How to Transform How You Think (One Thought at a Time)

In today’s issue:

• One Thought at a Time

• Language and Perception

• Stockpile Antibiotics Without a Prescription

• Your Mind, Your Body

• Your Mind, THEIR Body

• Using Our Power for Good

One Thought at a Time

Dena Joan had lived a lifetime of panic attacks, suicidal ideation, and extreme anxiety.

It began when she was very young and would continue into her young adulthood. She described a time during her adolescence when she became debilitatingly attached to her younger sister; she needed to be near her sister at all times, and if she couldn’t get to her, she would become hysterical.

She could imagine only the worst and was tormented by her preoccupation. This is one example of how Dena felt trapped beneath the weight of her depression and dissociation.

And then, in the course of six months, she changed her life.

After so many years of pain, this sounds impossible. How did she do it?

She says, “Of course, the answer is complicated, but the first step is not. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a fairly simple process that transformed my thinking. Over the course of six months, I learned how to eliminate poisonous, debilitating thoughts from my mind. I ended a lifetime of crushing fear and began a new life of freedom, peace, and joy.”

In the story she shares in her blog, Dena takes us through the process of CBT, and her own experience of discovering her mind and the language that had been shaping it.

Negative, irrational thoughts that, in a split second, become beliefs. Bad weather? It’s sure to be a bad day. I have bad days. Late for an appointment? I’m never on time, because I’m a bad person.

As she describes, thoughts like these aren’t so bad on their own, but to be consumed by them can not only be extremely painful, but highly detrimental to a person’s mental and physical health. In retrospect, she could see that her mind was “killing her slowly”.

Through CBT, Dena began to rewire her thinking. First by observing her negative thoughts and recording those observations, and then by making a conscious choice to change each of those thoughts as they arise. She describes the first time her mind transformed a negative thought into a positive one without being prompted, and she knew then that her life would change.

Much of Dena’s story is encouraging, but perhaps most of all is the knowledge that our minds are not an impenetrable fortress of inevitability. They are malleable and responsive to input. And her story, while not a one size fits all prescription, can definitely make us all pause a moment and ask ourselves what kind of language our own minds are running on. And, what about my life would change if I chose new thoughts?

Language and Perception

Is your blue the same as my blue? How do we know we’re seeing the same thing?

These are questions I imagine we’ve all asked by the time we’re ten. Something in us knows there’s a good chance we’re all having different experiences, and it turns out we’re kinda right! And language has a lot to do with that. In this article, a linguist breaks down how language affects our thoughts and our perception of reality. One key takeaway: “Languages do not limit our ability to perceive the world or to think about the world, but they focus our perception, attention, and thought on specific aspects of the world.”

Stockpile Antibiotics Without a Prescription

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How to Stockpile Antibiotics Without a Prescription

It is completely legal and perfectly safe.

The best part is you can also use it for other medicines that require a prescription, like insulin or Humira, for example.

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Doctors wrote this unique book to help people care for their health ailments at home even when the medical system fails them.

Your Mind, Your Body

Okay so we know that language is crucial, but why? The way our thoughts can affect our physical body has been studied from a few angles, and findings show that our thoughts trigger physiological responses.

For instance, we can hear a scary story and feel our hearts start to race. We can hear a sad story and our body responds with tears and an aching heart. We can see two friends embrace and feel the love. It’s not happening to us, but our body doesn’t seem to know that.

Our thoughts are no more than the stories we tell ourselves. After reading how your inner dialogue can affect your body, perhaps your story will be rewritten!

Your Mind, THEIR Body

Nobody can hear my thoughts, and it’s my life anyway, right? Not so much.

Like it or not, humans are highly social creatures wired with powers of perception and connection we aren’t consciously aware of.

So can someone hear your thoughts? No. But can a twitch of your eyebrow start a cascade of chemical responses in their body? Yes. As social animals, we have to be responsive to others around us; our bodies help regulate each other.

There’s a whole host of ways our bodies communicate with each other without even speaking. So what’s the impact on other people when we ARE speaking? Given everything we’ve covered about the power of words, it’s significant.

Using Our Power For Good

How can we take this information and use it effectively?

It’s almost too simple, as many good things are. Be nice. Express gratitude. Show appreciation. In this brief article from Harvard Health on nurturing positive relationships, the advice is taken from studies conducted on married couples; however, it is universal guidance:

“Conveying your appreciation for your partner can make your partner appreciate you more. Such shared gratitude leads both people to be more responsive to the other's needs and more likely to stay in the relationship.”

Apply this to a friendship, a working relationship, or a stranger outside. Our words have the power to change someone’s day. Best to make them kind.