Most of us are influenced by the environment around us, some of us more than others, when that influence become negative we can feel overwhelmed and that can lead to a chemical imbalance in our bodies which we can experience as headache and/or upset stomach etc. We react to this imbalance by feeling disconnected and conflicted. These emotions are then processed cognitively and we might experience thoughts like: “Is there something wrong with me?”, “Is this my fault?” , “Is it just me who doesn’t fit in?”. When we allow thoughts like this to take over we reinforce the chemical imbalance and our internal conflict in our bodies leading to physical and mental symptoms of discomfort. This can become a negative spiral leading to depression.
We can’t always control our environment nor can we shut off our emotional reactions, but what we can do is change the cognitive process, or the way we think, so that instead of reinforcing the chemical imbalance in our bodies and the negative feelings we can stop them in their tracks and neutralize them with positive self-talk and self-soothing techniques.
