I need emotional Mithril Armor.

[Metalhead]

My brain can attack my emotional well being at any moment, and I need to tell myself to stop letting that happen.

I can't exist in a cocoon.

I can't game 24/7.

I need the emotional armor to face each day as a human being and not have kneejerk reactions to the news, to my memories, to just about anything.

Some things trigger a kneejerk reaction in me far too easily, I am acknowledging. I want to work on making that less of an issue.

 

[AprilR]

I relate to this too hard, also awesome way of putting it. Need to have a thicker skin.

 

[tree]

@Metalhead

You are paraphrasing some of the concepts from the book A Guide to Rational Living.

"I need to tell myself to stop letting that happen."
The idea that you are responding to a story that you are telling yourself is a major point of the book.

Wanting to make kneejerk reactions less of an issue points toward a realization that it's possible to
mediate one's responses. Events themselves are less important than a person's response to the events.

 

[Metalhead]

@Metalhead

You are paraphrasing some of the concepts from the book A Guide to Rational Living.

"I need to tell myself to stop letting that happen."
The idea that you are responding to a story that you are telling yourself is a major point of the book.

Wanting to make kneejerk reactions less of an issue points toward a realization that it's possible to
mediate one's responses. Events themselves are less important than a person's response to the events.

The stories I tell myself are often in the voice of my family members.

But I can't blame them for living in my head rent free.

 

[tree]

The stories I tell myself are often in the voice of my family members.

But I can't blame them for living in my head rent free.

Understandable that the crappy stories are in the voices of your family members.
In real life those people have promulgated many harmful fantasies.

I don't really understand the idea of not blaming the stories themselves.
They aren't sentient beings. They are stories that you are continuing to
*re-read,* as it were.

 

[Metalhead]

Understandable that the crappy stories are in the voices of your family members.
In real life those people have promulgated many harmful fantasies.

I don't really understand the idea of not blaming the stories themselves.
They aren't sentient beings. They are stories that you are continuing to
*re-read,* as it were.

The stories my brain likes to keep on loop are toxic fiction and gaslighting. I wish I could turn them off as easily as flipping a light switch. Tell myself some other stories, such as how I am a bloody adult right now and how I should act accordingly, with autonomy and self respect.

 

[tree]

Recognizing the stories are crappy non-rational stuff
is a good first step.

 

[Metalhead]

Recognizing the stories are crappy non-rational stuff
is a good first step.

Now my next step is replacing those stories with better ones.

Which is easier said than done.

More to talk to the therapist about.

 

[tree]

The book A Guide to Rational Living can be useful,
if a person is able to read it, and apply the
concepts within their own life.