Mental Health Archives - Page 5 of 15

Reprogramming the Subconscious Mind

Written by enlightened solutions on September 19, 2018. Posted in Mental Health, Recovery. Leave a Comment

The subconscious mind stores our emotional information and directs the vast majority of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. When we are dealing with addictions and mental health issues, we are working with subconscious minds that are running on self-destructive programming. Our thoughts tend to default to negative patterns and limiting beliefs. To heal ourselves and be happy, we have to reprogram the way our minds think.

The subconscious mind responds excellently to the written word and can process it without all the usual filters of our fears and pain. To heal our subconscious minds and reprogram them to think the way we want them to, we can work with new programming for them to absorb. Try writing out your positive affirmations in addition to saying them. When you’re setting intentions for yourself, write them down. Use a journal to process your emotions, and to write about the healing changes you’d like to implement and the future you’d like to manifest. Think about creating a vision statement or mission statement for yourself and for your life, and then write it down. Read your affirmations, intentions, journal entries and mission statements as often as you can.

The subconscious mind also benefits from repetition. Practice repeating everything you’ve written for yourself, multiple times a day. Keep what you’ve written easily accessible and refer to it often. As you repeat your new programming, try to embody these new beliefs and over time, they will become second nature.

The key to ridding ourselves of problematic thoughts and beliefs is to create new thought patterns to replace them. Rather than fighting the old ones, focus on the new. Trying to battle our bothersome thoughts only makes them stronger, and as we focus on them, we amplify them. By creating resistance, we reinforce and increase their power over us. Instead, give your focus and energy to the new, self-affirming thought patterns you’re introducing. Rather than focusing on the thoughts we don’t want, we can focus on the ones we do want, which helps them to take root in our subconscious minds, thereby changing our default thought patterns.

The subconscious mind also responds to imagination. As we are reprogramming, we can use the power of visualization to help manifest the healing we are working towards. Imagine yourself healed, feel as though you are healed, believe you are healed.

The subconscious mind holds unlimited power- the power to heal and to create the lives we want for ourselves. Knowing how to reprogram our subconscious mind can make all the difference in our healing process.

Learning about ourselves and our minds is a crucial part of healing. The community at Enlightened Solutions can help. Call (833) 801-LIVE.

Investigating Our Fears

Written by enlightened solutions on September 12, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

The healing process of working through our fears includes investigating and taking a closer look at them. As we identify our fears and become conscious of how they show up in our lives, it’s also helpful to think about where they came from, where we learned or acquired them, and how they make us feel, in order to work through them and move forward.

Sometimes we’re not sure where our fears originated and why. It takes some work to look at them more in depth. We can ask ourselves, where did these fears come from? What did I experience, especially early in life, that contributed to my developing this fear? Traumatic experiences, such as losing a loved one or being abused, can cause us to develop all kinds of fears- fears of loss, abandonment, pain, rejection.

Sometimes we absorb our fears from family members or other people we grew up with. We can inherit fears and other emotional memories and then find ourselves being afraid of certain things we might not have been otherwise, simply because our families experienced them. We can also pick fears up from people over time. Our fearful thoughts, feelings and behaviors can affect the people around us.

It is common for us to be influenced by the cultures we live in and are surrounded by. We are impacted by the things we see on TV and in movies, music, video games, social media, etc. We can develop fears based on the things we see. Everything we witness becomes part of our psyche. Seeing extreme violence in a movie, for example, can cause you to develop a specific fear, even if you didn’t experience it yourself.

The work of investigating fears can be very challenging emotionally. Our fears are scary! It’s important to approach this work with self-love and patience. Many of our fears have been with us for most of our lives, and healing takes time. Don’t beat yourself up for being afraid. Fears are normal and human, and something we all have in common. They are one of the ties that bind us together in the vastness of the human experience. Have compassion for yourself. Remember yourself as a child and have compassion for the pain you experienced.

As we become more conscious of our fears, it can be overwhelming to look at them with honesty, openness and vulnerability. We can find ourselves feeling even more sad and afraid, because we are gaining consciousness rather than burying our fears under our addictions. When fearful thoughts pop up as they inevitably will, send yourself love and affirm that you are growing stronger. Have faith that you will heal. Be brave.

Working through addictions and mental health issues requires that we address our fears. The experienced community at Enlightened Solutions can help. Call (833) 801-LIVE for more information.

