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Choose Your Thoughts as Carefully as Your Food

I began an Ayurvedic eating plan a few weeks ago with the belief that it will alleviate some of the nagging health issues I am experiencing.

The eating plan started with an evaluation of my current diet and health and then I started the cleanse. I ate more good food during that 3 weeks than I have eaten in a long time!

But this experience brought up a question:
Why are we so focused on eating healthy, but we ingest toxic thoughts all day long without hesitation.

We take in, repeat, relive and incorporate those toxic thoughts daily. If they were food – grease, processed food, salt – we would say no, that’s not healthy for me, and make a better choice.

But toxic thoughts? Anger, resentment, fear, frustration – those we just happily ingest day after day and don’t think they have any effect on our health.

What if those thoughts are just as unhealthy as some foods? They can cause physical illness and pain, prevent us from connecting with loved ones, and chip away at our humanity.

I know I’m even more aware of those toxic thoughts creeping into my mind now, and more excited than ever to say NO to them. How about you?

Just some food for thought 😉 today.

Life Lessons from an Orchid

I do not consider myself to have a green thumb, and for this, my grandma would be disappointed – she could grow anything. My belief started in grade school when every year we planted some sort of seedling in styrofoam cups for Arbor Day. Mine always sprouted, but quickly got some sort of stem rot and died. I felt embarrassed, and a failure, and one of the beliefs I adopted was “I can’t grow things.”

(BTW – do you see just how easily and quickly a belief is born? A belief that can mould and affect the way you present yourself in the world? Just food for thought!)

With that belief in mind, I have generally avoided being responsible for plant life. I might plant things outside, because I can then blame mother nature and the rabbits when it doesn’t grow. But inside… I have never had an indoor plant because of that childhood experience.

Fast forward many many years and someone gifted me an orchid! OMG the pressure! Here’s this plant, depending on me to nurture it. Here’s this person who gifted it to me (totally unaware of my fear of failure around plants) who is happily sharing her love of plants with me. Here’s me, feeling all the pressure and really wanting to “just keep it alive” let alone growing.

Oy, the pressure. But you know what? Four months later and it is still alive, and actually rather healthy as demonstrated by it blooming for a second time!

What did I do? Well, after doing quite a bit of research I picked a place for it, water it once a week, consciously tell it how beautiful it is every day and appreciate it. Otherwise, I let it alone. I don’t worry about it. I don’t criticize the roots for looking pale. I don’t complain that it is not symmetric. I just let it be.

Hmmmm…… I gave it what it needed (sunshine, water, warmth, love) and allowed it to do its own thing. And it blossomed. And grew.

What if we all did this more in our relationships with ourselves and others? Wouldn’t it feel good to have a relationship where you gave authentic support and love, and then step back and let the magic happen? That orchid knows how to grow and bloom. It has all that knowledge locked up inside of its genetics. So do you. So does your partner.

What if we all give ourselves what we are most wanting – love and nurturing – and just watch how we grow and blossom? If we stop the nagging, the bullying and the self sabotage look what will happen – we will become a more beautiful version of ourselves. Pretty cool, huh?

So, my suggestion is that we all give ourselves what we most want others to give to us (love, understanding, compassion), and see how that creates new growth and beauty in our lives. I suspect you might be surprised at the outcome.

And as far as that belief I have about not being able to grow things, well, it is still there, but it sure is a lot smaller and quieter than it was a few months ago. My ego still points out it’s only been a few months of success and doom is sure to happen, but… I just smile and enjoy my beautiful orchid.

Let’s Save Ourselves First

**TRIGGER WARNINGS**
Animal death, Death or Dying, Self-harm and Suicide, Eating disorders, Body hatred

It was spring of 2013. I had been a veterinarian for 23 yrs. I was tired, disillusioned and stuck. I was only doing the vet job because I was too lazy to try anything else.

I hated what my life had become:
Go to work, get beat up by emotional events, needy clients, endless death and dying.

Then I would go home, sit in the bathroom in the dark with the heater on and let the hum of the heater drown out my inner thoughts. Thoughts which made my eyes tear up and my heart race. Thoughts which made me feel useless and stupid. Thoughts like, “You are dying in this job! This job is killing you! You are stupid! You are a failure!”

