Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut…
This little ad ditty always appealed to me – I wonder why? But it is so the truth for me. Sometimes I really feel like a nut, and, well, sometimes I don’t. I used to have this voice in my head that said “I hate my life.” Even when life was good, one bad thing happened, there was that family meme repeating itself. At some point I had to find a counter to it – something that made it more reasonable. That was the only way to get away from the disaster mentality. If I couldn’t stop my mind from saying it, I could sure create a response!
I don’t really hate my life, I just don’t like what happened and I don’t handle frustration very well.
I don’t hate my life, I just hate how I handled that situation and I want to figure out how to handle it better in the future.
I don’t hate my life, I hate how I overreact to setbacks that are just a part of life – it really wasn’t that big a deal. Every little setback isn’t a catastrophe!
I think it’s important to identify the times we feel like a nut and recognize overreactions, overgeneralizations, and catastrophization of life events. Bad stuff happens. Semi-bad stuff happens. Good stuff happens too.
2 Responses to “Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut…”
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drdoug
Friday, 23rd October 2009 at 12:20 pm
Your blog hit the nail on the head with me. I can get into a pretty good mood state as long as everything is going relatively well. But there are certain setbacks and problems that come up that make me feel like my life is turned upside down. Once I finish over reacting, then solutions start becoming clearer. Most of this reaction comes from fear mixed with chronic difficulties with depressive mood states.
I don’t have to solve all my problems alone. In fact, I do best when I allow others to help me solve problems. I will frequently ask my sponsor, friends, or family for ideas about how to find solutions. When this is inadequate, I have learned to go to professional sources for answers.
Also, going 12 step meetings raises my attitude of gratitude and helps recharge my faith that my Higher Power is with me and will help me.
Addiction Recovery
Saturday, 24th October 2009 at 9:39 am
All so true! It’s amazing how once the over-reacting passes and you focus on using the tools you’ve learned and relying on friends and professionals just how clear the path can become. In the bad old days I was totally focused on the problem rather than the solution and I have to continually watch that tendency.