- Disarming the "Inner Critic"
- The Event>Thoughts>Feelings>Actions cycle, and how to break it
- Types of perfectionism
- Types of cognitive distortions
- Briefly discussed my relationship with Kevin and how we work out our problems, and the availability of alone time with him
- What is it going to take to get me motivated? Am I waiting for something? Do I need to "get" something?
- I can't change other people. I can change myself and what I do.
- Rather than saying "I should..." I should say "It would be better for me if..." or "I would like to do/be..."
- Turn negative thoughts into more positive and less self-defeating ones
- Watch out for generalizing thoughts such as "I never get things right" or "Things always turn out this way"
She'd like for me to bring in the list of "Mom's beliefs" along with my list of my beliefs next time I go in.
This was the first time I didn't cry at all during a session.
I'm not entirely sure why, but I haven't been entirely happy with the way the sessions have been going lately... I don't know. I'm not sure if this is just because I'm afraid to put the effort into making big changes, or if I'm really feeling like she expects more of me than I feel I can give. She gives me ideas for how to deal with my thoughts, and I read all the worksheets she gives me, and I spend a lot of time thinking about how to incorporate it into my life, but... We basically keep talking about the same things over and over in the sessions now, and while I know I'm still working on this, rarely do I have any big triumphs to tell her about from week to week. My way of thinking and living is not going to change in one week, and she makes me feel like I should expect it to. Like I should be disappointed in myself if I haven't made any large strides since last week.
I think I should talk to her about that, because at this point she's kind of just reinforcing the negative feelings about myself now. I am trying, I really am. I promised myself, going into this, that I would listen to what she tells me and take it to heart, and I do. But it's going to take practice for me to get used to it.
Meanwhile, there are things going on in my life that upset me that we still haven't touched on at all. There are some concerns in my relationship that worry me. I am still greatly affected by the move from Ohio I went through. I am deeply saddened by the loss of friends, family, and classmates that I loved. I feel like religion is tearing apart my relationship with my parents because they'd rather side with their religious beliefs than have support in me or how I live.
When do I get to take that weight off my chest?