As I moved to the bed to go to sleep, I’d grab a bag of cookies or Doritos and eat til it was empty. Then I’d close my eyes, feeling totally alone and overwhelmed, and cry. I would hold the exhalation between my sobs as long as I could–I didn’t want to inhale and face another breath–another round of self incriminations. I’d fall asleep in my clothes and in my tears.

I’d wake up and do it all again…

One particular week I remember having many euthanasias, and each one of them tore me apart. I wasn’t able to handle the grief and distress of the owners or the pain and suffering of the animal. I called into work one day and told the receptionist that I would not come in to work IF there was a euthanasia on the schedule. I had hit my wall. I could not do it again. NOT AGAIN!

The weight of the emotional toll this job took on me was crushing. I am not sure how I got over that week; I suspect mostly I just took the weekend to sleep and push all the emotions down, so that I could be ready for Monday.

I was ready for Monday, but I wasn’t healed. That took a much longer journey of self discovery and prioritizing my mental health. But what that week showed me is that the emotional toll this job can take, whether it is euthanasias, over filled schedules, long hours or being stressed about money, is REAL.

I understand the blogs and posts I read from my colleagues which implore clients to be nice to us and to thank us.

I understand the feelings of my colleagues who say they are the type of people to never say no to an animal in need.

I understand the desire to heal every animal that crosses our path and to beat ourselves up when we can’t.

BUT… I disagree that is has to be that way. I disagree that it is ‘just who we are.’ I believe each of us has the power to be healthy and happy in this profession.

What I found had to happen for me to survive this profession was to prioritize my mental health, and create a foundation of beliefs that allow me to shed the stress more easily and in healthy ways.

I believe I have choices in how I move through my day. When faced with something that creates anger or resentment, I have a choice. I can honor those feelings and find a resolution that allows me to feel better. For example: I can say “No, I cannot see another patient today.” OR I can ask myself why I feel anger over the situation and find a way to resolve that idea so that I can say yes with a clear heart and mind. Saying yes with underlying resentment or anger chips away at our mental health and our enjoyment of life.

I don’t believe we need to suffer as veterinarians and veterinary staff. I believe the answers to still doing all we do for pets lies in learning how to deal with our emotions in a timely and healthy manner. We can still save all the animals, but we must save ourselves first.

We each need to learn the emotional intelligence skills we SHOULD HAVE learned as children, but too often were told things like, “Get over it! Ignore it! Don’t be mad! Be nice to your sister!”, etc. with no acknowledgement that those feelings were real and based in a belief we had. IF we had been taught to examine our beliefs and behaviors like we were taught the times tables, we all would be better now.

What makes you mad at work? What beliefs create that anger for you? Do you say “yes” but feel resentful and angry? Do you say “yes“, even though you know you are on the edge and need to say “No!”?

Dealing with sickness, death, distraught clients, and scared patients can be a burden. But it can also be uplifting, life affirming and self-motivating. It depends on your outlook.

So I encourage you, my colleagues, to keep saving all the animals you feel called to, but please, do it in a healthy way so that we can all benefit from your magnificent, shining, unique rockstar self!

If you would like to talk with me more about this, or if you are having trouble navigating this profession in a balanced, healthy way, please reach out to me. I am offering a free one-on-one call to get to know each other a bit and illuminate the amazing person that you are and the skills that you want to learn. Then, if it feels good to us, you can sign up for a package of (8) weekly, 60 minute calls that will guide you on creating the life that you want.

You will learn to see that the beliefs that are causing you pain can be changed. You will see yourself as the strong, powerful, successful person that you are.

I believe in you. I believe in your strength and your wisdom.

Self-Care is Not Selfish

Today, I am urging you to gift yourself with at least ONE Act-of-Kindness. Self-care is so very important to put into daily practice. If we don’t take care of ourselves we are not able to sustain our role as a healer and giver.

We must keep ourselves “full” so that we can give to others.

So today, and every day, please do the little things that make you feel more you. An extra 10 minutes enjoying your morning coffee on the deck, a few minutes outside at lunch time to breath deep and enjoy the view, saying no to squeezing in that extra appointment, saying yes to a girlfriend’s night out. Simple things that can make all the difference.

Larger acts like massages, manicures, and vacations can also refuel you. But please don’t put off the little daily things that can easily be skipped in our hectic lives!

Let me know what you do for self-care today!

I’m Fine, How are You?

