More threads by Daniel E.

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator

On the surface these beliefs may seem reasonable. However, in order to show their erroneous and distorted nature, they are repeated below with some useful questions...

“If I worry I will be prepared.”
Is it possible to be prepared without worrying? Is it possible to worry about everything that could happen? Does worry give a balanced view of the future or a biased one?

“Focusing on danger will keep me safe.”
How do you know which danger to focus on? Is it the danger you see or the one you don’t see that will catch you out? Could focusing on danger make you less safe because you forget the usual things?

“I must remember everything and then I’ll know if I’m to blame.”
Is it possible to remember everything? How will knowing if you’re to blame help you feel better and move on? Can you move on without blaming yourself?

“If I analyze why I feel this way I’ll find answers.”
How long have you been doing this? How much longer will it take? What if the answer is stopping your analysis? What if there is no answer other than changing the way you think?

“I must control my thoughts.”
How do you know which ones to control? Is it possible to control all of your thoughts? Could controlling your thoughts stop you from finding out the truth about them?
 

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator
“Anxiety and desire are two, often conflicting, orientations to the unknown. Both are tilted toward the future. Desire implies a willingness, or a need, to engage this unknown, while anxiety suggests a fear of it. Desire takes one out of oneself, into the possibility or relationship, but it also takes one deeper into oneself. Anxiety turns one back on oneself, but only onto the self that is already known.”

"Meditation showed me that the other side of anxiety is desire. They exist in relationship to each other, not independently.”

― Mark Epstein, Open to Desire: Embracing a Lust for Life -- Insights from Buddhism and Psychotherapy

Other quotes by Epstein:

"Desire is a teacher: When we immerse ourselves in it without guilt, shame or clinging, it can show us something special about our own minds that allows us to embrace life fully."

"Something in the person (dare we call it a soul?) wants to be free, and it seeks its freedom any way it can. ... There is a drive for transcendence that is implicit in even the most sensual of desires.”
 

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator
"We can’t function forever fuelled by adrenalin and caffeine, fogged brains scrabbling to function, nerves frayed like a cheap phone cable. Sure, we can sleep when we’re dead, but a little rest before that would be nice."

~ Emma Beddington
 
Last edited:

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator

"Evaluations and thought-control strategies for intrusive thoughts and images are a core feature of all of the anxiety disorders."

"People with social anxiety disorder treat their intrusive thoughts about "appearing anxious" as the equivalent of being humiliated."

~ Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., author of Don't Believe Everything You Feel
 

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator
"Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here."

~ "Desiderata," Max Ehrmann
 

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator

“If we simply approach it as something to avoid, get rid of, or dampen, we not only don’t solve the problem but actually miss an opportunity to leverage the generative power of anxiety.”

~ Wendy Suzuki, Good Anxiety
 

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator
“Anxiety and desire are two, often conflicting, orientations to the unknown. Both are tilted toward the future. Desire implies a willingness, or a need, to engage this unknown, while anxiety suggests a fear of it. Desire takes one out of oneself, into the possibility or relationship, but it also takes one deeper into oneself. Anxiety turns one back on oneself, but only onto the self that is already known.”

"Meditation showed me that the other side of anxiety is desire. They exist in relationship to each other, not independently.”

― Mark Epstein, Open to Desire: Embracing a Lust for Life -- Insights from Buddhism and Psychotherapy

Another Epstein quote:

"Separateness and connectedness arise together and make each other possible."

~ Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness
 
Last edited:

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator

Clinical perfectionism is characterized by rigidly pursuing unrealistically high standards on which self-worth is contingent and experiencing distress when these standards are not met.
 

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator

“You have lots of different circuits built on top of one another, and they’re all feeding back to one of our most primitive and primordial response systems. They've really shown that stress is controlled by more than the traditional high-level cognitive areas. I think that’s a big deal.”

~ Peter Strick
 

Daniel E.

daniel@psychlinks.ca
Administrator

“Go easy on yourself. Whatever you do today, let it be enough.” – Unknown

“Anxiety is one little tree in your forest. Step back and look at the whole forest.” – Unknown
 
Last edited:
Replying is not possible. This forum is only available as an archive.
Top