Did You Know That Your Thoughts Influence Your Emotions?​

We are, because we feel. Animals have emotions too, and they express them through the way they behave. Likewise is true for humans. But a critical difference is that we think, and then we conclude how we feel. And after that, we react in accordance. When we perceive danger (in any form), we are alerted to feel afraid and geared to face the threat or stressor, to either fight, or flee from the situation.

But alas, life is not as ideal or simple, to allow that. And escape isn’t an ever available or feasible option. So we use the third response — fright, where we freeze. That’s when we lose logical judgment. And begin to think irrationally. And all of this is so automatic that we think it is out of our volitional control. And we might believe that we’re helpless and our situation is beyond repair.

You are not what happens to you. You are what you do with what happens to you.

We all feel. All the time. Emotions are fundamentally adaptive resources in healthy humans. So, not feeling emotions is not desirable, and is not the real goal either. But feeling positive, helpful and effective emotions, is.

That is why it is important to understand, analyze, and make meaning of your own emotions, to help carve a path to restoration and recovery. You could be anxious, depressed, phobic or paranoid, or simply a little let down, sad or frustrated. You have to access, activate, and productively process all negative emotions because they bother none other than you. Twisted thoughts have an uncanny way of deceiving you and making you believe that they are right. And that the world is a miserable place and that there is no hope.

By using thought untwisting methods, your negative perceptions can get replaced with positive ones. And the outcome would be a healthier, happier and wholesome existence. Cognitive restructuring is for everyone.