Changing the Way You Talk to Yourself
One of the wonderful things that I’ve done for myself is to change the way that I talk to myself. It’s been a slow journey, which started when I realized that I didn’t have to believe everything my brain tells me in situations where I don’t have all of the information. What used to happen is that in those situations, my thoughts would drift towards the worst possible outcome or interpretation of events. Now I practice one or more of these strategies to change my self-talk, which has made my life so much better. Maybe they will make your life better too.
Neutrality - instead of automatically saying something negative about yourself, say something neutral: "I've gained weight. That's different."
Interrupting - exactly like it sounds, interrupting a thought as it happens: "They still haven't replied to my text. I guess they're mad— It's only been an hour since I've texted, they probably haven't seen it yet!"
Context - reminding yourself that the you that you are right now, isn't the you from whenever: "I did the best I could two years ago, with everything that I knew then. Now that I know more, I'll (re)act differently this time.”
