If you suffer from depression, anxiety, stress or any other unmanageable state, you may have noticed how difficult it is difficult to remain focused for very long, if at all. You unconsciously drift into all sorts of negative thoughts and are no longer in a fully conscious state; you are in a reactive state.
In relation to depression or stress related conditions this is bad news because if you are not consciously aware it is difficult to be master or mistress of your own mind and thoughts. If you are not master or mistress you have little control over what you think, feel or how you behave. You will be controlled and dictated to by reactive behavior rather than being the one in control of yourself.
Dealing with the symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress is difficult enough, so if it is possible to learn some techniques that will help you gain more control over your mind, then it is well worth pursuing this avenue.
There is a whole module in the self-help program dealing with conscious awareness, but for now here are some useful questions to ask your-self.
Q: How do I learn to take control of my negative thoughts so that they don’t control me?
A: The first answer is that if you want to be back in control of your thoughts then learning HOW to consciously take control of your thinking is the first step.
Q: How do I do that?
A: You train your mind; you can do this by learning Conscious awareness techniques which will help you train your mind. This is the number one tool and without this tool you will find it far more difficult to focus and to recognize negative thoughts and behavior as they happen. You want to know exactly when to intervene with negative thoughts so that you give yourself the best possible opportunity to successfully stop them. These techniques teach you “HOW” and “WHAT” you need to do and in doing so, give you the tools you need.
It’s simple, if you aren’t consciously aware and can’t concentrate or focus but constantly drift into your negative thoughts you won’t be able to learn the techniques that will help you rid yourself of your symptoms. It is completely impossible. Think about it. If you aren’t even aware that you aren’t aware, you will never be able to control your negative thoughts.
If you can’t control your negative thoughts, you won’t be able to control your feelings or behavior for the simple reason that you are not in control of them. You can’t be in control of your thoughts if you are not conscious enough. Your thoughts will always control you because you certainly won’t be in a position to control them.
If you aren’t consciously aware, you also can’t control what type of thoughts you have, whether they are reactive thoughts, negative or conditioned thoughts. If you can’t control any of this, you are not master or mistress of your thinking and if you are not, you will be at the mercy of them. This is not where you want to be.
However, as hopeless as this all sounds, it isn’t the case at all. It isn’t hopeless. You have now taken the first step towards putting this right, you are learning about conscious awareness and its benefits in relation to depression, anxiety and stress. You are here on this site and if you are thinking of joining the program you will soon start learning the techniques and soon have the tools you need t be in control of your own mind.
The next step is to learn “HOW” to change the above situation. Realizing the importance of “Conscious Awareness” is certainly a major step in the right direction. Once you have taken that first and vital step, you are on your way, simply remember that consciousness gives you control. It helps you to home in on your thoughts and ask the important questions necessary if you truly want to help yourself.
For example, if you are oblivious to the fact that your negative thinking controls you, then you will have no way of dealing with the problem. For example, let’s say this negative thought suddenly appears: “I am a failure, I hate myself”. For whatever reason it appeared, some trigger went off and the thought was there in your head before you had the chance to think about it or stop it.
At this point you don’t even question whether that thought is true or not, the chances are you accept it simply because it appeared. Why would anyone just accept it, but it is a fact that in a state of depression or anxiety or panic we do accept it, irrational as that may be, and it is irrational. After all, we’d like to think that in our lives we do actually think about whether we are thinking rationally or not, or whether we are thinking at all or just mindlessly, as a result of our conditioning or simply reacting to a specific situation as we have a thousand times before.
Maybe we are so used to these negative thoughts we don’t even think about them or question them anymore. Maybe they are so much a part of us that we assume they are telling us the truth. They become as much a part of us as the air we breathe, so much so that we become confused with what is rational and what is not. We accept these thoughts like the good and conditioned people we are without doubting or challenging them, we just automatically believe them. MISTAKE!!
We can change this bad situation if we are conscious, but can’t if we are not, because we can only consciously act if we are actually conscious. We can do nothing if we are not. Only when we are conscious do we have the ability to question and challenge ourselves, our thoughts, feelings and behavior. It is simple, our conditioning can be toxic if we are ruled by it. However, being conscious enough to ask ourselves the right questions before the conditioning takes over is a completely different matter.
What are the right Questions?
Here is one list.
Q: Was I actually thinking consciously or not when those thoughts came rushing into my head? Y N
Q: Or, was I reacting unconsciously because of my conditioning? Y N
Q: What is my conditioning?
Q: How aware am I of my conditioning?
Q: Were the thoughts really well thought out or not? Y N
Q: Was I being rational or not? Y N
Q: Is there another way to perceive the same problem?
Q: If there is have I tried?
Q: Do my thoughts control me or do I control them?
Q: If they control me, why do they?
Q: If the answer is because I never thought about it enough to question it, then how do I begin to think about my thoughts, analyze, them and challenge them in a more productive way?
Think about the questions and write the answers down, then study them.
The answer goes back to the beginning. When you are consciously aware, all of the above answers to those questions will have been well thought out conscious and rational answers. You are then in a position to challenge yourself on them, and for this reason, it is vital to learn the techniques. When you function in a mindless and conditioned mode you can’t help yourself.
If you are following the self- help program you will know there is a complete module teaching Conscious Awareness techniques, it teaches all you need to know.
Hopefully after reading the article and studying the video you will experience great changes in the way you approach your negative thoughts.
We are all here to learn so please have your say and tell us what you think of this article.
Carole