E5. Spirits, Unsafe Spaces, & Other Tales of Terror

FRESH from the Therapy Couch: SPIRITS, UNSAFE SPACES, & TALES of TERROR

Today’s Psychotherapy Adventurers:  Gamer Girl Heather, Super Bookwork Sarah, & Squirrel Girl Debbie

Go to https://TherapyBites.myshopify.com & grab some A.R.T. LAB MERCH, specially designed to help keep this episode’s message “top of mind” in your life!  Don’t forget friends & family members who could use a mental boost too.

 

Show Summary:  In this episode . . .

The demon, gremlin, boogie-man (IUTy - Inaccurate, Unrealistic Thoughts) keeping MOST mental health difficulties FUELED up and ready to light a fire in YOUR life is AVOIDANCE.  

Locus of Control - Thinking that externally UNCOMFORTABLE events, situations, circumstances are UNSAFE will program the brain to engage in a fight/flight/freeze response.  This response will include the release of a monsoon of stress-related chemicals designed to help you fight very hard, run very fast, or freeze into a statue in order to be safe.  

The question is:  Where is the danger?  Where is the ACTUAL threat to LIMB & LIFE?  Usually, there is NONE.  It is a response that is not the BEST FIT for the situation and one that is not healthy for you.

Engaging LIFE in all it’s FULLNESS is the BEST way to DIS-engage the dark clawing influence of brain-based demons, gremlins, and boogie-men or, what we refer to at the A.R.T. LAB as IUTy’s:  Inaccurate, Unrealistic Thoughts.

GREAT psychotherapy can help you with this re-wiring for healthy thinking but it’s a difficult process that is not meant to be ENJOYED, though it is meant to sculpt your life into a HEALTHIER direction.  This does not mean all the difficult pages of your life will be removed but rather your ability to cope with them (i.e., resilience) and even find MEANING & VALUE in them will be greatly enhanced.

No need to avoid situations you don’t prefer.  No need to avoid others or label them as manipulators, gaslighters, controlling, or toxic.  You have the POWER to set  and honor your own boundaries without sacrificing your OWN integrity by placing de-humanizing labels on others.  

You can relate without being at risk.  Only YOU have power over YOUR OWN thoughts.  We FIRST engineer our thoughts THEN our thoughts engineer our lives.

Embrace the DIFFICULT and your mind will RISE to the task and be STRONGER for it.

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For the full show notes, visit https://therapybites.podbean.com/e/spirits

 

FOR OUR READERS . . . GOBBLE UP THE WHOLE THING!!! (Transcript): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1152l0mTgGWzU9JxWdpk2bGybna8YguaTmJ0to1K_9uI/edit?usp=sharing