Going To Get Your Mail In Pajamas Is A Sure Sign You May Need Some Help...

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Occasionally, I've been seen getting my mail mid-day, still wearing pajamas. I don't think it's so bad until I see someone else doing it…

Every therapy session addresses different issues. During my most recent session, we discussed mindsets, and "assuming the worst without evidence, rejecting the positive, and focusing only on the negative." The old doom and gloom.

In my case, I'm guilty of making unhealthy assumptions, both about situations and people. Sometimes, my default is to assume the worst-case scenario, and I jump to negative conclusions, which, in many cases, are unwarranted and energy-sapping. 

Living under a gray cloud, one you've placed over your own head, is self-destructive and not helpful. It's something I need to work on. 

When we discussed anxiety management, my therapist said a lot of anxiety comes from the way you finish the sentence, "What if…"

For many years as a plumber, I always had to consider worst-case scenarios and do jobs to prevent catastrophic events. One of my dilemmas was "What if carbon monoxide leaks back into the house and kills all the occupants?" There was always a catastrophic outcome that I had to work diligently to prevent. I was conditioned to answer the "What ifs…" using the negative.

Perhaps the way I thought as a Plumber predisposed me to think negatively. But now, in my current life, I have to change my way of thinking, and finish the "What if…" with a positive. I'm just starting to come around to it…

Many not-so-great things have happened in my life over the last few years, but many good things have happened that I've overlooked. I have to change my mindset to a glass-half-full, and it's not gonna be easy. But to continue growing, I have to do it.

I don't believe therapy is a waste of time. If I could go for a run and then have a cold beer at a neighborhood bar, and that fixed everything, I'd do it. But it's not that easy, at least not for me…

Therapy keeps me grounded. And right now I need that. It's a long way home, and I'm not ashamed to admit I need some help getting there…

Eleanor "Nora" Jackson