Sunday, April 17, 2016

talking to myself is healthy


Told you so!!

Okay, I never really told you so.  Or even told myself so.  But I never saw anything wrong with it.  It turns out it's a psychological tool, because of course it is, called self-distancing.

But, there's a catch.  You have to talk to yourself correctly.  In the third person, Wendy.  (Although sometimes I call myself Carol because it's funny and makes me laugh when I give myself Carol-pep-talks.  But that's maybe not part of the healthy part, so proceed with caution.)

Anyway, if you say I can do it, that's not nearly as effective as saying it in the second person (You can do it) or even better in the third person (Wendy is fkn amazing).  It's especially helpful when remembering unpleasant experiences.  Thinking in the first person allows one to get stuck in the memory.  Thinking in the third person allows an individual to gain insight or meaning without reliving the negative emotions they experienced when the event first occurred.

Perhaps it's a recipe for crazy.  I like to think it's the recipe for the sauce for crazy.  It doesn't make Wendy any flakier, just more savory.

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