Healing From Our Fears

Written by enlightened solutions on September 10, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Healthy Living. Leave a Comment

When we are struggling with addictions and mental health issues, we can find ourselves consumed by fear. We often use our addictive behaviors and thought patterns to bury our fears, whether consciously or subconsciously. We distract ourselves from our fears and try to run from them. We self-medicate to numb ourselves and to avoid having to really look at our fears. For some of us, it’s our relationship to fear that is a major contributor to our mental health problems and addictions in the first place.

How do we heal from our fears? This is a fundamental, very real, very challenging part of the healing process. When we’re working to recover from our addictions and mental health issues, we can’t ignore the underlying fears that we may or not be conscious of. When we look at the fears head on, we can address them and allow ourselves to experience real healing.

Instead of only focusing on the surface symptoms such as anxiety, nervousness, and restlessness, let’s dig deeper at what fears those feelings represent. This can take time, patience and soul searching. Sometimes we become so mired in our repetitive thought patterns and addictive behaviors that we need the help of an outside person such as a therapist, mentor, spiritual guide or trusted friend.

Meditate, still your thoughts, and get quiet. Give your inner voice the space to communicate with you. Allow the guidance of your higher power to come through. Sometimes we consume ourselves so much with our recurring thoughts, worries, problems and issues that we disconnect ourselves from our higher truths.

Give yourself time and space. Relationships of any kind can make it more difficult to connect with our inner selves.

Ask yourself, “what am I afraid of? What are my fears?” Some common ones many of us share are fear of failure and fear of success, fear of being judged by other people, fear of inadequacy, fear of being abandoned or replaced, fear of being alone. Name your fears.

Imagine the fear is already healed, and you’re no longer suffering from it. How would you feel? List these things for yourself. Examples include feeling at peace, grounded, secure, stable, confident, strong, powerful, brave, fearless.

Imagine you’ve conquered that fear. How would that feel? You’d be proud of yourself. You’d feel like you can transcend anything. You’d feel relieved, empowered and grateful to have healed your suffering.

What affirmations can you say to reflect those feelings? Write and repeat statements for yourself from the perspective of having freed yourself from your fears. “I am at peace within myself. I am healed. I am brave. I am confident. I am powerful.”

Fear is a part of life for all of us. Facing our fears and working through them, rather than running from them, is crucial to our healing.

Sometimes we need support to face our fears. Let the community at Enlightened Solutions help. Call (833) 801-LIVE.

Prioritizing Our Mental Health

Written by enlightened solutions on September 7, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

When we are struggling with addictions and emotional difficulties, sometimes our mental health is the last thing on our list of priorities. We find ourselves caught up in our addictive behaviors and using our drugs of choice, and we have a hard time seeing our way out of the fog. When we are in the thick of it, sometimes we neglect our mental health and forget how critically important it is to take care of ourselves.

When we are in the midst of our addictive patterns, including unhealthy relationships, our emotions are often volatile and constantly changing. While we’re dealing with our own stuff, we also have to deal with other people’s addictions and emotional challenges, especially our partners and the people we live with. We have to deal with the everyday realities of life- taking care of our families, working, going to school, paying expenses, etc. When we don’t work to ensure our minds are getting the care and balance they need, we can experience relapses in our addictive behaviors, as well as worsened periods of depression and anxiety.

When we are consumed with scoring drugs, or dealing with intense sadness, we don’t always make sure to prioritize getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food or exercising. We tend to neglect our spiritual practice because we feel so generally overwhelmed that anything beyond the bare necessities of getting through the day feels insurmountable. We might be too anxious to try to will ourselves to meditate, or too depressed to encourage ourselves to exercise. We might be able to function enough to go to work, but then to relax we binge on junk food and TV.

Many of us struggling with addictions and mental health issues are subconsciously telling ourselves that we don’t deserve self-love. Sometimes we neglect the most basic elements of self-care, and it is often because we carry within us a feeling that we are unworthy, unlovable or undeserving. We put ourselves, our happiness and our peace of mind last, and we prioritize our addictive relationships, behaviors and drugs of choice. We struggle to maintain a sense of balance within ourselves and within our lives. We don’t feel grounded or centered. Over time, our mental health declines.

What can we do to start prioritizing caring for our mental health, especially when we are caught in cycles of addiction and emotional challenges? We can start by making the choice to prioritize ourselves, and by working to believe that we are worth taking care of ourselves. We can affirm that we deserve our own love and care. By doing this, we start the process of opening ourselves up to healing.

Holistic healing is a main focus at Enlightened Solutions. We can help you find ways to take better care of yourself. Call (833) 801-LIVE.

