30 Days of Mental Health - Part V

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We have all experienced days when our thoughts about a particular situation really put us in a bad mood for a moment or even the whole day. We are better able to manage these times by understanding how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors work together to influence each other and how by changing one, a positive impact can be had on the others.

• Self-talk is the inner dialogue that we have with ourselves all day long. It can happen while working on a task or even while having a conversation. Self talk is tied to our sense of self and can be helpful, harmful, or neutral.
• Negative self-talk can result from intrusive thoughts that often occur without much effort. It is important to understand where negative self-talk comes from and why combating negative self-talk is key to creating overall mental wellness.
• When self-talk is positive, it helps us feel good about ourselves because it allows us to change our perspective toward different situations and give ourselves more compassion and grace when things are not going well. Learning ways to increase positive self-talk is a step toward improving overall well-being.
• Worrying about life’s daily stressors can affect our behaviors, feelings and thoughts which in turn can cause our minds to feel like a car on a race track—worrying about past or future events. Mindfulness is a calming practice that encourages focus on the present moment.

This graphic has been helpful for me. I tend to "what if" things to death. Since seeing this graphic (thanks to @CrazyHeadComics) I have been working on reframing my thinking a little. It is a process and will take lots of work and retraining my brain.