Turning Negatives Into Positives
At the suggestion of Lightuptheworld, I thought I'd start another 'Turning Negatives into Positives' thread like there is on the old forum. Below is a quote from Antria who started the thread on the previous forum which I think explains the idea of the thread quite well.
"Sometimes it can be helpful to turn our thinking around and begin to challenge the way we look at things. Turning negatives into positives is a way of doing this! Basically, think of something that happened today, this week, this month or at some other time that felt negative and see if you can find a positive in it (or that came out of it)."
I find posting in this thread really helps me to look at things in a different way or see positives that I might not have noticed if I'm in a negative headspace. I'll start the ball rolling:
Negative: My friend didn't turn up to class this morning and I was worried I would be alone because I don't really know anyone else in the class.
Positive: It gave me a chance to sit with new people and get to know them better 🙂
Over to you!
Oh sorry to hear @FootyFan26, are you still seeing someone face to face about feeling this way?
Have you got anyone close to you that knows about what you're going through lately (apologies for all the Q's!).
I have people close to me that know what's wrong physically but they don't know how much it impacts me mentally.
Oh how is senior year? 🙂 @FootyFan26 I am glad they at least know about the physical stuff.. Is there anyone who you respect you'd be comfortable confiding in about the mental strain? Even slowly start opening up?
@FootyFan26 bringing up heavy subjects can be tricky. Do you think you could do it in a roundabout way, like a letter or something?
Also, yay for being able to pick your subjects!!
Positive: He said I could talk to him whenever I need to which I suppose is a positive.
Negative: I have this feeling I haven't done enough for this assignment due tomorrow.
Positive: Friends said I've done enough and I don't think my teacher will worry *that* much if I don't complete a small part.
Positive: At least I got out of bed and tried to go.
Negative: I missed a Maths test this morning and I'm supposed to get a medical certificate, but I'm too anxious to do that as well
Positive: I can ask mum to call the school when she's on her lunch break? Perhaps a note from my psych would cover myself?
Negative: My psych said to text her, so I did, but she hasn't replied. It's been 2 & 1/2 hours...
Positive: I'm sure there's a reason why. I'm not too bad at the moment so I should be able to wait a little longer and see if she replies?
Negative: Dad's home from work today and so I can't even leave my room.
Positive: ???
Negative: It's past midday and I'm still in my pjs. I've done absolutely nothing all day.
Positive: I've done the best that I can. My best is good enough! It's okay to have a bad day.
Negative: Is this ever going to actually end?
Positive: I've made AMAZING progress this year. This is the first day I've had off school due to anxiety ALL YEAR! That's something to be super proud of!
Negative: Twisted my ankle this morning and I don't even know how! It hurts! 😞
Positive: It could be worse. I'm making sure to ice it on and off and am resting.
Negative: It's such a beautiful day outside today, and I'd love to be able to go for a walk, but can't because of my ankle.
Positive: I've spent the day relaxing and reading. Tomorrow afternoon's meant to be nice so I can always go for a walk then.
Negative: I haven't done any homework today.
Positive: Life is not all about school! I haven't actually even thought about school up until now, which is pretty amazing.
Negative: ...
Positive: ...
Negative: I blew up last night, over ice cream.
Positive: It is very good ice cream.
Negative: I stormed out because of the blow-up and missed out on the end of the movie I put on to watch.
Positive: I can annoy everyone when I watch it again >:)
Negative: School today.
Positive: Friends.
Negative: I feel like our new kitten, Ruby, will be more my siblings then mine.
Positive: She came into my room and played with me and slept with me. She loves me so I have nothing to fear.
Negative: I have no idea how to put my assignment into paragraphs.
Positive: I have plently of time and drama tomorrow, I can ask my teacher then.
Negative: I was sick this morning.
Positive: I didn't let it stop me! I knew it was important I went to do, and I felt like it wasn't going to be a serious thing so I didn't let it stop me!