You are scared about your performance at work.
You are stressed by trying to keep the house cleaned up.
You are exhausted by the end of the day and fall asleep on the couch in your clothes.
You are frustrated with the kids when they ask simple questions.
You are overwhelmed wondering how you will get through this next year if something doesn’t change.

But you say…… “I’m fine.”

Why have we adopted this ‘correct’ answer to this question? We are so scared of admitting to ourselves, let alone to others, that we would like some help and support. We all need it, and usually daily, but we won’t even verbalize that we are anything other than fine.

One of the problems with everyone being ‘fine’ is that it reinforces the idea that I must be the only one that cannot handle things. We assume that everyone else really does have it figured out, and we beat ourselves up for not being as perfect as they are.

It continues to reinforce the idea that there must be something wrong with me if I am not anything other than on top of my game. And it creates a stigma around mental health that can prevent us from seeking counseling or therapy to help ourselves.

But how do we change this? I suggest that we need to be brave! We need to stop, and before just answering “I’m fine.”, we need to take a second and recognize how we are feeling. Then we need to tell someone. The answer to “How are you today?” can be rooted in gratefulness that someone asked. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they really DO want to know and will help you if they can.

If the question was asked by a stranger at a store, etc., sometimes I find myself answering “It’s a rough day, but it got better because you asked me that.” If I take 3 seconds to feel a connection with that person, it does make me feel better, and it is not dependent on that person at all. They often give me a quizzical look, and may not utter another word … but I feel better! And hopefully, my answer has given them permission to rethink their answer to the question the next time they are asked it.

If that question is asked by someone I know, I will be as truthful as I can be. Feeling safe discussing our emotions comes from within, and is a practice we can all cultivate.

Answering something like “I am sad today, but thank you for asking.” can feel liberating. It may start a conversation that feels good or at the very least you were honest with yourself and that is liberating.

You see, when you answer is always “I’m fine.” you are lying to yourself. That can become a habit which only stuffs your true emotions further and further down, which is JUST. NOT. HEALTHY.

Now, you do not need to give an hour long dissertation on all that is wrong in your life, but acknowledging that you are human gives freedom to others to do the same.

And, if you are asking the question, be open to hearing a different truthful answer. Sometimes just holding your heart open to an honest answer allows the other person to feel safe saying something other than the expected answer. You never know who needs that moment of kind connection.

So, if you don’t want to break the “I’m fine.” cycle for yourself, do it for someone else who needs to be reassured that they ‘are fine’ for having emotions, rough days, and a desire to be on a tropical island all by themselves!

So, my dear friends, how are you today?

Let me know in the comments or feel free to email me directly at Pamela@HealThyselfDVM.com .

Work Family Blues

Here’s a scenario for you: You are at your family dinner. Everyone brought their expected dish to contribute, when your brother/sister starts telling the usual stories about your childhood. You feel embarrassed as usual and try and stop the comments that you know are coming, because they happen every.single.time. your family gets together. You aren’t that person anymore and you hate that story and the teasing that ensues, but you cannot stop it. And if you do try to stop it or declare that the story is hurtful to you, often the result is an argument.

As we grow older and wiser, sometimes the traditional family stories are experienced as hurtful, but stopping them can be difficult. There may even come a time when you don’t want to subject yourself to those stories and that treatment any more and stop going to the family functions.

The exact same thing can happen in a work family. Everyone knows their role and outgrowing your assigned role can be very difficult to experience. Some people may be threatened by your new ideas and coping skills, or the sense that you might be wanting to move on, and might apply pressure to keep you there.

Our profession creates strong work family units. We spend long hours together dealing with life and death issues, and lean on each other for support. This can be experienced as mutually beneficial support.

But what happens when we outgrow that support system or when it is a dysfunctional system?

There are times when we keep ourselves from growing or expanding, because we do not want to lose the work family. We become dependent on them in an unhealthy way and may continue to deal with our emotional responses in unproductive ways, because it is just “how it is done” here. Venting, complaining about other staff members, disparaging client decisions, etc. are all ways of coping with strong emotions. These may not ultimately be healthy ways to deal with emotional turmoil long term ,and can be a cause of burnout or compassion fatigue.

Sometimes we may be unable to fathom leaving a work situation because of guilt. Guilt of leaving friends behind, or admitting to ourselves that we could be happier somewhere else, or the guilt of peer pressure. The peer pressure that says that we should stay in a compromising situation because everyone else is.

