Comments on Cranky Fitness: Yeah, but what if the house burns down?

Hi Merry!Thanks for the shout out on my post re: "...

2008-09-12T10:52:00.000-04:00

Hi Merry!

Thanks for the shout out on my post re: "What If" thinking - it sure can bring ya down if you indulge in it and it can definitely sabotage your weight loss and fitness mojo! ("what if" I can't keep this up? "what if" I regain the weight? "what if" etc. etc......)

Thinking those kinds of thoughts will quickly get ya running to the frig if you use food to soothe....much better plan of action to work on replacing those thoughts with positive, self-empowering thoughts.

And btw, that shower curtain is super funny - I wouldn't want to think about Psycho everytime I showered LOL, but it would be fun for a laugh like around Halloween! :)

Make it a great weekend for yourself Merry!! :)

JoLynn

Crabby, thanks so much for the tip--I'm going to l...

2008-09-10T12:16:00.000-04:00

Crabby, thanks so much for the tip--I'm going to look into that!!!

Believe it or not I was given "The Secret" as a gift and it talks about how thoughts attract like thoughts which I've found to be true. I'll have a little negative, paranoid thought and soon it's morphed into a bombardment. Lately I've been trying to actively focus on something else or go running.

I've also been doing the "Style Statement" workbook by Carrie & Danielle---I think the further I've strayed from my true self over the past years, the more influenced my thoughts and insecurities have been by the media's portrayal of "perfect" women, etc. When I think about who I am and what makes me tick my whole outlook changes.

Wow, what a great discussion! La Lou--I'd highly r...

2008-09-10T08:35:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a great discussion!

La Lou--I'd highly recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy for this; it's pretty effective. If you've got money for an actual therapist, it goes a bit faster and is easier to stay motivated, but there are self-help books that can help change your negative thinking and teach you relaxation skills too. (There's a lot of homework, which makes it sort of a pain but is also what makes it work).

Don't know any specific titles off hand, but if you look for cognitive or cognitive-behavioral approaches to anxiety or panic, I think there are a number of good self help books now.

OMg - just gotta say, that is the coolest shower c...

2008-09-10T06:07:00.000-04:00

OMg - just gotta say, that is the coolest shower curtain I have ever seen!! (Never really thought I would ever say that sentence@@)

I totally do the same thing!! Everything that hap...

2008-09-10T00:40:00.000-04:00

I totally do the same thing!! Everything that happens ends up an entire scenario and/or conversation in my head..except mine are pretty equally negative, positive, and just plain wierd. I don't even do it intentionally! I generally realize 90% of the way through it that I'm doing it. But then it's hard to stop. Sigh.

But I do like the idea of positive scenarios!! Have to try that...

i have this weird phobia of leaving the curling ir...

2008-09-09T23:34:00.000-04:00

i have this weird phobia of leaving the curling iron on and the oven. i rarely use either but i always get a flutter anytime i pull away form my house.

i unplug my treadmill, too.

www.groundedfitness.com

Merry - two things: Me? I am like you. When that b...

2008-09-09T23:12:00.000-04:00

Merry - two things:

Me? I am like you. When that bread drops, I visualize it falling on the heavily buttered side, and it does. Of course, that may be because I buttered both sides. But regardless.

Second? I recently heard the most compelling argument I've come across for positive visualization. Essentially, if you visualize positive things, you will be more aware of them since you're looking for that pattern. The perfect example is when you are interested in buying a new car - you will suddenly notice all of that particular model on the road, whereas the week before you wouldn't have thought about that car, and you likely didn't see them nearly as often.

There ya go. Smartass for number one, and sensible for number 2. :)

Dr. J, that's just what I needed. I love the idea ...

2008-09-09T22:28:00.000-04:00

Dr. J, that's just what I needed. I love the idea of pronoia :)

Kiki, thanks for the stumble! I don't think those ever hurt.

Thanks to everyone for all the great comments! It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one who does this, and a lot of people have good ideas for how to deal with it.

I just stumbled this. I can not see a bad outcome ...

2008-09-09T22:18:00.000-04:00

I just stumbled this. I can not see a bad outcome from my stumble BUT if there is you will be fine.

GREAT post.

Your cure has arrived, Merry :-)http://en.wikipedi...

2008-09-09T22:05:00.000-04:00

Your cure has arrived, Merry :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoia_(psychology)

I sometimes have the same problem with imagining t...

2008-09-09T18:25:00.000-04:00

I sometimes have the same problem with imagining these negative scenarios. I try to make excuses for my little anxiety episodes, such as "I'm just preparing myself for the worse case scenario," but I know I need to stop. On the flip side, I do sometimes picture myself working out with a lot of energy and making healthy meals for myself. Unfortunately, I don't follow through with these =/

I really does help to visualize in advance (or act...

2008-09-09T17:39:00.000-04:00

I really does help to visualize in advance (or actually execute the steps, as in a fire drill) what you would do if there was a disaster. Watching the flight attendant's presentation, planning what route you would take if you had to evacuate your home - these things have been proven to increase your chances of survival. But you have to focus on what is likely to happen to you. I'm not really worried about earthquake preparedness in New Orleans. Hurricane preparedness, on the other hand, is a top priority.