Recognizing Anxiety

Written by enlightened solutions on September 6, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Sometimes when we talk about mental health problems, we speak about them generally and don’t necessarily get specific on what those problems actually are. Many people experience depression and anxiety without realizing it, especially when struggling with addictions.

Anxiety is something many of us experience. Some of us feel anxious every day, some of us sporadically. Some of us experience months of worsened anxiety, particularly when depressed. Some people will go years feeling fine to then have their anxiety symptoms reappear.

How do we recognize anxiety? Anxiety can be complex but has some symptoms and effects that are easily recognizable.

Some people wake up to a rush of negative thoughts that hit them immediately upon waking. Some people wake up worried about the upcoming day, or logistics they have to sort out. They might wake up ruminating about whatever they were upset about the night before. Sometimes we carry issues we’re anxious about and wake up worried about them every day. Sometimes we will wake up upset about a different issue every day.

Some of us experience anxiety accompanied by depression, and we wake up to an onslaught of suicidal thoughts, accompanied by feelings of despair and hopelessness. Our inner voice tells us how inadequate we are, or it replays vivid memories of our mistakes. Sometimes we’ll wake up immediately thinking about the things we’re most embarrassed about or ashamed of.

For a lot of us, these anxious thoughts and feelings stay with us for the rest of the day. Being consumed with these negative, worrisome, sometimes disturbing thoughts can be really distressing. Sometimes our minds race and we feel like we can’t slow them down. We might think or say the same things repeatedly. Sometimes we experience confusion and overwhelm and can’t get our thoughts straight. We might have a hard time speaking, struggle to get our words out, or not be able to speak at all. Conversely, we might talk more than usual and even feel our thoughts and words are out of control.

For many of us, we experience anxiety in physical ways. We have a hard time catching our breath, or we might breathe really fast, shallow breaths. Our hearts beat faster. We might feel a physical nervousness in our chest, stomach, hands and feet. Sometimes we might feel panic as a wave of heat or cold rising in our bodies, or as an intense panic attack, which can feel similar to a heart attack.

Many of us struggling with anxiety have insomnia and other sleep problems. Some of us have a hard time making ourselves eat or have no appetite, while some of us overeat when anxious.

Recognizing anxiety is an important step in the healing process. Being able to identify what we’re experiencing can help us to then seek out healing solutions.

The community at Enlightened Solutions can help you to identify anxiety and work with you to manage it. Call (833) 801-LIVE.

The Energy of Depression

Written by enlightened solutions on August 27, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

When we suffer from depression, it can take over our entire lives- our thoughts, feelings, intentions, behaviors and decisions. Our energy is a huge part of who we are, and when it comes to mental and emotional health challenges, our energy can often mean the difference between healing and staying stuck.

When we are depressed, we tend to focus on how depressed we feel. We have a very hard time imagining we might feel any differently someday, and we find it difficult to remember a time when we didn’t feel this way. We focus on the bad feelings we feel- the anxiety, hopelessness and despair. We believe these thoughts and feelings will always be with us, and we can’t even begin to imagine a future without them.

We dwell on how much we’ve lost interest in our hobbies, rather than trying to remember the joy they bring us. We focus on how long it’s been since we last did something we enjoyed rather than setting the intention to make the time to do it. We focus on how we can’t get out of bed, or can’t talk to our friends, or can’t will ourselves to go for a walk- rather than encouraging ourselves to keep trying. When we do take small steps, we beat ourselves up that they weren’t bigger.

Those of us with depression tend to be very hard on ourselves. We beat ourselves up for even being depressed, for not getting better fast enough, for not being able to cope with life. We feel ashamed of ourselves for our depression, for how much it has derailed our lives. We carry guilt and regret for all our mistakes and wrongdoings, and we think and speak of ourselves with hatred. We judge ourselves harshly for not accomplishing more in life, for not being where we expected we’d be at our age, for not measuring up. We believe we’ve let everyone down.

We have a tendency to compare ourselves to other people and assume they are better, stronger, and happier than we are. We create mental games of competition with other people, and the worse we feel about ourselves in relation to other people, the harder it gets to focus on our recovery.

Recovery requires that we take inventory of our thoughts and feelings. How is our energy affecting our depression and vice versa? The sooner we understand how our energy is impacting our mental and emotional health, the sooner we can make progress in our recovery.

The community at Enlightened Solutions has years of experience helping people recover from depression. Call (833) 801-LIVE for help.

