My heart is heavy today missing the girls. This emotion pops up randomly, and I have not been able to identify a trigger. This type of emotion use to be the beginning of many bad days for me. I would drift into a sea of depression and drift there for days on end. Through my journey, I have developed coping skills that help me turn these negative thoughts to positive fuel I need to propel me in the right direction.
First, I immediately ask God to remove the negative thoughts from my mind.
Second, I tell someone, anyone how I am feeling. Sharing with another person holds me accountable for controlling my emotions.
Third, I turn my thoughts towards helping someone else. Even if I am unable to help someone at that moment, just the thought alone helps get me out of my own head.
What used to be the start of several bad days has now become an opportunity to reassure myself that I possess the ability to alter my state of mind and my attitude by not allowing my emotions to dictate my state of mind. I reach deep inside and find the tools it takes to change my emotional destination.
The human mind is an amazingly complex thing, and we have the ability to steer it away from unhealthy and unwanted processing. My wish is that the steps above prove as effective for you as they do me.
There is always HOPE!
Scott J Headley