[Christmas cookie]

I will be sitting folding laundry and all of my he sudden negative or anxious thoughts pop up. It could be about past experiences or present. Nothing negative occurred minutes or hours early to cause this. Thoughts such as people that mistreated me- that idiot how dare they. I can't stand them, f them. Or anxious thoughts regarding upcoming events.

Vicious circle in my head or ruminating.

Sometimes it's so draining. I feel tired, depressed etc. It shows on my face. I'm not sure why these suddenly pop into my head. Instead I would like to focus on the present- beautiful day, completing this task etc.

Any ideas on changing this thought process?

[Yaowen]

Dear Christmas cookie,

I experience something like that too. A psychiatrist taught me a little trick that helps me. He told me to say silently to myself:

"I love you Yao Wen" over and over again and this helps me the most.

Another thing the psychiatrist taught me was to say "could have been worse than it was but wasn't worse" about past things that are upsetting me . . . or "could be worse but isn't worse" about things in the present that are upsetting me . . . or "it might be worse than it is in the future but won't be worse" about future things I worry about.

I hope you gets lots of responses from members here sharing what works for them.

There is another trick that helps me and I would be happy to share it with you if you are interested.

Sincerely yours, Yao Wen

Hello Christmas cookie.

For me deep breathing exercises help me when I'm anxious and I'm doing them even when I'm not anxious so that they're second nature. I have occasionally found that grounding exercises help me refocus on the here and now. I'm also reading and have found pretty helpful, "Hope and Help for Your Nerves" by Dr. Claire Weekes. Lastly, I like progressive muscle relaxation and I do that before bed to help me sleep, though you could do them at any time.

I hope this was helpful. I wish you well.