For the past 2 weeks in group therapy weve been discussing life patterns, There are some patterns that I really want to change and I simply dont know how.

Let me walk you through what our homework assignment was last week. We were asked to do the following

"Sometimes we continue in our roles because we are waiting for our parents permission to change. But that permission can only come from you. Like most people, parents in dysfunctional families often feel threatened by changes in their children. As a result, they may thwart your efforts to change and insist that you change back. Thats why its so important for you to trust your own perceptions and feelings. Change begins with you. Some specific things you can do include

Identify painful or difficult experiences that happened during childhood

Make a list of your behavior, beliefs, etc. that you would like to change

Next to each item on the list, write down the behavior, belief, etc. that you would like to/have instead.

Pick one item on your list and begin practicing the alternate behavior or belief

Once you are able to do the opposite more often than the original, pick another on the list and practice changing it too.

Its been a great exercise for me to do.