Show of Hands

That was the point I came to the comments section to make :)

Takes long time to root out all the lies we've embraced directly/indirectly! They are so "natural" & insidious! My favorite sayings? EGBOK = Everything's Gonna Be OK, "It came to pass... it didn't come to stay." "Only thing feelings do well? Change!"

I really like that one.

No matter what you feel right now, you will feel differently very soon. Cuz feelings only know how to do one thing well: change. Got me through Complex PTSD trigger episodes knowing that! Couldn't change what I felt that moment instantly.

Knowing it WOULD pass, kept me sane until I could ground myself & use tools to get to other side of trigger.

Are you Catholic?

I call myself a freelance Christian. I have a lot of Catholic relatives and I was saved in the Catholic Church.

My father was raised Catholic. He was verbally and physically abusive but he had a lot of good qualities also

You seem to be suffering through a serious case of RC guilt.

That is accurate assessment of cause. Books that CHANGED my life in this area? Feeling Good by Burns; Telling Yourself the Truth by Backus (a series actually, all outstanding!); See Yourself as God Sees You by Josh McDowell. Together = outstanding!!!

You believe what you were told. Worse, you believe what you've told yourself. Hard to see what those are & when that is happening unless you learn what to look for. How you feel is first clue you are not telling yourself Truth.

You believe what you were told. Worse, you believe what you've told yourself. Hard to see what those are & when that is happening unless you learn what to look for. How you feel is first clue you are not telling yourself Truth.

Actual Josh McDowell book I read is now titled "Building Your Self-Image." Unsure difference between that & See Yourself as God Sees You, if any. I knew title had been changed; didn't know two of similar title/content.

SoH therapy session? Track back to when feelings changed to negative. What happened? Heard something? Smelled something? Read something? Watched something on tv? Talked about something? Remembered something? *Something* triggered change.

ID that "something," then find answer: what did I tell myself about that? The lie is in that answer when you find it. Problem is? Will you recognize that *as* a lie? Probably not or you would have already dismissed the lie. Books I noted will help.

Is this gonna cost us? I'll never get it past my insurance.

Nope! Pro bono! :-D

Temperament has genetic component which predisposes one to be more pos/neg. But happiness is a choice & our thought & will can mitigate predisposition. Easier for some than others, but still w/in control of each w/proper info/support.