Hi,
How are you doing?
They say there are two types of people in this world:
Those who see a glass of water as half full…
These people are called optimists.
And those who see the glass as half-empty…
These people are called pessimists.
Not as well known, however, is a third type of people in this world.
Those are people who see that glass of water as simply a glass of water.
These people are called realists.
The reason I bring it up is because the type of person you are will affect the thoughts you have (and vice versa).
The optimist has positive thoughts.
The pessimist has negative thoughts.
The realist has both, and weighs them together.
They say that positive people live longer.
Have you ever heard that?
They say it’s because their health is better.
Why is that?
Because they don’t have as much stress in their lives, they don’t worry as much, and they don’t get angry as often.
So, obviously, they would be healthier – no headaches, upset stomachs, ulcers, anxiety, insomnia, etc. for them!
They are also more productive.
They get more done, more easily, and with a better attitude.
It’s not that a positive person never has negative thoughts – that wouldn’t
be realistic – but it’s that they choose
not to dwell on them.
They don’t act on their negative thoughts, and they don’t let those thoughts bring them down.
In my courses/systems, I discuss the power of positive thinking when it comes to bipolar disorder, and how it can help you to attain stability faster.
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Pessimists are just the opposite of everything I’ve just said.
And pessimists think negatively.
When you have negative thoughts, you have two choices in dealing with them.
You can analyze them (worry, fret, bother), study them, think about them, dwell on them, even obsess over them.
Or you can learn to ignore them, let them go, don’t take them so seriously, etc. In other words, not let them affect you.
Obviously, taking your negative thoughts less seriously, or letting them go altogether, is the etter
choice for your own sake, and for your own health.
Richard Carlson, M.D., in his (now-famous) book called “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” says,
“When you have a thought – any thought – that’s all it is, a thought! It can’t hurt you without your consent.”
So that goes along with what I’m saying. YOU control how a thought affects you, especially a negative thought.
Which is very important, because negative thoughts can actually harm you.
They can cause physical consequences, such as high blood pressure, anxiety and stress, headaches, stomach aches and ulcers, insomnia, and even heart problems!
This is for you AND your loved one.
It’s worse for your loved one, though.
For them, negative thoughts (if dwelled upon) can lead to a bipolar depressive episode.
Then once in the depressive episode, if those thoughts continue, they can even lead to suicidal thoughts, which is when it gets really dangerous.
So it’s important to remember that when you get a negative thought, you have a choice of what to do with it.
Make the right choice and let it go, so that it doesn’t hurt you or your loved one.
How do you handle your negative thoughts?
Do you dwell on them or let them go?
Post responses below
my grandparents raised me, and i am 79 years old. but i remember what my grandfather always said “think things over if you can do something about it, do it” if not forget it and don’t worry about it, if you can do it, and don’t worry about it. i have done that all my life. and it has worked. my wife 0f 31 years has has changed in the last two or three years with Bi-polar. some days its hard for me to keep my cool as they say now days. but i know how as my doc. says.
After being with my significant other for 18 years I have found that I started out optimistic, become a realist and sometimes a pessimist now. He has bipolar and is unmedicated and in denial. He was diagnosed with it but says they were incorrect and does not believe he has bipolar. I think all of the wear and tear over the years and being worn down contributes to a more negative attitude. I can definately see how being optimistic and having faith and hope could make things better. I feel like though you can have so much disappointment and negativity around you for such a long time that it rubs off on you and you can loose your hope and faith that things can be better. It is hard to keep from becoming negative sometimes. :o) Jean
HI DAVIE BABE…..
Let it go and get on with life. For every negitive try to think of something possitive to go with it. Then laugh it off.
Take Care Linda x
I guess you oould call me an “optimistic realist!” I sse the glass Half-full, but also realize that I DRANK the other half! I have ALL the somatic complaints of a pessimist – ulcers, dizziness, insomnia – but I work THROUGH them until I’m not CONSCIOUSLY aware of them. My therapist calls this the “mind/body” connection – I’m not consciously AWARE of the “negative” around me, but my BODY IS!! I’ve apparently sublimated negative thoughts so that my body takes them on, and I get a few somatic problems – headaches, dizziness, really LOW blood pressure, etc. There seems to be NO way I can control the bodily expressions of the negativity around me. I just have to live with this, as a “thorn in my side.”
Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers. The technician who did my brain MRI said she didn’t see anything, so we have to wait for the Radiologist to read it. On the other hand, there’s the possibility that I am “overmedicated” with antipsychotic meds AND painkillers. We will wait this one out!!
BIG HUGS to all bipolar survivors and those who love us. May God bless you real good. I pray for my country.
Hello, all. My name is Lynn and I’m a ‘real’ alcoholic. I also live w/Bipolar II Depression, One Day @ A Time. I still deal w/the issue of negative thots, sometimes. I’ve heard it said @ A.A. mtgs., to simply tell the ‘committee in your head’ to shut up, and thanks for sharing! I try to breathe deeply, and think of something I’m grateful for, too; that works pretty good. W/out a ‘conscious contact’ w/a God of my understanding, which I found in Alcoholics Anonymous, I wouldn’t be as able to work w/my bipolar illness every day, and function outside of the ‘nut-hut.’ In my last depressive episode, I became suicidal and made a half-hearted attempt @ an overdose of my medications. However, in the hospital, I became so depressed that I ALMOST lost my will to live. My son came from MN (to CA) and all 3 of my children were visiting me. My healthcare team changed my meds around, and I finally started getting better. I did out-pt. for awhile, for stability and a schedule of my days. I am now willing to do whatever is necessary, to keep myself out of the hospital. Thanks for allowing me to share.
This one for me is hard to choose. I can’t seem to make a negative situation into a positive one. How can I control as I feel inside. How can I take hold of wat I’ve feel I’ve lost a long time ago? This days I feel like I dnt hav control and jus take it day by day. Mayb this is not wat I’ve got but I’m to scared of bein judged as I got 2 kids and not even 21. Dnt need anymore labels. Wish I cld let sum one hear me.
I find it easier to be positive with Jesus and God in my life. Before that, it was soooooooo negative, try it~!! Love, peace and Joy, Marlene
I would probably be called a pessimist realist, though I do try to be positive, it’s too easy for me to see the negative with the reality of what needs to be done to try to manage the problems at hand. I do want to have a positive thought process on it, for the solutions to the problems I have to face on hand, which is why I so often have had to ask for prayer on many things many times . It is my sister who has the problem with the bi-polar, that is she is the one who has the condition, and it is not easy for her when I tend to be on the negative side of handling the issues that we face as a family. I don’t mean to be negative in handling them, I just see them from that side. The things that I see on the positive side appear to others as being unrealistic and not accepted by so many. So it is rare that I am positive, even though I know in my faith that it is a better way to think things through in the way that God would have us to handle them. I hope though that we can get through the current issues at hand for my family in a positive way. That is not an easy thing for me to do but I know it is necessary to do. You didn’t give much comment on the realist, other than the weigh both perspectives and work their way through them. I guess that in one way probably describes me pretty good, though I may appear to be more on the negative side of things than on the positive. That’s why I married one who is an optimist to keep me from ‘sinking’ when he is able to be an optimist.