TRANSFORMING SADNESS TO HOPE

STEPS FOR TRANSFORMING SADNESS TO HOPE

Audrey Sussman PhD, LCSW, NBCCH, Director Anxiety Control Center

Has the thought of summer ending triggered feelings of loss or sadness?  If so you are not alone.  At different times of the year the Anxiety Control Center gets inundated with phone calls from people suffering from melancholy, loneliness, sadness or anxiety.

Would you like instantly transform uncomfortable feelings to ones of excitement, hope, calm, security and balance?

It may surprise you to learn that the let down feelings are actually not due to the change of season.  It is actually caused by thoughts, pictures and memories that move quickly through the mind.  Some people are aware of these thoughts, and others are completely unaware, but just know that they feel “down” or depressed.

For example with the ending of summer, many people who feel let down have thoughts of a cold, dark, lonely winter approaching.  Others are sad because they haven’t done all they expected to during the summer.  These feelings then trigger other old memories of sadness or disappointment that adds to the negative feelings.

The good news is that there are many ways to quickly change feelings and gain a new perspective.  To begin the process of transforming negative feelings to positive ones it’s important to understand how these feelings come about in the first place.  There are two major ways that upset feelings are created: 1) Thinking about upsetting past issues or 2) Thinking about awful things that might happen in the future, and worrying about them as if they have already taken place.  When a person concentrates on all the possible negative scenarios that might come about, it is understandable that feelings of sadness, fear or insecurity arise.

The first easy method in taking back control of your feelings is to begin to recognize the thoughts underlying them, and then to change them to more enhancing, positive thoughts.  Do the following: 1. Think about an event that has been causing sadness, anger or another uncomfortable feeling.  2. Make a list of each negative thought that you have attached to this event.  3. Then write down two (possible) positive thoughts, for each negative one you have written down.

For example if you were thinking about a cold, dreary winter, you could make up a   more positive picture of an exciting winter activity, like skiing, sledding, or ice-skating, and then another thought of yourself doing something else you enjoy in the winter months, like sitting by a warm fire, or sipping a cup of hot cocoa.

By changing your focus to these new, more positive thoughts, you send a message to your subconscious mind that will begin to change feelings to more positive ones.  Since it is your mind you might as well use it in this positive way.

Of course, this is only the start, there are other techniques available to clear deeply held negative emotions, so that you can recover your zest for life.  Click here to email us directly to get articles, more information about upcoming workshops, e-courses and upcoming free online tele-seminars.

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