It’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
No matter what the challenge is, we have a story that we tell ourselves that goes with it. Sometimes the story is true, but most of the time there are details we add that make the story more painful. For example, when we have a conflict with a friend, we try to validate our perspective to prove that our hurt feelings are justified. The story may go something like this, “my friend did not invite me to the dinner party, she must be mad at me, or not like me anymore or maybe I smell bad”. The story can go in many different directions but the only part that is absolutely true is the friend did not invite her. The knowledge about the reasons behind it are purely guesses which can spiral into an emotional place that causes stress and anxiety. When we tell ourselves a story to explain other people’s behaviors, we often mislead ourselves. The simple solution is to communicate with the people involved in our story. If we get clarity we can move on and stop the stress cycle. I have found that most worry and anxiety are around fears that never happen. I hope you will check my next blog at jodihardestycounesling.com on how to stop the worry cycle. Reach out for additional support for anxiety treatment.