What’s Thought Got to Do With it?

Hello everyone and welcome back! 

I have noticed that stress has been getting me down lately and I wanted to take time to reflect and share on a recent experience of mine. I was once told that if you are experiencing anxiety, it is because you are living in the future, and if you are experiencing depression, it is because you are stuck in the past. I usually have a great outlook on life, an uplifting mood, good emotional regulation, and control over my responses to stress. This is especially important at work and when interacting with people I care about. However, this week felt extremely difficult. I was irritable, dysregulated, anxious, and having intrusive and depressing thoughts; all of which resulted in me feeling paralyzed.

I’m sure many of you experience this more often than I, but when you were feeling a constant state of anxiety, dread, and depression, then it feels like a few days have been forever. Time seems to uncomfortably stretch, and everything seems to be distorted by a lens of negativity. One day this week at work felt like a month.

Usually my coping mechanisms include reading, active meditation (such as weeding, gardening, or crafting, and yes I enjoy yard work!), and going to bed early/resting. My usual coping mechanisms were not giving me any relief. 

That’s a queue that I need to take some serious quiet time and let my thoughts settle and get in touch with my emotions. I like to use a technique called body scanning, where you glide your hands up and down different parts of your body while waiting for a feeling to come forward.

I have a condition called Alexithymia which often makes it difficult for me to identify any of my own emotions, even though I can identify them in other people very easily. Body scanning has been a useful tool, and helps me figure out what is really going on with my brain and body.

As I took quiet time this morning, I realized that all of my intrusive thoughts were stuck in past experiences, and were causing future worries. A year ago at Dr. Super‘s House of Health, things were very challenging and we had to keep our heads held high and wait for better times to come. As that same time of year approaches, those same worries appear. I had to learn to let go of the past, and stop worrying about the future, and let myself experience peace in the present.

Things are going well, but being stuck in the anxiety of the future and the depressive moments of the past seems to have sabotaged all of the hard work we have been doing. I had to take time to be grateful for all of the growth and support from our community, and I need to have trust that the type of business I am growing will have its own share of successes, even if that success looks different then every other business around me.

Taking quiet time today reminded me to refocus on building relationships with my patients, my staff, my support systems and myself. I’m hoping that if you are having difficulty with intrusive, anxious or depressed thoughts, that this can be a reminder for you to take a moment to sit with yourself. Allow yourself to have your feelings, allow yourself to have your thoughts, and then re-center yourself in the present to find peace.

It’s always a good idea to reach out to your support systems or a therapist if you are struggling. (Obviously, I’m biased because my husband is a therapist, but I really think everyone can benefit from a good therapist!). Many people are surprised that the winter blues can turn into the summer blues. We can’t control our feelings, but we can control our own actions, the space we hold for our own healing, and the power we give to our thoughts. 

I love and appreciate all our community members here at Dr. Super’s House of Health, and I have enjoyed growing as a professional and a person through all the challenges. When I get overwhelmed, I know I have to take some quiet time to reconnect to my feelings, let myself feel them, and move on towards a more positive thought process! As we all know, healing takes time and effort, but the most important part is staying positive!

Feel well and do good,

Dr. Super

ADIO