The power of positive thinking. When does it help and when can it hurt?

Positive thinking can have a substantial impact on changing your life. It is a skill that can be learned to help one better manage stress, anxiety and discomfort. It is very easy to be unkind and judge ourselves when dealing with difficult and/or emotionally overwhelming situations. These narratives can perpetuate negative outcomes and keep us feeling stuck and helpless. Positive thinking can help us reframe our experiences and to promote healing and self empowerment. 

However, it is important to not over-correct and to ignore what our emotions are telling us.

It is common to think about our emotions in a binary way. "Positive" emotions that feel good and "negative" emotions that feel bad. I use quotations to express that our emotions are not good or bad but informative. The "negative" emotions are often just feelings that are more difficult to tolerate.

Creating safety and space to process our feelings is a part of the healing journey. Only using positive thinking can lock our emotions away. Avoiding processing our emotions we can harm ourselves and others and become toxic, literally and figuratively.

When exploring how to change your mindset and use positive thinking skills, its important to check in with yourself and determine if you are using positive thinking to avoid discomfort or to help change your approach and how you view challenging experiences.

To learn positive thinking skills and how to use them in a healthy and effective way please reach out to me at Gisele@giseleliakostherapy.com