The strength and internal fortitude to move on when it is in our best interest is not always easy to find or uphold. Change is not easy! And being the one to say that this work environment no longer works for me is not always easy. It is easier to continue to complain, vent and disparage, or turn to sleep or alcohol to cope instead of making a change.

Breaking free from these work constructs can be difficult. Work families can be a great source of support, encouragement, and understanding, but they might also be stifling and confining.

Wanting a different work environment or dealing with stress in a different way can challenge your place in the family. Know that it is ok to want a different experience at work and know that you deserve to be happy and thrive at work.

You may not need to change your work address to be happy. A lot can change if you set your mind to being who you want to be and handle stress how you want to. I have seen offices change just because one person, with a different attitude, was able to affect the whole office.

I know how much my work families have meant to me. I have also experienced dysfunctional work families that even though I knew it was over for me, I stayed. I stayed for the others. I stayed because it was easier. I stayed because I wanted to keep supporting my friends.

I’ve recently changed jobs and leaving my work family was very difficult. In my situation I felt supported and appreciated, but it made me realize other jobs that I left where I didn’t feel that. It made me realize that it is difficult to make changes even when you know it is in your best interest.

Be brave and make the changes that you feel are necessary, and know that everyone else at work will do the same for themselves. You may not need to leave your current work family, but you may need to be confident and strong in how you want to be treated and how you want to handle stress. Don’t let others dictate how you deal with your emotions. Find your way, and if means your work culture, or your work address needs to change, allow that to happen.

Be the change you want to see in this world.

UNMASKED

One of the beliefs I live by is that ‘I always do my best’; which is one of the agreements from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, a Toltec Wisdom Book. I give myself that gift every day, and it definitely helps get me through those draining days.

Today’s blog is about me, ‘doing the best I can’, writing something for you!

My new job is a big change for me! Although I love it and feel welcomed and supported, it is totally different than the last job of 13 years. My body needs to adjust to the new schedule. Our bodies are the receptacle of the emotional baggage we carry from our lives, and they demonstrate it as dis-ease (aches/pains/illness). My monkey mind (that part that is tasked with keeping me safe) is unsure about this new experience, and is working hard to keep me “safe”. It’s trying to convince me that I have made a mistake in taking this new job by showing me a load of totally imagined, horrible things that could go wrong in the future; even though the present is going really well.

My body is caught between my monkey mind, my affirmations and firm belief that this is actually good for me, and a new demanding schedule. My body responds to the monkey mind by showing me where I don’t feel good – for me, it shows up with a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders, which unfortunately, triggers a migraine.

I tell you all of this today, because my word for the year is UNMASKED. *Disclaimer* I am not sure, as I write this, if I found the term ‘unmasked’ from Brené Brown’s newest book, Dare to Lead, or if it was from Byron Katie’s newest book, A Mind at Home with Itself: How Asking Four Questions Can Free Your Mind, Open Your Heart, and Turn Your World Around? To be honest, I don’t have the energy to check which one it was. And that, my friends, is me being UNMASKED! I don’t have all the answers, and I am going through things…just like you are. What I do have is an unshakable faith in myself and the Universe that I do have the skills and knowledge to move through this uncomfortable time, and come out the other side even stronger.

Today’s blog about how I am doing, is the best I can do today! I have a certain amount of time right now to write for you, and this is the best I can do. My hope is that it shows you a glimpse into how I view the relationship of my monkey mind (ego – that part that is only there to keep me safe), my beliefs and my physical body. It is a triad that is cosmically set up to inform me of what is in my best interest, and where I want to go.

As I allow my body and monkey mind to reflect beliefs I no longer need by trying to scare me about future happenings and triggering a migraine, I share this thought with you:

I always do the best I can, and I know I am in the right place at the right time. And…I will be so much more of me when I get to the other side of this!

Tell me, what are you going through today?
What is your monkey mind trying to tell you today? Is it true?
Is your monkey mind trying to scare you with future scenarios?
How is your body feeling today? Is there something you could do to show it that you are listening to it, and love it, even when it seems to be failing you?

As I end this blog about my humanity and UNMASK myself in front of all of you, I encourage you to do the same (at least privately). Explore what your monkey mind is trying to save you from, and how your body is reacting to those beliefs. How do you want to feel, and what beliefs would serve you better?

Let me know how these ideas resonate with you by commenting below!

