Molly's Mantras Part 1

I was thinking last night as I went to bed...."I still need a focus or topic for my blog".  I, of course, would love for it to be about Mia and being a "new mom", but I also want it to include other stuff as well.  For those of you who do not already know, I am three month in to a new job as a Outpatient Mental Health Therapist at a clinic in the twin cities.  I am loving this job and am learning a lot about myself, my strengths, my areas for improvement, my interests, etc.  So far, about 90% of my clients are suffering from Depression or Anxiety in some form or another.  A common treatment option for depression and anxiety (through therapy) can be CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  CBT involves many different elements but is primarily focused around identifying, challenging and shifting our automatic thoughts/cognitions that smack us in the face during bouts of hopelessness, self doubt, panic or excessive worry.  It can be about dissecting those thoughts that have proven themselves ineffective and dysfunctional and replacing them with affirmations and acknowledgements as we work to repair our self esteem, confidence and feelings of worthiness.  With that, I have suggested various "mantras" to some of my clients and the feedback has been generally positive.  So I thought....why not pose some of these mantras to my friends and families and see whether or not they apply and/or are helpful in our own lives?  So here we go....Molly's Mantras Part 1.  Disclaimer: I do not always make these up on my own and am not claiming to think of these all by myself, they are simply sayings or words of wisdom I tend to consider, apply and encourage others to explore.

Mantra #1:  No one can make me feel worthless without my consent.
(Think about it, consider it, how does it fit for you, what comes up?)

Personally, this has been a challenge.  It can be so easy to blame others for our experiences in life and emotional reactions...but that doesn't ultimately give me the results I want in life.  Although it feels good in the moment to get angry or blame others...it leads no where in my opinion.  The added challenge is to substitute worthless with any other emotion including sad, angry, frustrated and even happy.  I do not believe that others can MAKE me feel happy or sad...that is my choice, my responsibility and my reaction.  I don't assume responsibility or want to control the emotions of others...so why would I want to hand over my own emotions and feelings at the discretion of others?  Comments, reactions?.....this is a tough one....let it simmer.