Changing Our Misconceptions About Meditation

Written by enlightened solutions on August 23, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

Meditation offers countless benefits for our mental and emotional health, including helping us calm our thoughts, manage our emotions, change our limiting beliefs, and react to life with more calm, patience and love. Unfortunately, though, many of us don’t meditate and take advantage of everything it can offer us because we have misconceptions about meditation. These misconceptions are widespread and keep people from even wanting to try to meditate. Here are some of those misconceptions, as well as new ways to think about meditating that will hopefully encourage you to start.

The goal of meditation is to have zero thoughts.

Our minds are complex thinking machines. We think an average of 60,000 thoughts a day. To experience moments of total silence isn’t impossible, but it does take time and practice. New meditators are intimidated by this lofty goal and think that because they can’t shut their minds off, they can’t meditate.

Rather than trying to stop thoughts altogether, a better goal is to slow down our thoughts, calm our minds, deepen our breathing and relax our heart rates. Forcibly trying to remove thoughts can create resistance in the form of mental backlash and our thoughts going into overdrive. Beginning meditators might find that their racing thoughts are even worse than before they tried to meditate, another factor that can dissuade people from practicing.

Rather than trying to remove our thoughts, we can choose something to focus on- our breath or a breathing exercise, a visualization, a mantra or affirmation, or a single focal point such as a candle flame. When the thoughts pop up as they inevitably will, we can practice returning, again and again, to our chosen focus. That is the practice. That is meditation, not the total absence of thoughts.

You have to sit still to meditate.

Many people don’t find it comfortable to sit, let alone to sit still. Walking meditation can be just as beneficial. The practice is the same, just walk as you meditate rather than sitting. You might find this to be both calming and rejuvenating, especially when walking in nature. It’s no wonder people go for a long walk when they need to clear their minds- it helps!

There is a “perfect” way to meditate, with the end goal being enlightenment.

The beauty of meditation lies in the practice. The healing and enlightenment are in the process itself, not in some distant, abstract concept. The growth is in doing the work- returning to our practice even when it’s difficult, even when we’re depressed, tired, busy or stressed, committing to meditate even when we don’t feel like it. There is no perfect way to meditate, and no certain specific milestone when it comes to meditation. The goal is deepening our practice and allowing the healing to come to us.

Holistic healing is an important part of the recovery process at Enlightened Solutions. Contact us for more information.

The Negative Thought Patterns We Cling To

Written by enlightened solutions on August 22, 2018. Posted in Mental Health, Sober Living. Leave a Comment

When it comes to addictions and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, there are some common factors in how we tend to manage our thoughts and feelings. We tend to engage in certain thought patterns that can bring down our mood, that make us very sad, anxious and afraid, and that exacerbate our mental and emotional health issues.

Over time, we become attached to these unhealthy thought patterns. We cling to them, almost as if we need them, as if they will help us, when they clearly don’t. Many of us are over-thinkers and over-worriers, and we get lost in the anxieties we create. We are pessimistic and come to expect negative outcomes. Some of us automatically jump to the worst-case scenario and catastrophize by default.

For some people these thought patterns can become addictive and obsessive and contribute to OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Fearful thought patterns relating to other people and socializing, our self-esteem and how we fit into social scenes, can become Social Anxiety Disorder. Chronic thought patterns of low self-esteem can morph into inadequacy/inferiority complexes. When we allow our thought patterns to go unchecked, they can become obsessions, complexes and neuroses that can totally derail our mental and emotional health.

One of the subconscious mind’s main functions is to keep us safe, but because our minds have been affected by trauma, they sometimes work on overdrive to keep us afraid. We can find better ways to keep ourselves safe than by following the self-destructive guidance of our wounded ego minds. To do this, we have some work to do to reprogram the subconscious mind and to create new thought patterns.

Many of us struggle with negative thought patterns of anxiety, insecurity, judgment and criticism. These are all based in fear, so to heal them, we can choose to practice new positive thought patterns that serve us better, that are rooted in faith, security, and confidence; compassion, empathy, understanding and love. We can read, write and repeat affirmations that reflect these better feelings. We can meditate. We can give more focus, time and energy to the thoughts that make us feel good rather than to the ones that have been keeping us down. It is possible to reprogram the subconscious mind and to start developing new, happier thought patterns that allow us to be mentally, emotionally and spiritually free.

Training our minds to work with us rather than against us is an important part of recovery. Enlightened Solutions can help. Call (833) 801-LIVE.

