That is awesome! Don't give up! You got this!!

Feel proud of yourself for at least recognizing that you want to change it instead of living in denial.

Facing your fears, and not giving up is an excellent reason to feel proud of yourself. Give yourself credit for every achievement.

I had a huge wakeup call this past Sunday. I was consumed with many worries, and we were under a tornado warning. And, the tornado did touch down 20 miles away, and some homes in that area had quite a bit of damage, but no one was hurt. And, thankfully, my home was not damaged. So, after thinking what could have happened, but didn't, I felt so lucky. And, all of those worries I had on my mind before the bad weather came, didn't seem to matter near as much.

So, no matter how bad things seem to be at the time, just remember what you are thankful for. And, each time you take that first step in facing a fear, be proud of that.

I found repetition to be the key. I had scripts that I ran through my mind constantly, all day every day. I also taped notes around the house to remind me to keep thinking positive or I would put an uplifting comment on them.

Patience is also necessary as this method is not quick. It's taken you your entire life so far to develop your current way of thinking. It's going to take time to change it. I had some thought processes so ingrained in my mind it took a few years to change them. So don't give up...it will work if you keep at it.

Take care

Try to think about all of your accomplishments, instead of your flaws! Continue facing your fears. Better days are to come!

Mcreathb,

I can tell you from experience that you are definitly heading in the right direction with starting to think positive.

Years ago I had a meeting with a psychiatrist....she told me that the secret to overcoming anxiety and depression was all about changing your thoughts. Only problem was that she had no bag of tools in which to guide someone to overcome these conditions. She, like so many others out there, just did talk therapy instead of providing a person with tools that help a person to change the thoughts that hold them in anxiety and depression.

Negative thoughts are the ONLY reason that a person has anxiety and depression. Positive thinking people do not have issues with anxiety or depression...it's just not possible.

Can a person who naturally thinks negative thoughts learn to think positively? You betcha!!! I have been free from anxiety and depression issues for four years now.

Here's the thing that I found out....changing your thoughts from negative to positive is realitivly simple and easy....IF you have tools in which to do so. If you have no understanding of what anxiety really is and no clue as to the personality traits that accompany this condition how do you know what to change in order to make it stop.

Well after many years of searching for a cure....I finally found one. Funny thing is...is that I had what I needed the whole time and it didn't cost a penny to overcome it. Wish I would have know this years ago...haha! It does however take time to change those negative thoughts to positive and I also had to learn what I as doing to perpetuate my anxiety symptoms and resulting depression symptoms.

If you are interested I have compiled a twelve week tool kit...so to speak....to help others to overcome this condition too!

I, at one point, felt that life was not worth living with the way I felt day to day. Now I truly can't wait for tomorrow to see what joy is waiting for me. Life did not change.....I changed!

Friend me of you want access to my journal page and the twelve weeks.

Keep positive my friend!

when I began to realize that my constant negative bent on things was actually a problem and that it was driving my anxiety...I stumbled onto this website and read this article<

http://anxietynetwork.com/content/stopping-automatic-negative-thoughts

then I made up posters with pictures of ANTS stealing cookies (ANTS steal all the good things in life and pictures of ants with big red xs on them (No more ANTS) and I put them all over my house and at work. They were constant reminders to keep it positive and nix the automatic negative thinking.

Interestingly, I had quite a few things that I was worried about--but I would tell myself that maybe it wasn't so bad and maybe things would work out--and everything started to work out!!!(its like that law of attraction thing) I have to say it was a relief to not worry so much--you carry a much lighter load...and if you can just stay in the moment it is easier to stay positive....

What I've found is that I have two layers of negative thought. I have negative thought I have a choice over and then a layer underneath that is almost unconscious.

I think if you can get to the root cause and treat THAT it helps immeasurably with all of the anxious thinking.

Excuse me if I've said this before, but I think the place to start is a blood and saliva test to rule out the MTHR gene mutation, vitamin deficiency (and the "normal" range may not do it for you - you may need a therapeutic dose), hormone imbalance, thyroid dysfunction, neurotransmitters that are off, etc.

Those are the cheapest, easiest and most cost effective things to fix. If they're off and you're trying to change your thinking it's like eating caramels while brushing your teeth.

Once that's sorted, I love the idea of thinking immediately upon waking thinking about your day and visualizing yourself handling everything really well and enjoying the day. It can actually start to help create a pathway for that sort of thinking just to visualize.

At the end of the day as you're laying in bed, think about your day and what went well, what happened to prove to you the world is safe, what things you did that you feel proud of and what you're grateful for in your life.

Someone gave me a journal once when I was struggling with feeling proud of myself. On the left side of each page I wrote down the things that I wanted to accomplish (not like a to do list but things like learning to play the violin, etc.).

Once we've accomplished things we tend to discount them. But with this book, I could go back, look at what I've accomplished and on the right side of each page I wrote the details of accomplishing each thing and how I felt.

Another feeling proud thing is to grab a binder and page protectors and put any ribbons, certificates, thank you cards, certificates of completion, etc. in there and anytime you need a boost, look at it.

Finally, only compare yourself to yourself - not to others. We can always find some super-hero sort of people who work three full time jobs and are raising a family of 14 foster kids while finishing up their dissertation. We feel like crap comparing ourselves to them while they probably admire our ability to be so present with our lives!

I am not sure if your able but if you can try to go outside and into nature for a bit. Play with a dog in the park if you have one. The fresh air and change of environment sometimes helps to change the immediate feelings of crappyness.

also forgot to mention keeping some kind of gratitude journal--each day write down things you are grateful for-no matter how small...it helps to keep you focused on looking for the good in life...

You are doing great! Think about what you have accomplished and achieved in your life at this point, that should make you feel proud. When you start to feel crappy, think of something good or plan something you enjoy doing for later that day.

You have some fantastic input here. Only thing I can add is give yourself credit and congrats for even the smallest of accomplishments. And push yourself in small ways, but not enough that you overwhelm yourself. Today I was feeling all yucky, sitting here depressed and on the pity pot. I challenged myself and said 'Go in the bathroom and put some makeup on that sour puss of yours and curl your hair for the first time in ages.' I did so and I felt so accomplished. I realize what a ridiculously small thing it was but it made me smile and I took a couple of selfies that were presentable. So yay for us.