Our mental health issues, which include our addictions, can cause us to feel as though we have no control over our own minds, our choices and our actions, and our lives as a whole. This can be a terrifying and debilitating feeling. We feel powerless, hopeless, defeated and weak. We feel as though we have no recourse against these invisible but paralyzing forces. Part of our healing journey entails realizing that we have so much more control over our minds and our thought processes than we might have previously thought, that we are actually strong enough to cope with our difficulties without our drugs of choice, and that we have immense capabilities for self-healing.
One of the ways in which we can work to heal from our mental illnesses involves becoming more mindful of how our minds work. We want to start to take more notice of the recurring thought patterns we’re struggling with, which thoughts tend to replay themselves the most, and which are causing us the most pain. Within these thought patterns are often the unresolved issues we need to heal if we’re going to recover. For example, if we have recurring thoughts that we’re not good enough, most likely we are suffering from unhealed fears of inadequacy and unworthiness that might stem from trauma, loss or abandonment. When we work to heal these fears, with therapy, energy healing and other tools, we often find our toxic thought patterns easing up and becoming less frequent and less bothersome. We want to become more vigilant about our thoughts and our energy. We want to monitor which thoughts we’re consciously making ourselves think and which we’re being subconsciously, impulsively driven to think; which directions our thoughts are taking, for example our thoughts might be constantly going in a negative, pessimistic direction; how we’re allowing ourselves to expend our energy; and what kinds of energy we’re allowing into our space.
As we develop more mindfulness around our thought patterns, we realize that we have significant power to redirect our thoughts and also to detach from certain thoughts. When we feel ourselves being pessimistic and hard on ourselves, for example, we can train ourselves to repeat affirmations that are positive, uplifting and optimistic. We can reprogram our subconscious minds to affirm and validate ourselves and our recovery rather than being negative, self-deprecating and judgmental. We can detach from the thoughts that cause us pain and give more energy to the ones that bring us happiness, calm and peace. We learn with time and practice that we can actually regain control of our thought patterns, our subconscious minds, and therefore our mental health.
At The Guest House Ocala, our recovery programs include many experiential modalities including traditional therapy, conscious connected breathwork, equine therapy, somatic experiencing, art in healing, grief therapy, mindfulness and other forms of therapy. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.