I do have flashes like the falling knife sticking into my foot - every time the knife falls! I agree with Crabby. Why not continue to visualize yourself in the situation, dealing with the problem. Stopping the bleeding with a towel and possibly going to the emergency room to get fixed up. Then you'd go home and have a great story to tell your friends - "You know how every time the knife falls you're so scared it'll stick in your foot - well that happened to me!"

I use to be a what if person in the past.......man...

2008-09-09T16:48:00.000-04:00

I use to be a what if person in the past.......man that drained me! I have focused on the positive a lot more lately. My hubby is way---negative.....so I have to balance him out so maybe together we will remain neutral ;)

Ah yes, I'm so with you on the "what if"ing. Some...

2008-09-09T14:14:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, I'm so with you on the "what if"ing. Sometimes it's a good stress reliever, other times it's just more crazy in my head. Thanks for making me feel less alone Merry!

A common occurrence in my world...WHAT IF?! Ugh! N...

2008-09-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

A common occurrence in my world...WHAT IF?! Ugh! Nice post...thank you! :)

I am a negative visualizer, too! (so many of us!)...

2008-09-09T13:41:00.000-04:00

I am a negative visualizer, too! (so many of us!) If my husband is a little late, or if I drop the knife (which honestly? I do once a week, minimum), or the near miss on the freeway.

Maybe I need to take that talent and apply it to my bikini potential.

LaLou - I'm going to a therapist tomorrow who spec...

2008-09-09T13:26:00.000-04:00

LaLou - I'm going to a therapist tomorrow who specializes in meditation and mind-relaxing exercises. I'm hoping it'll help, because I've recently started having some anxiety, and did have a panic attack myself (mostly because I didn't know it was anxiety and though there was something wrong with me). If you're having panic attacks, you might want to try something like that (though I have no idea yet whether it works...)

Mind training = so important!Sometime I'll imagine...

2008-09-09T13:12:00.000-04:00

Mind training = so important!

Sometime I'll imagine worst case scenarios, but it has the effect of making me more grateful that things turned out the way they did. Thinking of negative things like that makes me appreciate my life and everything in it a lot more.

...is that weird?

"But when IT begins to control YOU, it can lead to...

2008-09-09T12:59:00.000-04:00

"But when IT begins to control YOU, it can lead to negative thought cycles and problems with anxiety."

I have literally thought my way into panic attacks from imagined scenarios!

I've been reading up on this a lot recently and have been working hard to change my thought patterns or distract myself from myself---does anyone have any good tips for this???

Oh, yes, I like to be a hero in my imagined disast...

2008-09-09T11:37:00.000-04:00

Oh, yes, I like to be a hero in my imagined disasters, too ;-)

And we can't be the only ones -- they do have that TV show and board game called Worst Case Scenario!

It's good to be prepared. :-)

I do this all the time! I totally have conversati...

2008-09-09T11:04:00.000-04:00

I do this all the time! I totally have conversations in my head (people I pass on the street must think I'm a little crazy because sometimes I actually say it out loud without thinking about it), about things that I wanted to have said, or to prepare for a conversation I might have.

I also envision scenarios all the time. Sometimes it's something like a movie - I'm in a bar with a guy I like, then terrorists take over the bar and in the end, me and the guy end up together. Other times it's less fantastic and I imagine what would happen if I choked on my dinner and had to try to give myself heimlich against the corner of my dining room table. Glad to know I'm not the only person who's brain goes fantasy-crazy!

Yes, I am guilty of this. I can replay an argument...

2008-09-09T10:42:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am guilty of this. I can replay an argument in my head for quite a while and still feel the upsetedness, the feeling of injury etc... I have learned ways to side step this now, but still, it lurks and I do believe that it negatively impacts my body. I think we can see how our thought patterns truly affect us especially when looking at people fighting diseases such as cancer. Their frame of mind makes a huge difference...

I'm big into visualization (though I call it daydr...

2008-09-09T10:20:00.000-04:00

I'm big into visualization (though I call it daydreaming). Every time I run I imagine I'm winning some race or overcoming some huge obstacle and STILL winning the race, LOL. (BTW, I have never won a race but I have to have goals right?) It really keeps me motivated, otherwise I think I'd get really bored on long runs.

As for the negative stuff, I'm one of those people who always envisions the best case scenario and just shrugs off the bad stuff (otherwise I'm afraid I'd get really depressed).

Holy crap, I thought I was the only one who did th...

2008-09-09T10:19:00.000-04:00

Holy crap, I thought I was the only one who did this! And I do it constantly!
Need to learn to turn the negative visualizations into positive. Not easy to change a life-long habit, though.

That happens to me occasionally, especially since ...

2008-09-09T09:54:00.000-04:00

That happens to me occasionally, especially since I live alone (well, with Bad Cat but he would not be a huge help). I am afriad of slipping in the shower and banging my head against the tub. Or choking on something. eeeek!