideas we have. It could also help to write your thoughts down. When you write things down, it gives you a physical distance from your thoughts. The goal of distancing or diffusion is to realize that you are not your thoughts. Your mind, or “the thought machine,” creates many different positive and negative thoughts daily.
Accepting a particular situation, a personality trait, an overwhelming emotion, or an uncomfortable sensation within ourselves allows us to move passed obsessing, worrying, and ruminating. Usually, we get stuck if we try to stop thoughts from occurring, minimize them, block them out, or ask why certain events, feelings, or situations keep arising.
Instead, allow your thinking to be flexible. Notice any thoughts that you have that appear to be helpful. Maybe you can think, “my party doesn’t have to be perfect,” or “I have hosted some great parties before.” Instead of policing our anxious thoughts, we can allow them to take some space in our minds but focus our attention on what is most important.
Think of a car analogy. When you try to rationalize or eliminate your thoughts, you kick them out of the metaphorical car. With ACT, however, you are taking control of the wheel. The anxious thoughts may arise, but they are not our focus. They are simply there in the back seat and can stay there, but we can choose if we decide to focus on them or enjoy the ride.
If you would like more information on ACT, click here for the book Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven Hayes.
If you are ready to find out how to tame anxious thoughts, the therapists at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide therapy to people of all ages. To begin counseling in Katy, TX, follow these three steps:
Here at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including counseling for kids, counseling for young adults, teen counseling, couples counseling, eating disorder treatment, men’s issues, women’s issues, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, trauma counseling, family therapy, and group counseling. Our therapists strive to post blogs regularly. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and counseling services, please reach out to the Counseling Center today!