Hey everyone..just wondering if anyone has certain negative thoughts that there finding hard to replace with positive one..post them here...we can all help each other...
I have 2 main negative thoughts..any suggerstions
1) I can't eat before going in this car ride or event..what happens if I get sick and throw up..if i don't have food in my stomach I can't throw up..soo better eat to be on the safe side
2)Morning time:..I could never go in someones car right now..My body feels way to uncomfortable

I have similar negative thoughts. One is, I can't drink anything before I get in my car or especially with someone else because I will have to stop at a bathroom sometime and that would either take up presious time or be embarrassing. I have been telling myself "Of course you have to use the bathroom you are a human being right? Even the Presedent has to take time out to do that." Everyone needs food too and when you become less anxious eating and drinking just become a way of taking care of yourself.

My main negative thought is "You/I can´t do anything!" Yesterday I got a funny idea on how to replace it. Now I write down all kinds of stuff I know I CAN do, every time that thought comes to my mind. For example: I can cook! or I know how to wash my laundry! That way I prove to myself that it isn´t true, that I CAN do something!
(I have to add that I´m not a great cook, I´m only 25 years old and don´t have that much experience. I still use cookbooks most of the time, so I didn´t write down only things I´m very good at, simply ANYTHING I know I can do...)
Good luck to everyone else with replacing negative thoughts with positive ones! We can do it!

quote:

Originally posted by GiGiAZ:
I have similar negative thoughts. One is, I can't drink anything before I get in my car or especially with someone else because I will have to stop at a bathroom sometime and that would either take up presious time or be embarrassing. I have been telling myself "Of course you have to use the bathroom you are a human being right? Even the Presedent has to take time out to do that." Everyone needs food too and when you become less anxious eating and drinking just become a way of taking care of yourself.

Ifound that my negative thoughts were rooted in what happened in the past. When I started reliving and obsessing about the past I realized my stomach got tense. I now recognize that is what I FEEL LIKE WHEN I AM ANXIOUS. So I take a few deep breaths and I try to move out of the past. I try not to allow myself to verbalize the past that I obsess about. I don't get carsick unless I am not the driver. You might try to go driving with someone who is a close friend, tell them what your problem is and tell them you will probably get sick and bring an airsick bag. Make it into a joke, and start with a short ride. I drive cross country in my RV 1 mile is really no different than 1,500, the longer trip is just a lot of miles put together. I guess I have an issue that I hate it when my husband drives or goes with me. I think he is a rotten driver and he gives me a stomach ache. We often end up fighting about his driving. If I don't watch where he is going, he drives in the wrong direction. Since I started the program I realized my anxiety is usually expressed with anger and cursing. This is set off by computer problems, heavy traffic, incompetent salespeople, having my field trial dogs make a mistake. I flip out , cursing , often I cannot stop or help myself. I have a reputation for being a poor sport. I take things very personally and often feel someone is out to get me. I am starting to force myself to drive in rush hour traffic which makes me tense and angry. When I feel tense I take some deep breaths and also listen to the program tapes. When I went home during rush hour yesterday I listened to my tapes and it occurred to me that I only sat in really heavy traffic for a few minutes. Nest week I will drive to work in rush hour traffic. I always tell my self that I hate commuting, I guess that doesn't help.

The main negative thought that I get is
"What are people going to think of me?". I am on the 3rd session of the program. The last two were great I have seen some changes in my life, but this session is really hard for me...I am agoraphobic and so to go out and possibly make a fool out of myself is overwhelming. I know it's another negative thought but I really need some advice...

Eric, I work on my limitations a little at a time, it is anxiety inducing, but, I face the fear and do it anyway, most of the time.

I feel accomplished and that gives me courage to try more. pinkeetoz

Like Eric, I too worry about "what will people think of me?" I fear being embarrassed. I am having a real problem overcoming this one since I am overweight and I always worry about what people will think. I have also come to realize that I am prejudice toward other overweight people. Why is that? Just because I can't be perfect, I expect others to be??? This session is bringing out a lot of emotion.

Hello everybody... Feel a lot of support and comraderie from reading all the posts. Have the same problems with feeling self-conscience and embarrassing myself in front of others as Eric.(keep at it buddy!) Was starting on session 6 but decided I needed to go back to session 3 for another week. Changing the habit(addiction) of obsessive negative thinking, particularly with other very negative people around, is very difficult.

~ where every something, being blent together turns to a wild of nothing ~ ...shakespeare

I am an obsessive worrier and always have negative thougths. Can anybody suggest how to get started on being positive?

i dont have an idea either just like you i am a huge worry wart i mean everytime anything happens to me i think negative like last year when i got real sick with heart probs evreythin became neg. i guess in a way we have to make ourselves positive i say to myself look your still alive better and doing this program your helping yourself so all good things but i agree dose anyone realy have an answere?

fdlg and giga247,

If you stick with the program, you will find solutions to the problems you describe. First you begin to write down the negative thoughts so you can see how you think. (Don't worry if you have lots of them; I couldn't write them down fast enough.)

My mother taught me that if I didn't worry about things, I didn't care, so it is hard to break that habit. However, if you think about it, what does worrying do? It never fixes anything and it robs us of our ability to act in a way that might fix the problem. Plus we often worry about things that never come to pass, so it's a big waste of time.

It doesn't happen overnight, but you take small steps and build on your accomplishments and soon you won't be worrying all of the time. I went through the program starting in June and I'm going through it a second time to reinforce the ideas. Imagine negative thinking is nothing but a bad habit and how much of your life it controls.

I wish you both luck, and urge you not to give up. It's worth the trouble to get your life back.

Les