Hey Ego, Is That You Talking to Me?

We all want to feel like we know what we are doing. Whether it is our diagnostic abilities, our venipuncture skills or our ability to communicate with clients … we all want to feel confident. But does that come from the outside (environment and feedback) or the inside (our own innate knowledge)?

These thoughts are coming up for me as I start a new job after 13 yrs at the previous hospital. Yikes! I have noticed thoughts like ‘I don’t really know what I am doing! They all know more than me! No one will like me! My people skills are poor!’,etc. On-and-on I hear those voices in my head. Why? Because I am doing something new and my ego doesn’t like it! It liked the old job where I felt comfortable and knew the staff, the clients, and how things worked.

Now? Now I don’t even know where the bathroom is without asking! This uncertainty sets off all my ego warning bells loudly. ‘Just go back to where you were comfy.’ The ego’s job is to keep me safe–safe from being eaten by a bear, as well as it’s 21st century job, of threats of any changes.

Did you know that the ego will jump in, even when you have a new thought about yourself? So many of us stay in situations that are not right for us and we don’t change, because at least it’s “the devil we know”. As soon as we even have a brief thought about changing our life somehow the ego goes into overdrive showing us all the things that could happen if we did that. ‘DANGER Will Robinson, Danger!!!! Don’t think that way. We don’t know how to do that safely. We don’t know who we will be if we think that way. We won’t know who we are if we go over there and do that. We’ll lose friends.’ So, all too often, sadly, we don’t change. We don’t change because it seems so difficult.

But the really cool thing is, the more you can give your ego a voice and realize it is just scaring you with the unknowable future misery that might befall you at some point if you “did” this thing, then it can actually become quieter. Tell your ego you hear it and appreciate it, but you ARE going to do this thing because it is something you want to try. Yes, you might fail, but you fail for sure if you don’t even try. (Affirmations, tapping and mirror work are some tools to quiet the self protective ego.)

So these last few weeks I have had many opportunities to practice what I preach. I left a really great job because the hour commute had finally become exhausting. I have found the next opportunity and I know it will be a great thing as well BUT my ego has been throwing her full force at me. She has said everything from ‘You are an imposter!’ to ‘You won’t fit in there.’ and saving the best for last, ‘No one will like you.’ It is amazing how quickly she can fill in any quiet time in my mind with scary thoughts aimed at keeping me safe and at my old job.

Where do you hear your ego talking to you? Is it at the job – trying to convince you of imposter syndrome or that everyone hates you? Is it in your wanting to feel better? Does it tell you things like ‘You are the shy one. You will never be popular. No one will ever love you.’?

When we can recognize these types of thoughts as those of the self protective ego’s work, then we have insight into how to quiet them. We cannot allow ourselves to believe the ego’s messages unless it is warning us about hot stoves, or dangerous social situations etc. But when it is talking about future events that might happen, or if it is talking about how you view yourself, most likely it is incorrect.

You are powerful beyond words and you are incredibly able and intelligent. And anyone, or anything that tells you otherwise, is lying.

So, learn to hear those thoughts from your ego, but tell yourself the real truth and latch onto that truth. These are skills that will take you from miserable and frustrated to happy and successful.

Because I feel so strongly about these issues, I am still offering a FREE one-on-one consultation call to get to know each other and outline the strengths that you already have on your side and your goals. Then, if it feels good to us, you can sign up for a package of (8) weekly 60-minute calls that will guide you on creating the life that you want.

You will learn to see the events in your life as stepping stones, not barriers. You will see yourself as the strong, powerful, successful person that you are.

I believe in you. I believe in your strength and your wisdom!

A Valentine’s Day Wish for You

Unreasonable client demands
Untrue and Unrelenting social media rants by clients
Long and unpredictable hours
Inadequate support staff and poor wages
…………

The list of stressors in our careers could go on! These are reasons that I hear so many of my colleagues talking about the need for boundaries, and I totally agree!

But what kind of boundaries and where do they start?

I can try and educate the public til I am out of breath about their role in our high risk of suicide. I can try and persuade them of our absolute desire to heal every animal that comes across our door at a reasonable fee. But I may never change their opinions. The reality is that the only thing I can control are my own beliefs and those are the boundaries that need to be created and kept intact.

