Changing the way we think!

Have you ever caught yourself talking negatively about yourself ? All of us in our lives have participated in negative self-talk. These things don’t come from you; they come from what someone else has said to you during your lifetime. How we perceive events, social interactions, decisions, and circumstances can significantly impact our minds, bodies, and feelings. Anxiety, stress, and depression can play a role in continuing these thought patterns. Have you found it hard to change your life and didn’t know where to start?

Changing how we think more positively can transform our lives in many ways. It can increase our health, lower stress levels, and improve our relationships and mental health.

Various studies have been done on how positive thinking training impacts all walks of life, from older adults to individuals with schizophrenia and people with kidney failure. A common theme they faced was mental health struggles such as depression and anxiety.

The people who struggle with schizophrenia have seen improvements in their functional recovery and experienced lower levels of depression. Seniors who were unhappy had lower satisfaction in life, started having higher life satisfaction, and experienced more elevated moods. Individuals struggling with kidney failure started practising positive thinking training, which helped lower their anxiety and improved their life satisfaction.

If you are interested in changing your life and how you think, please come down to the Canadian Mental Health Association to check out what we offer to help you on your journey to achieve lower mental health and stress that impact your life.

Peer Support Worker, Gabrielle Deminick- Meyer at Canadian Mental Health Association, Alberta Southeast Region and can be reached at recoverytrainer@ cmha-aser.ca or 403-504-1811. To find out more about CMHA programs and/or events visit www.cmha-aser.ca. If you are in crisis, call the Distress Centre at (403) 1-800-784-2433.