Having a mindset free from judgment can only help you achieve your goals. When you have a judgment-free mindset, you are freeing yourself, which can improve your chances of a successful recovery from trauma and problematic behaviors.
Unfortunately, trauma can induce a judgmental mindset about who you are as a person, your choices, and your ability to accomplish life goals. In order to achieve a nonjudgmental stance, you must recognize your intrinsic value and no longer define yourself by diagnoses or past experiences.
You Are Not Defined by Your Past Experiences
You do not introduce yourself by declaring yourself to be a victim or person with a particular addiction or mental health diagnosis. Instead, you begin relationships by giving your name, your family, or what you do for a living. Rarely do we introduce ourselves by our experiences. Why? Because our experiences do not define us. Even in meetings when we introduce ourselves, we begin with our names. Identifying yourself by your name takes precedence over a diagnosis.
Our experiences have made an impact on who we are and how we respond to triggers and stressors, but they do not have to define us. In order to achieve a life free from defining ourselves by our experiences, we must take a nonjudgmental stance.
What Is a Nonjudgmental Stance?
According to an article from the National Institute of Health (NIH) database, a judgment-free stance is the ability to examine thoughts, feelings, and behaviors without judging them. Through this stance, you can avoid becoming enmeshed with your experience. This will enable you to focus on how you want to experience life and pursue your goals, rather than being reactive to your experiences.
Focus On Your Life
During treatment, you began to recognize yourself as a person with unique needs and struggles. You also began to identify your strengths.
Being nonjudgmental allows you to manage those needs and struggles in healthy ways. Instead of becoming attached and identifying yourself as those needs and struggles, you built a deeper understanding of who you are and what you want. This likely involved challenging your thoughts and beliefs about yourself. In your treatment at The Guest House, you practiced meditation and through the process learned how to be nonjudgmental.
Challenging your thoughts and beliefs about your identity has allowed you to begin focusing on your life and learning about who you want to be. You get to choose how you are defined. Take a nonjudgmental stance about your experiences. By being nonjudgmental, you can begin the process of living your life the way you want instead of through reactivity to your experiences.
Focus On Your Goals
Adopting a nonjudgmental stance will also help you focus on your goals for your life going forward. Your decisions on how to cope with your past may limit your ability to achieve certain paths, but do not eliminate the opportunities you have to grow and make your life better for yourself. Being nonjudgmental will help you treat yourself as capable and deserving.
According to Pete Walker in his book about complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving, there are some people who lack the self-esteem to achieve their goals because they judge themselves as being incapable and/or too damaged to move beyond the victim mindset. Our alumni program will help you continue to challenge those false beliefs about yourself. You can achieve your goals when you stop judging yourself and begin to take an appreciative look at your strengths.
Avoid Reactivity
Reactivity to stressors is incredibly problematic to those who want to achieve their goals after treatment. Being reactive eliminates many opportunities for growth. Also, reactivity can injure relationships and work or school possibilities.
We will always experience stressors and people who will judge us and belittle us for our experiences. However, you do not have to react by lashing out or returning to old behaviors. Through a nonjudgmental stance, you can experience the situation without reverting to old behaviors. You can react appropriately in a manner consistent with your values and goals for a better life.
Build the Life You Desire
A healthy, fulfilling life is awaiting you. Your past experiences may have shaped your life, but they do not define you. Your trauma and your decisions about how you coped have affected you, but they do not make you any less of a person. Remember that your choices were a result of your doing the absolute best you could to survive. Now that you have experienced the support of treatment, you can make healthier choices.
Do not adopt the stigma the world may have about those who have experienced trauma, mental health issues, and issues with addiction to alcohol or other substances or behaviors. You are a unique individual with unique experiences and strengths. You can achieve your best life. Reach out to our alumni program if you are struggling because we at The Guest House want to see you succeed in your goals.
Adopting a judgment-free mindset can ensure your success in recovery as you pursue lifelong goals to achieve your peace. We at The Guest House recognize the potential in each of our clients to overcome trauma, cope with mental illness, and battle addiction to alcohol or other substances and behaviors. We recognize you as a unique individual who has struggled but has the capacity to overcome, which is why we offer a variety of programs to meet the various needs of our clients. We offer residential, outpatient, and our alumni program for those who have completed our other programs. We know continued success relies on getting unconditional support. If you or a loved one is struggling with overcoming trauma, coping with mental health conditions, or trying to recover from addiction to alcohol or other substances and behaviors, we can help. Contact The Guest House at (855) 483-7800 today.