As we work to heal from our addictions and mental health issues, we learn that many of our emotional issues come from the thought patterns we’ve developed over the years. We perpetuate these thought patterns when we aren’t conscious of them, and for most of us, we haven’t become conscious of them yet so we’re continuing them and exacerbating them unaware of the harm we’re doing to ourselves. A powerful healing tool is learning how to self-correct when we are thinking, speaking and feeling in ways that work against us.
Self-correcting is the process of recognizing when we’re engaging in a habit that’s destructive for us, stopping ourselves from continuing the habit, and then turning it around so that we can direct our energy in more positive ways. The first step is becoming conscious of our self-talk, and how we are operating internally. What are your recurring thoughts? What is your dominant energy? What are the default feelings that you go to automatically? For example, many of us default to anxiety, and our recurring thoughts are ones of fear, negativity and pessimism. Once we become more aware of our thoughts, feelings and internal dialogue, we have the power to change and redirect them.
When you notice that a thought pattern or feeling is not beneficial or productive for you, you can take a moment and gently remind yourself that you deserve better. You can effectively put a stop to these patterns by bringing your awareness to them and then channeling them in a more positive direction. When you have a fearful thought, for example, you can choose to transform that into a feeling of faith. You can use affirmations such as “I have faith. I believe in the power of transformation. I will get through this.” When your self-talk is filled with anger, you can choose calm and compassion instead. “I am calm. I am understanding. I am accepting. I choose love.”
Making the choice to self-correct is so much more effective than beating ourselves up or becoming frustrated and impatient with ourselves for our harmful thought patterns. We can heal from depression, anxiety and other emotional issues when we work to undo these patterns.
Self-correcting is about monitoring, assessing and redirecting the thought patterns that have been hurting us so that we can experience emotional freedom.
The treatment programs at Riverside Recovery include multiple forms of therapy, daily recovery meetings and mindfulness education to help you understand your thoughts and emotions and work towards healing. Call us today: (800) 871-5440.