5 Daily Journal Prompts

Self Love/ Journaling

Self- love is one of the most difficult tasks of women today. Especially is you’ve experienced sexual, verbal or physical abuse. These past traumas have a way of changing our inner dialogue. There is hope. Journaling is a great activity that has proven to transform your inner dialogue and create needed self- love. Journaling is the act of writing your thoughts and feelings down in reflection. The most helpful journaling does not include only complaints, and negativity, but helps you gain insight and reflection into yourself and your life.

Here are 5 Reflective Journal Prompts to help you get started :

1. What core values, interests, beliefs, personality traits define who you are today? What about when you were younger? What has remained constant?

2. Which of your core beliefs, traits, or interests did you adopt for the sake of others, and  which did you choose for yourself- in other words, who are you when no one is looking?

3. Think about 3 times in your life when you felt significant joy, peace or sense of accomplishment. What do those experiences have in common? What  does that suggest about where to look for your happiness?

4. Think about the relationships you have with other people, such as friends, family, coworkers. Which relationships feel the easiest? Which ones feel more difficult? Why?

5. What parts of your past cause you the most embarrassment or pain? How does that relate to the values you named above? Does it confirm or challenge what you believe about yourself?

What have you learned about yourself in these 5 days of journaling? Did you enjoy this exercise? These are great prompts to review in your individual session with your counselor. Interested in individual counseling? Call me at ( 720) 795-4914 to chat about it. * Natalie Teeters, psychotherapist

( http: act/liveyourdream.org)

Overcoming Negative Thinking Patterns

Your thoughts and values determine the way you see yourself and the world around you says cognitive theories. Thoughts and beliefs grounded in pessimism can negatively impact your impact your feelings, emotions, and mental health. These harmful perceptions are common issues that can contribute to the symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders. ( https://www.verywellmind.com/negative-thinking-patterns-and-beliefs-2584084)

Next time you catch yourself in an unhealthy thinking pattern use these 3 techniques to transfigure your brain habits into healthy thinking.

1. Write, Challenge & Change.

   Writing down your negative thoughts get’s them outside of your body. This enables you to look at what you are thinking and challenge, or change it. For example, if you are thinking no one loves you, you are always rejected. Write it down. Then look at your thoughts. Are they actually true? Write down what is more true, and replace the negative thoughts with the truth. Another term for what I’ve described is “ replacing” thoughts. The idea of “replacing” thoughts might sound impossible. This is an incredibly effective way to train your mind. This strategy is rooted in the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which teaches you how to recognize and change negative thoughts and behavior patterns.

   CBT is best accomplished with the help of a professional therapist, but here are some steps you can try on your own:

   1. Notice your negative thought patterns and identify how you feel.

   2. Acknowledge that this is a thinking pattern you’d like to change.

   3. Think about what you want to be different (consider writing it down or saying it out loud to yourself for more impact).

   4. Choose to replace negative patterns with a different behavior and/or thought process.

2. When your thoughts turn negative , write them down & let them go.

   Writing your thoughts down, journaling, is a technique that enables you to understand how you are feeling without letting your thoughts control how you feel. Have you ever written a heated email, or letter to someone only to find that once you are completed, you feel you shouldn’t nor do you need to send it. The act of writing your feelings down on paper, allowed you to experience the feelings, and then let them go.

3. Learn to treat yourself with kindness.

   Learn to be a good friend to yourself. Many of us can be kind to other people, but when it comes to ourselves, we are harsh and unaccepting. I’ve seen so many people who are great friends to others, but talk about self in a negative critical way. I challenge you to learn to be a good friend to yourself by doing these 2 things:

   • Periodically ask yourself is this how I would treat my friends? Should I be treating myself with more kindness right now?

   • Time it, Note it & Move on. Give yourself a time limit on negativity. Only allow yourself to have negative thoughts of yourself, or comments for a few minutes a day and that’s it. Draw the line there. Move on to more positive thinking.

   Last, know you are not alone and you don’t have to do it alone.

   I’d love to help you in your process of overcoming negative thinking patterns. At True Life Counseling, I meet you where you are at, and help you explore where you want to be going. Natalie Teeters, MS Psychotherapist

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How to change your kid in a week

Have a new kid in a week !

Interesting title, huh. Can we change our children’s behavior, the undesirable behavior, in a week? Maybe.

Research shows that there are some skills that parents can use to create positive changes in their children. These skills often also create more peace in their home. Who doesn’t want that?

A study by the University of Toronto found what really matters in parenting. “ A large body of research on attitudes indicates that parental warmth together with reasonable levels of control combine to produce positive child outcomes. “ ( Parents’ Attitudes and Beliefs: Their Impact on Children’s Development, Joan E. Grusec, PhD, Tanya Danyliuk, BA, University of Toronto, Canada, December 2014, Rev. ed.). This finding suggests that it is the manner the parents relate to their children, rather than saying the right words. The warmth and sense of control that parents can provide to their children is paramount. How exactly can parents be warm and provide a sense of control ? Parents do this by listening to their children, working on the relationship they have with their children before focusing on punishing. The most important part of establishing a healthy relationship with your child is using active listening. By listening to your child, you can hear their excitement when they tell you about an upcoming party, you can empathize with them when they share their disappointment in not making the basketball team and you can accept their frustration when their plans do not work out. The skill in active listening is realizing it is “ listening”; not fixing. It can be very freeing to realize that you do not need to “ fix” every problem or situation that your child presents to you, but by actively listening to him/her you are providing the warmth and security that he/she needs. Let’s look at the power in active listening:

• 1. When you Listen to them; you are saying “ You are important to me, what you are saying is important and I am here for you. “
• 1. By Listening to their emotion, you are saying “ What you feel matters, and how you see the world matters. “
• 1. By Not Fixing, but Listening, you are saying “ I believe in you and your ability to make a good decision. “

By Actively Listening, parents are telling their children, “ I’m on your team, I”m behind you, I believe in you,.” Once your child feels like you are on their side, trust is built. It is then that he/she may ask your opinion or advice. Now your suggestions will be accepted with love instead of frustration. You child will have the courage to use your suggestion ( or not ), and the confidence to know there is safety, love and help in you. Your toddler may say “ no “ to you less because he now feels you’ve taken the time to try to understand him. You teen may be more respectful with your rules, your authority since she felt understood by you. Your ten year old may remember to take a deep breath and not yell at you from the other room to help her find her volleyball shirt. Active listening doesn’t solve every problem. What is does do is help create a solid, safe foundation of trust, a good relationship. This may be the added incentive your child needs to not overreact, but try to be better. Try active listening with your child today. Give your child 10 uninterrupted child-lead conversation minutes a day for a week and see what positive changes occur because of it. #ParentingwiththePro’s #TrueLifeBlog, #ActiveListening, #@TrueLifeCounseling, #@NatalieTeetersCounseling,

Natalie Teeters, MS

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Want to learn more about this topic?

http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/parenting-skills/according-experts/parents-attitudes-and-beliefs-their-impact-childrens-development

Dr. Kevin Leman in "Have a New Kid by Friday" - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJWlHywSKA0