Chad Taylor Counselling and Psychotherapy

In one day, you think 60,000-70,000 thoughts!

That's a lot of opportunities for your brain to deceive you with habits that tell you you are not worthy of being loved, you can t do this, and the pain will always be with you.

Ninety percent of those thoughts are the same as the day before.

When we are repeatedly stuck in similar thoughts, our minds and bodies feel there will be no opportunity for change moving forward. Our brains' primary goal is to keep us safe by maintaining familiar patterns. So, we engage in unhealthy routines we learned previously for as long as it seems to be the most reasonable thing to do.

Are you stuck in the same thought patterns?

Let us consider this morning when you woke up. What are the first thoughts of the day? You are already dreading work, thinking about whats for dinner, and that argument you had yesterday. You are thinking about everything you need to do that day. You immediately grab your phone and start scrolling, reading negative headlines from the news, and comparing your life to “friends” on social media.

Your body has engaged its stress response as your brain begins to deal with the stressful thoughts that you have.

Your body tenses up, your heart rate increases, you breathe more rapidly, your chest and muscles tighten, your body releases the stress hormone adrenaline as well as the hormone cortisol, and your physiology is changed on a bodily level as soon as you open your eyes.

Stressful thoughts can be addictive.

Being addicted to the very thing that causes our suffering seems counterintuitive. Do you find it illogical? Our bodies begin craving feelings that are associated with a trauma response and distress because it provides pleasure. Why?

Stress is chronic, and many of us experience it daily, strengthening our brain's neural pathways. The neural pathways become so strong that we subconsciously seek these stress chemicals to get the same experience time and again. We have successfully restructured the brain's reward system and made a dependency of our bodily responses.

While the anxiety leads to suffering and agony, we still experience a sense of satisfaction. (It may be the only time we experience genuine happiness.) A literal elevation of the exact same magnitude as making use drugs. We typically seek additional agitation to intensify our feelings of joy.

Without understanding this stress cycle, we will not know why we feel so stuck in the same toxic relationship, arguments, stressful unappreciated job, or even find ourselves relapsing again.

Trauma has rewired the brain to feel uncomfortable in the calm.

When we don't experience this strong and consistent stress response and cortisol release that makes it feel like we'll remain safe, we subconsciously create circumstances that trigger pain.

Instead of living life, we stay trapped in our heads with the protection of our thoughts.

We know that we need to make a change and yet we remain in circumstances that encourage us to repeat the same patterns.

Let's change your thinking that doesn't serve you.

If you start to have moments of inspiration and think this sounds like a loop you may be stuck in, there is hope! It is important to have self-awareness. Everyone is working as best they can when it comes to self-awareness, and it is not uncommon to feel shame for our former practices.

You are not your thoughts, history, and past mistakes. Understanding why we become addicted to the stress cycle/substances and how they shape our behaviours allows us to remove the belief system that says it is our “fault.” Making this change is something we were unable to do on our own.

You are not inadequate, and you're not a failure. Now, this page teaches how you can break free from stress cycles and destructive behaviours that often disrupt recovery, encouraging you to reach out for support on your endeavour to change. You re already growing and evolving. You are your own best healer.