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Late August Picnic 🍕

During my first month with my therapist, I was given this worksheet to read and work on. She noticed that while I was talking with her, that my thoughts followed a lot of these. I wasn’t aware that my anxiety had brought me down paths of low self-worth and stinky thinking.  After a couple of weeks of talking with her, she gave me this worksheet to work on. 

actually looking forward to things and having enough energy to do everything you want to do 

the fresh feeling after cleaning everything and throwing away things that were piling up since forever, including mentally

realising that you haven’t thought about someone for three days straight when you’ve been sad about them for a long time

making a new friend who genuinely likes talking to you after feeling like you don’t belong anywhere or you’re better off alone

making more time for people that really matter to you and actually love you unconditionally instead of endlessly wondering why some people left you or didn’t reciprocate

not placing your entire sense of worth on someone else because you feel happy and whole by yourself 

an outward change in appearance, almost a kind of glow because you’re radiating warmth and strength from inside

good grades, making huge improvements and achieving whatever goals you have in mind

feeling calmer and not relying on external validation because you see your own worth, trust yourself fully and can accept imperfection, laugh at your own embarrassing moments, encourage yourself when you’re down and quickly forgive your own mistakes 

gaining enough respect for yourself to treat yourself gently and not tolerating anyone who treats you badly

realising that you feel lighter inside and nothing is as much as a chore as it used to be

feeling yourself become less unaffected by small things that used to ruin your day

realising that you can make any changes in your life if you stopped discouraging yourself so much

1. Remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes, does things wrongs, and has moments of regret. There are no perfect people out there. In that sense, you are just the same as everybody else.

2. Remind yourself that “that was then, and this is now”. You can’t turn back the clocks and change what you did, but you can be a different person in the future.

3. Allow yourself to experience and name the feelings you are struggling with (regret, guilt, shame, disappointment, embarrassment, sadness, etc.) – then make the decision to let those feelings go. In the end, it’s unhealthy to become attached to them.

4. Ask yourself what you can learn from the situation. What would you do differently if you found yourself in that situation again? How can it change the person you are now (so that you feel better about yourself)?

5. Recognise that failings and mistakes are part of the growth process. It’s inevitable that you’ll encounter obstacles, challenges and failures throughout life. Don’t let that stop you from really living life.

6. Remind yourself that “it was what you did, it’s not who you are.” Don’t allow any single event or experience to define you. You are more than – so don’t let that become your identity, or your destiny.