Rules of Living #3: Detoxify

Who doesn’t have emotional baggage?

I think everyone has their own set of problems, and to you, your problems are always going to be the biggest. The most important thing is to start to consider what to do instead of what not to do. I’m not sure how close any of you have been to severe depression, when you felt like giving things up all together. I’ve been there, and sometimes, negative thoughts still penetrate my mind. If you think I don’t understand depression or sadness, let me describe it to you. It’s like a cave that’s closing in. Your mental images are small and dull. It basically looks like Armageddon happened, and you were the only person left in the world. The feeling that closes in leaves you cornered, alone, trapped and stuck. There’s nowhere to go.

Those images are going to do nothing but leave you disempowered. The decisions you make if you are in that state are going to force you to collapse into your own hole. The only way you can break free from this is to stop. You need to detoxify your mind. Mental detoxification is not difficult, but very few people choose to do it. They are on a path to self-destruction, and they are making things bad for themselves.

If you find negative thoughts penetrating your mind, and it feels like you can’t get out of the feeling, there are a few things you need to do to recognize this. Write it. Work it. Draw it. When you see the aftermath of your writing, drawing or working out, you’ll realize how much it has drained you. There have been times where I have written note after note of painful experiences. Many of them gave me indications that I was blaming and not taking responsibility. I know when I felt immense hatred, I felt drained and in pain. I know for some people, this pain drives them to take revenge. But revenge is based on a decision made with a perspective that there is no other choice in this dismal mental world. The message in my written notes gave me enough food for thought and I made more effective decisions. When you see physical evidence of the negativity, it allows you to make a decision. Even paying attention to physical pain like a headache, pain the neck and shoulders and the like can act as feedback for you to start playing different images in your mind.

 

Detoxification is a simple process – whatever that is shitty in your mind should come out. If not, you could face some serious mental constipation. Negativity and ruminating in it can be painful, and dangerous. You need to get it out, then flush it away. The best way to do this of course would be to focus on building multiple solutions. Don’t just be hopeful – create solutions that have a high probability of success. If you are in debt, in a relationship crisis, bankrupt, whatever, find a means to reduce the negative emotions by intoxicating yourself with positive solutions. Your only chance of successfully becoming a person of worth would be to create solutions that not only help you to look forward, but address the reality of the problem at the moment. Drain the negative energy by giving it no more reason to exist. With the implementation of your solution, you can then detoxify and constantly find resourceful ways to handle your problem, and allow this to be your emotional management strategy to ease your burdens and give you a way out. After all, no matter what your problems are, it’s really not that bad! The funny thing is – it all depends on the way you look at things!