I haven't felt sick since!
Negative: I think I completely mucked up on this SAC
Positive: I completed it. It was a confusing thing in general. Okay, I'm sure I'm not going to get a super mark, but I think I'll still pass and really that's what is important.
Negative: I think I've let the teacher down for not doing really well.
Positive: I don't actually know how well I've done. I can't know until I get the result back. It wasn't my greatest work, but it wasn't terrible. There will have been worse. I know there was.
I can improve and prove myself to be better from here on.
Negative: I thought I got a really good mark on that assignment. Only to find out that a few people got the same mark.
Positive: It is still a good mark. I don't know how everyone else performed, just that 3 other people got the same. 3! That's not many and they're not mediocre students or anything so it should mean that I'm on their same good level.
I also got a lot of nice compliments from the teacher regarding it. I'm sure I surprised him.
Negative: German tomorrow
Positive: I'm still going to go to school, and if I don't go to class then I'll just do study in the senior school/at home.
Negative: I haven't done any homework since Thursday!
Positive: I've done the best that I can. I'm acknowledging my limits and that school is not the most important thing in the whole world (especially as it's only Year 11...)
Negative: I have to sit my SAC after school this week because I didn't do it on Friday.
Positive: At least I'll have more time to prepare for it? And I have some idea of what's on it.
Negative: The highest mark in the class for the Methods SAC was about 60...
Positive: There's less pressure to perform! A only got 12%, and N got 10%. No matter what, I won't be the only one with a crap score. 😛
Negative: Haven't been sleeping properly at all.
Positive: I've been resting, and have been trying to go to bed at the same time each night.
Negative: Dad's just gotten home from work. And so now all the drama unfolds...
Positive: It's only another 18 months. 18 months and then I'll be finished school and can get out of here for good.
Negative: So many 'negatives' in this post
Positive: I'm working through my thoughts.
Neg: How is it I'm relapsing AGAIN??? 😞 😞 😞 😞 😞 😞
Pos: It's a setback. It's NOT the end of the world. It just means life will be more diffult for a while. It'll pass
Neg: I should be stronger than this by now!
Pos: I know what I can do to help me cope 🙂
Neg: What if I stuff up section 2 of the Art Exam in the HSC?????
Pos: I can only do my best. I can always take a year off, then go to TAFE then on to uni...
Neg: I can't concentrate. It scares me! 😞 😞 😞 😞
Pos: I can always talk to my psychiatrist and see what he says....
Neg: Am I digging myself into a deeper hole??
Pos: ????
Negative: School goes back tomorrow, I haven't done all the work, and I have a double Drama then English, and they're the subject with little to no progress made over hte last 2 weeks 😕 Kind of worried about the responses f those teachers...
Positive: Hopefully I can slide under the raydar, I don't know. TIme will tell. Not going to stress over it.
Negative: Feeling as though I've failed myself and those around me. Everything seems wrong, and nothin seems to be working out.
Positive: I'm wond up on negative thoughts, and need to take a break to refocus my energy.
Negative: Found an okay little car that'd be a good first car, but there is so much other that is going on with it, I'm ready to say well don't bother.
Positive: I can see where they (parents) are comming from. If they can't tell me then who else can?
Negative: A lot of thoughts have entered my mind recently, and I'm not sure how to take any of them. It feels like there is so much undue pressure, and I don't know how to cope with that. I dislike that things feel so complex.
Positive:I need to take a break, I need to focus on something positive for a while!
Negative: My wrist has been extremely sore the past few days and I have no clue as to why, and I'm unable to do anything with it, everything is hard, I can't write properly, I can barely use it to drive - just holding the steering wheel with that hand while changing gears hurts! 😕 And it's just as school goes back.... This happened last year, the same thing, and the year before -.- grrr.
Positive: I'm trying to find a way of writing without hurting my wrist as much and I'm keeping it warm and supported.
