5 ways to increase hope and motivation:

Anyone who has done exposures knows that they are HARD WORK. You are purposely triggering yourself and sitting with some intense anxiety, and without using any rituals to try to lower your anxiety. Tough stuff. Because ERP involves making yourself uncomfortable it requires a good deal of motivation. We talk about treatment motivation a lot in the residential program and I wanted to share some things I have learned. Here are five ways to increase hope and motivation.

1. Make a list of your successes.

Take a piece of paper and start listing all of the exposures you have accomplished. Also write down all of the things that used to be hard and are easier now. Then, any time you are feeling unmotivated you can look at this list and be reminded of how much you have done and how much the hard work…

A reader asked what I meant in the previous post by “Expanding Boundaries,” whether that meant “Loosening Boundaries.”  I responded…

“Could go either way – Boundaries are tricky.  Expanding them might mean for instance less generalization or ‘profiling’ but fattening them against an individual.  It could mean moving the fence closer to the sidewalk.  Or it could mean ‘Loosening’ but in specific circumstances.  How’s that for Waffling?  Got any Maple Syrup? 

“Forgiveness isn’t a Choice, it’s a Discovery; one day we notice that we seem to have Forgiven someone.  Safety First.  And Trust Instinct.  Then (when Safe) examine Judgment to see if it has merit or is an obsolete Pattern.  If somebody keeps Sliming you, Expand the Diatomaceous Earth zone.”

They wrote back to describe an encounter with a local Bully, summarizing with…

“Luckily I had my mirror with me and discreetly maneuvered it into position to face them, trying to breathe while…

I needed to get back

To the lab again

Alone with paper and pen

All these emotions

Shooting through me

In an unannounced current

Of electricity

Keeping me up turning

The spin of the ballerina in that box

Hearing the music of my own

…melodic thoughts

Like a deer in the woods

Frolicking and evading

The hunters postured in each direction

The compass behind my eyes

Faithfully guided me to a covered protection

To transfer the impulses from

inside

…to out

All I needed to do was

Write

Them

Down

This bird shapes is suspended on wires and looked surprisingly real in the sunlight.

Since taking up photography as a hobby several years ago I find myself now appreciating the world so much more. There seems to be a realisation out there in the Western World that we need to start rethinking about how we look at things. The trend towards “mindfulness” is a reaction to the malaise that we seems to have fallen into. A world where we have access to more stimulation than ever before and yet an increasing inability to appreciate it.

Some dried twigs at City Beach Perth

Capturing a moment on a camera is an enjoyable pastime but more importantly, it shapes the way you look at the worlds. Your eye becomes more attuned to details and colour. You tend to notice the way light falls and how disparate objects interact to produce sudden harmonies.

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