Changing our Subconscious Soundtrack

Written by enlightened solutions on August 15, 2018. Posted in 12 Step Program, Mental Health. Leave a Comment

When we’re able to consciously observe our thoughts, we can determine what self-destructive thought patterns and limiting beliefs we’ve been developing. The soundtracks of our subconscious minds are often negative, critical, cynical and judgmental. They are constantly judging us, other people, and the world around us. When we’re not conscious that this voice is coming from our ego mind, which is often wounded from trauma, we allow it to run rampant and wreak havoc on our mental and emotional health. We feel depressed, anxious, scared, angry, ashamed and sad, and we often try to drown out the voice with our drugs of choice.

The voice that tells you you’re not good enough, that other people are better than you, that you’re a failure, that you haven’t accomplished enough, that you’re unworthy and broken – that voice is not coming from your higher power, or from your heart or soul. It’s coming from your ego mind, the part of your mind driven by the ego, or sense of self. A common problem many of us share is that the fears stored in our subconscious mind cause our egos to function from a wounded place, rather than from a healthy place. We interpret things through a lens of feeling threatened rather than secure. Since the subconscious mind stores our emotional pain and governs the vast majority of our daily thoughts, behaviors and decisions, we’re usually living with subconscious soundtracks that make us act out of fear rather than love.

Try monitoring your thoughts for a day. Write down the major recurring themes your mind tends to return to the most. You might find that many of the themes are negative and fear-based.

What would it feel like to change that subconscious soundtrack? It might feel liberating! Let’s try it.

Consciously start repeating affirmations throughout the day- as well as when you first wake up and as you’re falling asleep- that reflect positivity, love, joy, healing and growth. “I love myself. I am happy. I am fulfilled. I am blessed. This is a beautiful life. I am perfect the way I am.” Use whatever affirmations resonate with you and make you feel good.

Our subconscious soundtrack tends to be exhausting and all-consuming. It can really drain us of our life force energy. Your new affirmations will bring you a lift, and as you continue to repeat them, you’ll have more positive energy, hope and optimism. You will start to feel more grateful and more joyful. It will become easier to reach for the thoughts that feel better. Rather than focusing on the troubling thoughts and trying to force them to go away, create new thought patterns and reinforce those with repetition. The more you practice, the more the new beautiful thoughts will replace the old depressing soundtrack.

The community at Enlightened Solutions can help support you through the healing process. Call (833) 801-LIVE.

Anxiety About the Future

Written by enlightened solutions on August 14, 2018. Posted in Mental Health, Recovery. Leave a Comment

Sometimes we find ourselves preoccupied with anxiety about the future. We become anxious about things that have not yet happened. We panic, we become filled with dread- all about things we’re not yet dealing with.

Anxiety about the future can be based on fear of the unknown. We have a hard time being ok with uncertainty, and we let worry fuel us. We think in terms of worst case scenarios. We jump to conclusions about how things might be. We anticipate and expect the worst. Instead of thinking “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” we worry in anticipation. We hope and pray something bad doesn’t happen, instead of focusing on how we can change our energy to attract what we do want to happen.

When we are anxious about uncertainty and the unknown, and when we are anxious about the outcomes we don’t want, we are energetically emitting fear. We fear negative outcomes, without realizing that our fear is a powerful energy that is actually attracting what we don’t want. We can choose different energies to attract what we do want, instead.

Sometimes we feel powerless over our anxiety, but we actually have more control over our minds than we think we do. Fear of the future can be alleviated just like any other form of anxiety. Try calming your mind with meditation, exercise or writing. Listening to music, laughing with friends, and spending time doing things we enjoy are all wonderful anxiety remedies.

Whatever it is you’re anxious about in the future, decide what outcome you actually want. Sometimes we are so afraid we become overwhelmed and confused. Take some time to do some soul searching and get clear on what it is you actually want to happen in this situation. Visualize that happening. When anxious, fearful thoughts pop up, choose thoughts that reflect your desired outcome coming to fruition. Return to the visualization. Feel things working out in your favor. Believe that what you want can and will happen. Write and repeat affirmations reflecting that outcome having already happened. Try writing things such as “I am so happy and grateful that ____” (fill in the blank.) I accomplished everything I wanted to. I received the news I wanted. Everything worked out exactly as I hoped.” Try to fill your energy around the situation with as much faith as you can. Be as secure and confident as you can.

We may not be able to predict the future, but we can make our energy one of faith rather than fear, which will help us to manifest the outcomes we do want rather than attracting the ones we don’t want. We can be prepared for whatever happens down the line, but in the meantime, we can choose to be at peace and focus on positivity rather than worry.

Anxiety is something many of us struggle with. Enlightened Solutions has been helping people for years and can help you. Call (833) 801-LIVE.

Tag: Mental Health