Imagine your life based on choices made from the heart that line up with your core values. That’s what you get when you are mindful.

GROUP EXPECTATIONS: 

  • You are expected to attend consistently and to participate in a constructive manner.
  • Group runs 9:00 AM through 12:00PM, there are two 10 minute breaks.
  • Maintain Confidentiality. It is essential that everything said in group therapy is kept private by all group members and leaders. 
  • Respectful to others.  Expected to listen attentively, refrain from disruptive behavior, and tolerate differences in personal opinion and opposing value systems. 
  • No cellphones.

Five Components of CHANGE:
Situations, Thoughts, Emotions, Behaviors, Experiences.

  • Each of these aspects impact and interact with one another.
  • Small changes in any one area can lead to changes in other areas.
  • Identifying the five components of your own distress can help target areas for change.

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Understanding My Specific Challenges

  • Situations - the life situation I want to change.
  • Thoughts:  the beliefs I hold.
  • Emotions:  the moods I feel (see chart →). 
  • Behaviors:  the actions I take.
  • Experiences - the outcome I experience. 

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Change your thinking, Change Your Life - There are several factors that need to be in place in order to change our thinking in a positive way. Discuss each one below and answer the questions:

  • Self-Awareness – Learning to look inward into our own mind to examine and openly define our own thoughts is a skill that can be learned but takes practice. This comes easier to some people than to others, but anyone can develop this skill. How about you, do you feel ready to look deeper into your own thinking?
  • Self-Honesty – It can be a challenge to admit to ourselves that we are having negative thoughts, especially fearful or embarrassing thoughts. For example, it can be difficult for some people to openly admit things out loud that may make them seem vulnerable. Are you able to get honest about your own thoughts even the difficult to admit or accept ones?
  • Courage – Sometimes we may be afraid to face our thoughts. Facing thoughts can mean facing reality and accepting the need to change. Are you prepared to face and admit some of your fears and insecurities?
  • Break the Habit – Negative thinking can become habitual. Complaining about life, looking at the dark side of things, being pessimistic or self-defeating can all become “comfortable” when it becomes a regular habit. If you have the habit of looking at things in a negative way, are you prepared to change?
  • Open Mindedness – We have all met someone who ignores facts and experiences in favor of stubbornly holding on to a certain way of thinking. Instead, life is about learning and growing which requires looking at different perspectives and adapting our thinking with new information and experiences. Are you working on being open minded about new information instead of stubbornly holding on to old opinions?
  • Ability to “Reframe” – When we identify a negative or harmful thought, it is essential to be able to reframe those negative thoughts in a more positive and realistic way. An example would be reframing the negative thought ‘I’m not good enough” to something like “I am still a work in progress, but I am getting better with time” Do I need to learn more about or practice using cognitive reframing?

Imagine going about your life as normal and heading off to sleep at the usual time. Unknown to you, during the night, something happens – a miracle. When you wake up the following day, something exciting has happened. The very problem that brought you to see me today is no longer there. What would be the very first difference you would notice in your life?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do you think your negative thoughts influence your behavior? Give an example.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is negative self talk?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How does negative self talk impact your recovery? 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How could/should you change this? 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

List FIVE truths about yourself. I am... 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Depression

  • I feel depressed - sad, hurt, disappointed, down, disappointed, lost, unhappy, despairing, dejected, disheartened, low, miserable, empty.
  • I feel guilt - ashamed, at fault, bad, responsible.
  • I feel hopeless - discouraged, pessimistic, desperate, defeated.
  • I feel inferior - inadequate, useless, worthless, undesirable, flawed, incompetent, second-rate, defective.
  • I feel tired - exhausted, drained, weary, worn out, fatigued, lethargic, sleepy, wiped out.
  • I feel unmotivated - uninterested, bored, turned off, burdened.
  • I feel lonely - abandoned, unwanted, alone, isolated, rejected, lonesome, unloved, friendless.

Anxiety

  • I feel anxious - worried, apprehensive, panicky, afraid, uptight, fearful, scared, tense, frightened, nervous, terrified, alarmed.
  • I feel shy - foolish, humiliated, self conscious, mortified, flustered, embarrassed, awkward, timid.
  • I feel stressed - overworked, pressured, burned out, strained, tense, besieged, frazzled, overwhelmed. 

Anger

  • I feel angry - mad, resentful, upset, pissed off, irritated, furious, ticked off, incensed, enraged, irate, annoyed, aggravated.
  • I feel frustrated - stuck, thwarted, stymied.
  • I feel criticized - picked on, blamed, put down, intimidated, insulted, defensive, judged, condemned.
  • I feel jealous - envious, mistrustful, suspicious, paranoid.

Questions to Reflect On

1. Personal Affirmation. I AM…__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is one positive change you have noticed in yourself since starting your recovery journey?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.  What is a COGNITION? How do Cognitions impact your recovery?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Case Study - Dr. David Burns (the birth of his son).

4. What life situation did he face?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. How was he feeling?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What thoughts did he have?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. How did he change those thoughts?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. How did this affect his behavior?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. What did impact the outcome he experienced?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________