Do you ever feel like you’re a victim of your own thoughts?
Does your mind run away from you… focusing on the negative, the worst possible outcome?
I’ve got 3 fingers pointed back at me… It’s really easy to let the fearful thoughts overwhelm us–especially if hard things happened in the past.
It’s easy to think the negative thoughts are a warning, a premonition, a preparation for the bad things that might be coming down the chute.
I’ve thought, “If I do go through these negative scenarios, I’ll already know what to do if and when it happens.” And there is some truth in that.
But running the negative scenarios over and over again… How does that help? Especially when it feels compulsive!
I’ve also thought, “Maybe I’m working through old stuff with these thoughts.”
That’s possible. If I were tapping on them. Or if the thoughts were changing as I let them run. But when they stay negative and dark and heavy, or even get worse… I don’t think they help.
When the thoughts leave me tired, worn out, fearful, and needing reassurance that I’m ok, there’s something off.
Our subconscious believes the stories we tell it. It believes our thoughts and day dreams.
Running negative thoughts over and over is kind of like letting a small child watch a horror movie over and over to prepare them in case the zombie apocalypse happens.
It’s really easy to be a victim of our own negative thoughts… especially when we had that modeled for us as children. And we can get mugged by those thoughts even more powerfully when negative experiences taught us we better be prepared for the worst. Or that we can’t possibly imagine the worst…
Even when the old traumas have been released, the mental muggings can occur. And it can help release old traumas if during the healing process, we focus our thoughts and reclaim the power of our mind!
I think the mental mugging… this focus on negative thoughts… has a few reinforcing energies behind it.
1) It becomes a habit. Our neural pathways become stronger and reinforced the more we practice. The muscle of negative thought gets stronger. Its EASIER to think negative because we’re used to it.
2) It feels safe and familiar. When I focus on negative thoughts, I often get a rush of energy. Adrenaline. Righteousness. Relief. I suspect that’s a pattern I learned when I was younger. I KNEW that bad things were going to happen when I was little. And it was a relief when they happened and I got them over. I could relax for a bit. Playing negative thoughts now gives me the same feeling of relief.
3) And finally, I’m not always sure I deserve to feel as good as I do. I’m not sure it’s safe. My life has expanded a lot and I have more wonderful things than I’ve ever had. I’m more free of shame. I’m more self-expressed. I love myself more. I have more financial and career success and more people I care about. When I focus on the negative thoughts, it helps bring me back down to the “safe” zone. It may help me ground, but at the expense of feeling relaxed and delightedly at peace.
I’d love to know what you think.
Are you the victim of your own thoughts? And which of these points seems strongest to you?
I’m going to send you a tapping on each of these points over the next couple weeks, to help you reclaim your mind and improve the neighborhood in your brain.
Please hit reply to this email and let us know what you think about this topic. We can’t reply to each email, but we will read them all and use your feedback to focus the tapping on what will help you the most.
To Ending Mental Muggings!
Cathy
Great! This may help me understand a framework for behavior and neurology of my brain-center relations explained, in major ways, by the works of Doctors:
– – Peter Levine, PhD (Somatic Experiencing)
&
– – Dr. Robert, (retired) MD/Neurologist @ traumasoma.com
Approve
Wow. Just reading this gave me a big sense of relief. Didn’t even need to tap. This is ME in a nut shell.
My problem is I don’t know what I’m thinking most of the time
Hi Alessia, Is it that you have a difficulty focusing or…? And when you feel into your body, what do you notice?
Focusing sounds like it. I’ve been told that I have an ADD mind so thoughts are always moving so very fast.
When feeling into my body I notice a bit of anxiety
Sure, and sometimes that can stop us from being clear. Try this exercise and then see what you notice in your body: https://www.thrivingnow.com/breathing