To create boundaries we need to focus inward, not outward. What clients do or say is a direct result of my beliefs and assumptions. How I react to their words or actions is MY choice. At some point you have to decide that YOU are in charge of your emotions, and that no one can make you feel something you don’t want to feel. Now I don’t mean that we don’t feel sad or angry at times. I don’t mean to say that there are not angry people that come into our clinics. What I want to emphasize is that when you feel negative emotions, you benefit from examining what belief allowed you to feel them and then play with changing that belief.

For example:
A client is complaining to me in the exam room that our prices are too high and she can’t afford the bloodwork to diagnose the issue. She is on a bit of a rant about it, actually.

I have many choices in how to respond EMOTIONALLY:
I can get angry, embarrassed, ashamed, sad, righteous, empathetic, loving.

Which emotion I chose to feel is up to me, and is based on the beliefs I have when I hear her rant.

I might feel a negative emotion if:
– I believe that she is demeaning my knowledge or trying to guilt me into a discount.
– I believe that my prices are too high or I shouldn’t need the blood work.
– I believe that she is on a fixed income and the last thing she needs is a sick animal.
– I believe ‘who the hell is she to tell me what she’ll pay for my services‘!

I might feel a positive emotion if:
– I believe her rant has nothing to do with me.
– I believe that she has issues in her life that I may never know about which cause her to act out.
– I believe that I need the lab work to reinforce my knowledge from the exam.
– I believe that we are all part of the same higher power (God, Allah, Buddha) and I can see it in her even as she acts out.

Repetitive themes abound in our lives so that we have multiple chances to heal those wounds that have been created by believing lies about ourselves and the world.

Beliefs about money, time, love and humanity are always showing up since they are the universal experiences. How they show up is a reflection of what we believe about them.

Believe that humanity is cruel and uncaring, and that is what you will see.

Believe that money is hard to get or hard to hold onto and that is what will repeatedly be shown to you.

You are a powerful creator and thus the statement “self fulfilling prophecy”.

You see what you expect to see. I don’t mean that negative things won’t happen to you – they happen to all of us but when you are looking for the good, the joy and the abundance in life, more often than not you will see it. And the negative things that happen will be seen as chances to create a new belief, chances to move beyond a challenge, chances to love yourself even more.

All the negative emotions are self-protective, instinctual relics of our past. We need them to navigate real dangers, but we often use them as protection against changing and growing our beliefs and perspectives. When we can investigate why something made us angry – by looking internally – then we can diffuse the situation, adopt new beliefs that are born of our power, and the need to react to that scenario again will be dissolved.

Boundaries are a critically important part of self-care and they arise from within, from self love. Look inward and heal yourself so that you can show up as the powerful, amazing superhero you are in both your work and your home life.

That’s my Valentines Day wish for you. Love yourself enough to have boundaries that allow you to enjoy your career and your life.

I Think I Thought A Lie

Any thought you think that makes you feel bad – is a lie!

I have heard this statement said several times and I cannot improve upon it with more words, and so this blog is going to be very short.

I want you to really focus this week on what thoughts make you feel bad –angry, frustrated, sad, resentful – and find the lie in the thought.

Shining a light on the lie is this first step to disproving the lie, and in its place creating a true statement to believe.

Every thought you think that makes you feel bad is a lie!

The only thing we are in control of in this life is our thoughts. So if there is a thought that creates negative emotions for you (and we all have them all the time), it only has power over you if you believe it. If you can see it for the lie it is, then you can believe the truth in the alternative thought.

A belief is simply a thought that has been thought often enough that it is taken as a fact.

Say something to yourself often enough and you will start to believe it.

Any thought that creates negative emotions is a lie. As Linda Kohanov says in Way of the Horse “Emotions weren’t created to torture us, but to protect and inform us. They only hang around and intensify if we persist in ignoring the wisdom they represent.”

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become aware of your thoughts and the accompanying emotion. That’s it! Be aware…

The extra credit step for those over-achievers reading this (and I know most of my audience are!) is to FIND THE LIE in any thought that creates a negative emotion and FIND A TRUE STATEMENT to take its place. Say that true statement to yourself as many times as you say the lie, and you will be on the path to a better day. In this way we are not pushing away or ignoring the negative thought, but we are investigating how to create a more true statement to take its place, one that allows us to feel a more enjoyable emotion.

I love hearing from you so let me know how the assignment is going for you. Email me at Pamela@HealThyselfDVM.com !