Don't worry, be happy (and how to do it)

[Andrew_Culture]

I've done a lot of work on my brain to think positively and it's slowly beginning to work. What shocks me now is how incredibly negative in outlook my parents are. It's no wonder I grew up incapable of ever seeing the positives in anything.

What we are actually trying to do is to undo a lifetime of faulty thinking patterns.

Spot on

 

[Andrew_Culture]

As Tyred says, very useful skills.
There are any number of good self-help books and websites, but I would begin by eating well and having plenty of exercise and sleep. Then I would abandon newspapers and TV news, which are a prime source of low level anxiety.

This entirely.

 

[steveindenmark]

I only have 2 worries in my life.

Where to go on holiday and what I want for Christmas.

I'm a very lucky man.

Steve

 

[Deleted member 1258]

+1 on meditation, I did Yoga and meditation for several years and found it very helpful.

 

[fossyant]

Ride your bike..

Simples

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Practice mindfulness and engage more fully with experiencing the "now" is what I (try to) do.

The past is written and can't be undone. Worrying about past mistakes leads to depression. Apologise if you can, let it go, move on.
The future hasn't happened yet. Worrying about it leads to anxiety. Cross the bridges you actually come to not the ones you think you might arrive at in your imagination.

Easier said than done though.

 

[asterix]

Today is the day that you worried about yesterday and it didn't happen.

Is worrying about the amount you worry about the first stage to recovery? Or should you be worried about the amount you are worrying about worrying too much?

 

[tyred]

The other thing to keep in mind when making changes to thinking patterns is that all the old cliché apply - Rome wasn't built in a day, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step etc as it will take time and it's easy to not see progress to begin with and become disheartened but it is worthwhile to keep working at it.

Get a small notebook or diary and make notes of what you are thinking and what is worrying you now and as you go through your day and when you look back in six months or a year's time, you will be amazed at the difference. I have been doing this for the past two years or so and it scares me now to look back on what I was writing in the beginning.

 

[Spinney]

Today is the day that you worried about yesterday and it didn't happen.

But when you are in that worrying mode, the brain's answer to this is 'so it is bound to happen tomorrow, and may be even worse'

 

[sheddy]

Disassimilate from the Cyberhive. (Ray Mears on Desert Island Discs)

 

[fimm]

Thank you for all the comments, much appreciated.
People who do mindfullness/meditiation, how did you start? Should I be looking for classes or something? And is there a difference between the two?

 

[tyred]

Thank you for all the comments, much appreciated.
People who do mindfullness/meditiation, how did you start? Should I be looking for classes or something? And is there a difference between the two?

It's difficult to explain but Mindfulness is basically about bringing your attention to the present and thinking on a moment to moment basis rather than dwelling on things that happened yesterday or last week or 20 years ago or panicking about something that might happen next week.

Meditation is similar in many ways - about clearing the head from external thoughts and learning to control breathing and thought processes and help purify mind and body.

I started using classes as there was one easily available to me but there are many books out there which usually come with CDs to help guide you through the process or Amazon have guided meditation tracks available for MP3 download for 89p if you want a cheap experiment. There are 10 or 15 minute guided meditation MP3s available which is probably where I would start (some last for hours but you would need to practice for a long time before you could meditate for that length of time imo.

I suppose a class is good as you have somethere to ask and guide you through it if you're struggling but the books and CDs should work fine too but it does take practice.

Daver suggestion of yoga is also an excellent one as it brings fitness benefits as well as mental benefits.

 

[ASC1951]

..I suppose a class is good as you have someone there to ask and guide you through it if you're struggling but the books and CDs should work fine too but it does take practice...

I found the classes very well worthwhile because learning any new skill (at least for me) needs commitment from me and feedback from them. Mine were offered by this lot http://www.leedsbuddhistcentre.org/ and I wanted to learn about Buddhism anyway. I have learned - and it is useful knowledge which has subtly altered my life since - but I don't go to classes for meditation any more.

 

[Aperitif]

There has been a lot of news about mindfulness in the press recently and one of the articles was by Julie Myerson. in the Guardian. And, within that same paper, the journalist Oliver Burkeman has a 'blog' dealing with , among other things 'mindfulness meditation' - there's a simple illustrated guide for the novice on the 'sidebar' of this article. I think he's very interesting, but as Greg said earlier - it's easier said than done. Once ferocious pressures get a grip, they are hard to shake off, but, like riding a bike uphill, it is always challenging - it just gets a bit easier I suppose...we just don't realise!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Apparently there are plans to teach basic mindfulness in schools.