Many of us struggling with mental illness and addiction have been conditioned to think that we are powerless over our thoughts and feelings and that we have no control over how we’re affected by them. We may have experienced episodes of depression so strong and so debilitating we felt incapacitated by them. We may have been struggling with addictive urges for so long we assumed there was nothing we could do about them. With mindfulness, we practice becoming more consciously aware of how we think, feel and behave. We learn that we’re actually able to redirect our thoughts any time we want and that this can have a powerful effect on how we feel, and therefore on our mental and emotional well-being.
Our mental illnesses are often built on a foundation of toxic recurring thought patterns that get ingrained in our consciousness because we are perpetuating and practicing them consistently and repeatedly. When we practice thinking a limiting belief, that we’re inadequate for example, over time we will believe it to be true, and we’ll suffer from low self-esteem, poor self-confidence and a depleted sense of self-worth. When we feel so badly about ourselves, and when we practice thinking and speaking about ourselves in such self-deprecating ways, it’s logical that we would eventually become depressed. We’re constantly reinforcing our insecurities and telling ourselves subconsciously that we should believe them, that they are valid and true, and that we don’t deserve our own self-love. We’re deepening these negative mental grooves every time we go down the same thought path, and these specific beliefs become stronger and more firmly rooted in our minds.
We can begin to notice our thought patterns and actively work to establish new ones. Our subconscious mind governs the majority of our conscious thoughts and feelings, meaning the emotional information we aren’t aware of, what’s beneath our conscious awareness, has a major effect on how we think and feel. We can reprogram the subconscious mind by repeating new truths to establish new thought patterns. We can redirect our thinking any time it’s not in alignment with how we want to think and feel. The subconscious mind responds to the written word, to affirmations, to meditation, and to visualization. We can repeat and write down affirmations, envision, and meditate on the new truths we want to solidify for ourselves. When our negative thoughts reemerge, we can redirect our thinking in more positive directions.
The more we practice, the more we accept these new beliefs, and we develop totally new belief systems. Our mental and emotional health improves. With practice, we can redirect our thoughts and feelings to heal our sense of self, to change the relationship we have with ourselves, and to become the version of ourselves we want to be.
The recovery programs at The Guest House include mindfulness education and multiple forms of therapeutic treatment as part of our healing modalities. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.