Some Thoughts from My Little Notebook

I keep a small notebook in my purse right now - so that it will always be with me - with lists of things I have been learning about dealing with stress, tolerating crises, and coping. Most of these come from The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, with some being slightly modified by me. Since I've been both busy and under the weather this week and haven't blogged or written much, they'll make for an easy share today:

FAVORITE COPING THOUGHTS

• My feelings make me uncomfortable right now, but I can accept them
• I've survived other situations like this before, and I'll survive this one too.
• I can take all the time I need right now to let go and relax
• My thoughts don't control my life, I do. I can think different thoughts if I want to.
• My anxiety/fear/sadness/anger won't kill me, it just doesn't feel very good right now
• There are just my feelings and eventually they'll go away.
• I can only control myself and my feelings.
  
• I can't control how others act, but I can control how I react to others

FAVORITE SELF-AFFIRMING STATEMENTS

• I'm a sensitive person who experiences the world differently and who has rich emotional experiences (I love that one - its so true for me)
• I'm good, and nobody's perfect
• Even though bad things have happened and I've made mistakes, I am still a good person
• There's a purpose to my life, even though I might not always see it.