I once heard a great piece of advice - to consider how impossible negative thinking is. What they meant was that when we get into a negative slump, we think of all the different possible bad things that could go wrong, and let them all bog us down as if they were all true. The example that the person gave was being stuck behind a bad driver in traffic - not a big thing, just one little thing where a negative thought spiral could start - and anyway, he said how first we'll think, "Oh great, I'm going to be stuck behind this person all the way home." Then, we think, "I'll take an alternate route, and he'll turn that way, too." Then, we'll go on to think, "He'll probably cause an accident, and then I'll be late getting home." What they were getting at was the at worst, probably only one of those bad things would happen, and maybe none of them. But when we start thinking that way, we think of all the bad things that might happen and give all of them weight, even though most or all of them aren't even true.

Anyway, good for you for being brave and writing about your struggle with negative thoughts. So many bloggers and women in general only want to talk about the positive things in life.

Oh yes. The stinkin' thinkin'. It's true that we need to actually let ourselves feel sadness and pain to understand joy. I know from experience that meds block many of the feelings we need to feel. When I stopped taking them, I was overwhelmed with my thoughts and emotions. Mostly because I forgot what "feeling" felt like. Stopped by from Shell's place.

It sounds like you are headed in the right and positive direction!