These were feelings that I was having. I regarded those physical sensations as proof of the narrative in my head: All was lost, I had burned every bridge, I was condemned to a sad, empty life at the end of an apartment hallway, just like I had imagined as a kid.
"Is a toasted english muffin slathered with peanut butter a secret weapon in the war against fear and insecurity?"
No, but embedding the *feelings* one feels when performing conscious repetitive behaviours that we don't have to understand any more than as a process of 'I am going to do this, this and this', is very helpful in all - and I probably do mean ALL - kinds of situations. I have been using a lot of attention training techniques to help me deal with my OCD, and it's right along the lines of slathering peanut butter onto a muffin (we call an English muffin just a muffin over here, for obvious reasons)! 😉
🥜🍞 Feeling how smoothly the peanut butter spreads, enjoying its lovely smell and feeling how soft the muffin is - etc etc - are all surprisingly useful!
In my case, the muffins and peanut butter solved the real problem—excess stomach acid combined with a morning sugar crash= impending doom. I solved the stomach issue and my alcoholic brain had nothing to explain!
"These were feelings that I was having. I regarded those physical sensations as proof of the narrative in my head, all was lost, I had burned every bridge, I was condemned to a sad, empty life at the end of an apartment hallway, just like I had imagined as a kid."
That is it exactly! My alcoholic/anxious/adult-child mind created thoughts to explain the physical sensations and those thoughts then fed the physical sensations and my mind created thoughts etc.
What a vicious cycle. And you can't see it to try putting peanut butter on your nooks and crannies until you see it.
Such a fascinating read, TBD.
"Is a toasted english muffin slathered with peanut butter a secret weapon in the war against fear and insecurity?"
No, but embedding the *feelings* one feels when performing conscious repetitive behaviours that we don't have to understand any more than as a process of 'I am going to do this, this and this', is very helpful in all - and I probably do mean ALL - kinds of situations. I have been using a lot of attention training techniques to help me deal with my OCD, and it's right along the lines of slathering peanut butter onto a muffin (we call an English muffin just a muffin over here, for obvious reasons)! 😉
🥜🍞 Feeling how smoothly the peanut butter spreads, enjoying its lovely smell and feeling how soft the muffin is - etc etc - are all surprisingly useful!
In my case, the muffins and peanut butter solved the real problem—excess stomach acid combined with a morning sugar crash= impending doom. I solved the stomach issue and my alcoholic brain had nothing to explain!
Perfect! 😊
"These were feelings that I was having. I regarded those physical sensations as proof of the narrative in my head, all was lost, I had burned every bridge, I was condemned to a sad, empty life at the end of an apartment hallway, just like I had imagined as a kid."
That is it exactly! My alcoholic/anxious/adult-child mind created thoughts to explain the physical sensations and those thoughts then fed the physical sensations and my mind created thoughts etc.
What a vicious cycle. And you can't see it to try putting peanut butter on your nooks and crannies until you see it.
Great perspective! Thanks, as always.