Does Language Help Reduce Stress
Today’s Mental Health made Simple post is all about the impact your language can have on your stress levels, anxiety and wellbeing.
‘Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me’
Remember that?
As you grow up, you realise that’s hardly true and that words can cut deeper than any knife.
However, today, we’re talking about the power of words: Not to harm, but to shape our thoughts and feelings.
If you read our post last Wednesday, you know we don’t experience ‘reality’, we experience our interpretation of reality: first, the event, then your reaction to the event (based on your Sense of Power and Control), then your emotion.
Well, what if the words we say to others or we think to or about ourselves are dramatic, or even catastrophic?
Words provide a window into our thinking and our beliefs. This can be a virtuous cycle: positive words affect our thinking and our positive thinking affects our words. The opposite, of course, is also true.
Listen to the things you say and the way you say them?
“I’m starving” ?
This is said in homes and offices all around the country, but, STARVING? Are you really starving?? You’re peckish at best
?
A sunny day and suddenly everyone is “boiling”. Really? Even if it’s just a turn of phrase, it has an impact – one likely to cause distress and anxiety ?
Our language is evocative; paints powerful pictures in our minds and can create some very strong emotions.
You might be used to saying things like, “That made me feel…” or “Luckily, I….”
NOTHING ‘makes you feel’ anything. YOU make yourself feel things: in that split second between something happening and you ‘feeling’ something, you have a thought. It’s those thoughts that create your feelings: understanding and accepting this is fundamental to thriving. So, X happened and I made myself feel Y.
If you speak and think in negative words you will lower your mood, anticipate negative outcomes, create stress, reduce your self-esteem, increase your social anxiety, and contribute to your feelings of powerlessness.
If you use and think in positive words you will feel powerful, anticipate positive outcomes, create less stress, increase your self-esteem, reduce your social anxiety and contribute to you feeling a more internal Sense of Power and Control.
If you look at your FREE Thrive Quotient report, you can see the areas in your life where you feel powerful (high SPACE score) and areas you still need to build up. Listen to the things you say and notice how your language changes. (Message us if you’d like to take your THRIVE PROGRAMME ASSESSMENT and receive your report!) ?
See you Wednesday ?
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This is part of a series building up your mental health every week – so we do advise going back and reading our Thriving at Home series from the beginning.
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