Positve Intentions Quickly Turned Into a Negative Disaster!

byBarb22

320 followers

2 years ago

Good afternoon to all you wonderful WA members!

My visual WA progress has been unproductive for awhile. Bummer!

What happened?

My mind was flooded with negative thoughts! Which is a normal part of my life due to the fact I struggle everyday with mental health disorders.

Actually these are referred to as cognitive distortions. In other words, they are faulty thinking patterns that lead to negativity. They play a major role in causing problems such as low self-esteem, depression and anxiety.

My dilemma started here.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong With Writing a Post?

Not much! Or so I thought. Afterall I had writen many posts already. The process of writing content is still the same as 6 years ago. Easy peezy! I can do this!

I was so confident and had a positive attitude. Nothing was going to stop me! Hah hah! What started out with positive intentions slowly gave way to a negative disaster. After one full month of hard work I accomplished one small paragraph. Feeling totally defeated, I wanted to quit WA.

What I did next was put all my work away, switched off my brain and took a much needed time out.

So What Went Wrong?

Simply a boomerang affect that started with the "winter blues", depression, anxiety and finally writers' block. Similar to ordering an extra large pizza with four toppings!!!

Let me explain. Everyone loves pizza. Would you order toppings that you didn't like or don't work well together? No you would not. Look at the toppings as being harmonious, tastes delish and leaves you feeling happy with a full stomach!! Your pizza delivers a positive affect on you.

My pizza toppings I call symptoms and they are found in each of the toppings. However, I didn't get to choose my toppings. My mental mind popped in and took over. My pizza packed a negative disaster!

Are you still with me?

We all deal with depression, anxiety, winter blues and writers' block. No two people are alike, therefore not all the symptoms are the same. One can deal with mild symptoms or have extreme symptoms. Dealing with these symptoms will and does interfere with your daily life.

Below is a list of 4 sets of symptoms for:

Depression include:

• continuous low mood or sadness
• feeling hopeless and helpless
• having low self-esteem
• feeling guilty
• feeling irritable
• having no motivation or interest in things
• difficulty making decisions

Anxiety include:

• feeling restless or on-edge
• feeling fatigued.
• difficulty concentrating
• being irritable
• extreme feelings of worry
• sleep problems

Winter Blues include:

• feeling listless, sad or down most of the day, nearly every day
• no interest in activities you once enjoyed
• low energy and no ambition
• sleeping too much
• overeating and weight gain
• difficulty concentrating

Writers' Block includes:

• inability to focus
• lack of inspiration
• fear of rejection
• self-doubt, over-thinking
• being a perfectionist
• procrastinating

You will notice that some of these symptoms appear in all 4 scenarios. The problem lies in getting in touch with your symptoms, understanding them and dealing/managing them before your negative mental mind takes over and completely controls your daily life.

Below is a short list of methods:

• taking breaks
• walking or some form of exercise
• get out of the house
• watch TV
• seek support
• practice self-care
• practice self-validation
• deep breathing exercises
• meditation
• change your routine
• journalize
• free-writing
• set realistic goals
• take a mental health day
• make writing a habit
• avoid distractions
• let go of being perfect

These are the methods I used. Of course there are more and you are welcome to use ones suited for you.

The Take Away:

Every WA member will be faced with negative thoughts.

It's all about your state of mind. And how to clear your mind of negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts.

The process takes time and practice. It's a good thing winter blues and writers' block are treatable and usually last for a short time.

Occasional Anxiety is just a normal part of life. People tend to worry or stress over money, health or family problems. This is a mild form of anxiety.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is the extreme form. It is not related to an event or situation. A person who has GAD usually worries about something that's unlikely to happen. This isn't a "normal" reaction. These worries are ongoing and will disrupt your daily life.

Situational Depression leaves a person feeling full of despair because they are unable to cope with a traumatic experience. Losing a job, death of a loved one and divorce will trigger depressive symptoms. Situational depression will resolve in time and your symptoms will disappear as things settle down.

Clinical Depression or major depressive disorder(MDD) is the most commonly diagnosed form of depression. This type emerges with no specific life stressors. No one knows why, it just happens. Symptoms are never ending and episodes will recur over one's lifetime. These symptoms are persistent and interfere with your daily life. With a medical diaganosis, the proper treatment of therapy and medication will help you manage your symptoms.

Conclusion:

For now my mental mind has settled into a positive mind! I want to get back on track building and growing my website.

This was a 2 month shut down that really challenged me. Honestly, I was ready to call it quits on WA, but I am not a quitter!!!

Remember life hands us problems everyday. Problems allow people to grow and learn. It's a force that pushes us forward.

Writers' block is a problem most of us face at WA. We become unable to move forward then a negative mind takes over.

Writer's block is a benefit and an opportunity for you to grow and learn!

Grab it! Take advantage of your writers' block! Learn from your negative mindset and turn it into a positive mindset.

You will be surprised at how wonderful you feel!

Until next time...