Negative: Felt majorly sick and anxious at uni today and had to bail on a meeting with a staff member which I felt terrible about.
Positive: I pushed myself to go, and I stayed for half an hour.
Negative: My wrist is getting worse, it's always so painful 😞 I cracked it just now, throwing a box boxs of pads across the room cause they were in the way, hit my bookshelf, down came my mirror and messed everything up 😕 All cause I couldn't find the bandage I was looking for...
Positive: Nothing broke. I managed to tidy it all up. I found a bandage to bandage my hand up properly insteda of using those half ass pressure things which apply pressure in the wrong spots on my wrist.
Negative: Just realising now how much I've gone downhill recently 😕 I can't seem to control any of my outbursts any more... it's like I just don't have control over myself anymore
Positive: I'm doing the best I can. I've at least acknowledged that I'm having outburts of emotion. I can start doing more things to help calm me down during the day, eg mindfulness exercises and meditations.
Negative: I've got an assessment due Thursday which I've barely started, homework that needs to be done by tomorrow, an essay and creative writting that needs to be submitted Friday and I need to work on my drama major more. I feel like I just can't get everything done. I'm blowing people's heads off at home, going off over tiny things. WHY? :'(
Positive: I can get it all done. I will get it done. Even if it's a half ass job on the essay and creative writting, It's still something submitted, it doesn't go towards a mark so what does it matter?
Negative: It all feels too much.
Positive: I WILL get through this. I CAN overcome this!
Negative: My wrist is still seemingly getting worse. Each day it aches more. The pain sometimes becoming so unbareable I have to let myself fall into a zone out phase to even cope with the pain. Which then only makes me feel worse mentally. I've tried to get mum to take me to the dcotor, that's a no, all because my younger brother is 'sick'. I've tried talking to my friends, but they are always one worse, "aww my wrist is so sore from all this writting" and she hadn't done anything! 😠Over it. I'm trying my hardest to keep calm but I just want to scream. I just want to scream in their face and then walk away and not come back. To leave the wondering like I do everyday 😕
Positive: I'm doing the best I can to support my wrist and keep it from aching, not so easy when you have to write each and every period and then in free lessons you're expected to do study aswell. Argh. TOo much! I'm trying my best to not let other peoples actions, words or inactions affect how I'm feeling
Negative: I have work I have to do, but I'm not in the right frame of mind to do it. I'm angry at myself for not having started this assessment sooner >:| I'm annoyed that I don't just understand. That I'm finding everything so complex right now
Positive: I'm doing my best. I can relax for a bit before starting this assessment.
Negative: I was worried that my teacher wouldn't give me extra time to write my essay and creative writting task due last week.
Positive: She gave me until Monday. Now to follow through on my part. I was honest like my mentor told me to be 🙂
Negative: Feeling as though everything is just too much right now. not knowing where to turn or anything. it all just seems so hard!
Positive: I can go and see my mentor tomorrow and have a bit of a chat.
Negative: My anxiety is getting worse and nothing seems to be helping.
Positive: Is there one? I'm struggling to see it.
@delicatedreamer wrote:Negative: My anxiety is getting worse and nothing seems to be helping.
Positive: Is there one? I'm struggling to see it.
How about that you're aware of it, you're still wanting/trying things to help and you have people (e.g us on here, family) to support you?
@Birdeye wrote:
@delicatedreamer wrote:Negative: My anxiety is getting worse and nothing seems to be helping.
Positive: Is there one? I'm struggling to see it.
How about that you're aware of it, you're still wanting/trying things to help and you have people (e.g us on here, family) to support you?
Thanks Birdeye :). All of that is true, it's just hard to see at times.
Negative: Didn't get a HD on my lastest assignment like I did on the last one.
Positive: Got a distinction.
Negative: in the theatre sports competition tomorrow A and B were asked to do it and they did it last week, but not me.
Positive: i'm just being selfish and overdrammatic. it doesn't really matter that much. it's not even a negative.
