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Even if all you can do is put three dishes in the dishwasher, or move the dirty laundry pile to outside the laundry door, or throw out that box of leftovers that have been sitting in the fridge for 2 weeks

It took time, but I began to realize that the progress is in noticing it happening sooner, being able to cope with it, or bounce back quicker. Or that it happens less frequently. Sometimes I'm able to notice the signs and prevent it from happening.

Thankful for learning,

Thankful for growth,

Thankful for dreams,

Thankful for passions,

Thankful for laughter,

Thankful for memories,

Thankful for connections,

Thankful for love,

Thankful for music and art,

Thankful for the sunlight,

Thankful for the moon and stars that shine,

Thankful for birds, cats, dogs, and so much more.

Please see there’s so much in life to be thankful for, even during dark storms.

Hold onto those things when you have nothing else. Theres beauty held within life’s every form.

You’re important to the world and you’re here for a reason even if you can’t see it in this moment.

So, I’m thankful you’re here.

Be kind to yourself, always.

am i learning, processing, or ruminating? it’s important to be able to distinguish between the three. learning is when you receive new information that updates your frame of understanding. processing is when you study a situation to help yourself understand it. ruminating is when you cycle over the same thought repeatedly, often causing distress. learning and processing are productive, while rumination is destructive.

which theme is this? understanding the root or the spiral has helped me to untangle why the rumination feels so intense and scary. (example: i’ve been ruminating on one specific interaction with someone where i think they might’ve misinterpreted what i meant. this is my theme of fear around being misunderstood.)

how do i respond? (example: okay, this is that theme of being misunderstood. but it is not my job to make myself perfectly understood. the people i have around me can ask clarifying questions if they’re confused, and they are willing to meet me in the middle because they want to understand.)

"am i normal" is not as helpful question to ask as "are intrusive thoughts causing me frequent distress?" and "would my life be better if i could find a way to feel less distress/learn to tolerate the distress?"