I recently watched The Florida Project on Netflix, a movie by Sean Baker about the innocence of kids making the most of their lives despite being poor. I cried. No matter what problems you have, there's so many other people facing tougher challenges. What an amazing movie, with both playful humor and heart-wrenching drama! The link to the preview of the The Florida Project is below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwQ-NH1rRT4 My heart melts for the children going through so many difficulties. Resiliently, many of these kids are still able to find ways to have fun. In my second novel, I wrote about the adversities the children in Iraq faced after the invasion by the U.S. I'm still pitching this story to the literary industry. I...
Cognitive Distortions - Part 7Don't believe your distorted emotions are the truth. Don't believe your distorted emotions are the truth. For example, you make a mistake and tell yourself, "I feel like an idiot; therefore, I am an idiot." No you're not an idiot. You made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. In that case, everyone is an idiot. Please. That's simply not true. Let's say you broke up with your lover, and this is the third time you've had a serious relationship. You tell yourself, "Since this is my third break-up, no one will ever love me." Again, your emotions are grossly exaggerated. You have many potential partners out there, and if they had an opportunity to know you, many...
Cognitive Distortions - Part 6 Don't blow things up out of proportion or minimize them. When you fail, don't exaggerate your errors and imperfections. Don't blow them up way out of proportion because doing so will cause you unnecessary grief. Everyone makes mistakes. Failure plays a huge role in your learning process; however, you may fear it as you get older. Constantly remind yourself that failure is part of your growth. If you fall down, you can get back up again stronger by learning from your mistakes. When you tried to walk as baby, you would fall down often, sometimes getting injured; yet, you kept getting up and trying again until walking became second nature. Products, services, and philosophical and scientific...
I'm so lost.I have one foot in the living,while the other foot is out.I seek savior in ages of critical thought. - poem, +positive masters+, Jon Riki Karamatsu, 3/3/2020 - At times, you may have conflicting feelings that pull you in opposite directions. In this poem, I refer to your feeling of wanting to get away from everything; yet, you're still wanting to be a part of it. You're frustrated with the bad things in the universe; yet, you greatly appreciate the good. If you're feeling this, I understand. I go through these periods too. Critical thinking - philosophy has helped me to calm my racing mind and fears. For example, Stoicism and Buddhism has been beneficial for me when...
To counter your anxiety or depression, take one small action at a time, and reward yourself for taking these actions. When you're anxious or depressed, you may freeze-up and find it difficult to do your work or even your basic tasks. Instead, you think about your worries or painful memories. When you're unable to do anything to help yourself progress, your worries or sadness increases because now you have added stress for all the things you haven't been able to keep up with. As a result, your anxiety or depression compounds, pulling you deeper and deeper into darkness. People expecting your work, may take it out on you, not knowing the struggles you're dealing with: death of a loved one,...