Negative: Woke up late,
Positive: Wasn't to early drama! Score!
Negative: Haven't felt my best again today... all I did during English was sit there and try my hardest not to cry. I just didnt understand how to do the work, yet I knew what I had to do. I was too scared to ask the teacher for help after she said I haven't been trying last Friday 😕
Positive: I didn't cry! I at least got 3 lines, even if it hurt my wrist like all hell!
Negative: I've realised that this business of me sitting there not doing anything isn't all my wrist, most of it is this illness zapping my motivation and ability to think. I guess by wearing the mask I'm only hurting myself further...
Positive: I've realised the reason behind these blank spots. I know what I need to do, (but just can't get there.. yet)
Negative: I've been feeling really low (depressed), a bit anxious and just generally feeling unable to really care. I know I need help, but I just don't have the energy or (the percieved) strength needed to reach for it.
Positive: I'm aware of this. I will have to do something.
Negative: I failed to tell my mentor about the incident with my English teacher, like I was going to.
Positive: It didn't feel like it was appropriate.
Negative: I've felt like crying all day, and the times when tears would come was when I really did not want to cry. I don't know how to handle this anymore...
Positive: I'm doing my best. I'll get through. I'm expecting eheadspace to email me back soon, I can email my regular KHL counsellor and let her know what's going on and then try to log in next Monday to web.
Negative: Some thoughts that are circling around me mind the past few days are beginning to really annoy me.
Positive: I'm doing my best to ignore them and work my best around them. I haven't followed any of those negative ones! That's a positive!
Negative: I'm not really looking forward to the extra drama meeting we've scheduled tomorrow for our GP's. I'm worried about spending two hours straight with Y & K, it's not that I don't trust them or like them, it's myself. I don't know whether I will be able to trust myself to be the best I can be. It all seems so hard 😞
Positive: I'm doingt he best I can. And if right now I need to let them take charge so be it. If I need a break I will just say I need a break to focus my mind, I'll be back in x time. ANd I'll spend that time trying to focus myself.
Negative: I felt bad this afternoon when mum bought the wrist splint brace for my wrist... I didn't want her to spend so much! I didn't want her to have to spend $40 on it when they had cheaper ones...
Positive: We got the one that was the best fit and most appropriate for my wrist. The sales rep that came over and assisted us in helping find the best one - she was really good about it too. And while it cost a bit, it should help my wrist heal better than a flimsy badage with my poor wrapping ability...
Neg: There's no reason to feel this good. There really isn't. I can't just enjoy it either. Last time I didn't sleep for a week, was way too loud and everytime I opened my mouth, I insulted people! 😞
Pos: This would probably be due to stress, which I know can affect me in 2 ways: either I shut down completely or can't sit still. I haven't insulted people yet.
Neg: Mum'll think this is "normal"!
Pos: I know I'm beoming destabilized and I can take steps to rebalance
Neg: This is taking over my life! 😞
Pos: It doesn't have to. I've been here before. I just have to slow down!
Neg: I'll have to watch it- ugh! 😞
Pos: The alternative is NOT appealing! Don't risk it.
Pos: I'm taking care of myself. GOing to calm before jumping into some English work
Neg: This isn't what I needed after the email I got from eheadspace 😞 They've pretty dropped me. So that's one less place I can actually go for help of any kind...
Pos:She did say that the service was changing.
Neg: I thought they would have tried to help a bit more, esp when the last I communicated I was stuck with no sense of direction. Whatever.
Pos: I don't know. Not in hte right "headsapce" to work it out right now...
Neg: THis has just put a dampner on my excessively good day. I was litterally feeling good about myself today and my efforts. Not much anymore 😕
Pos: I've had a good day. I actually focused in theory today, I even braved myself and was involved as much as I could with the convo between K & Y with our drama Group Performance piece 🙂 I've had a good day and I'm happy with that.
