People who suffer from phobias, panic attacks, and general anxiety are especially prone to engage in negative self-talk. Anxiety can be generated on the spur of the moment by repeatedly making statements to yourself that begin with the two words “what if.”. Any anxiety you experience in anticipation of confronting a difficult situation is manufactured out of your own “what-if statements” to yourself.
When you decide to avoid a situation altogether, it is probably because of the scary questions you’ve asked yourself: “What if I panic?” “What if I can’t handle it?” “What will other people think if they see me anxious?” Just noticing when you fall into “what-if thinking” is the first step toward gaining control over negative self-talk.
The real change occurs when you begin to counter and replace negative “what-if statements” with positive, self-supportive statements that reinforce your ability to cope. For example, you might say, “So what,” “These are just thoughts,” “This is just scare-talk,” “I can handle this,” or “I can breathe, let go, and relax.”
12 Jan
PTSD - A Way Out.com 
Posted by Marty on January 12, 2012 at 4:33 am
This guy must be reading this blog. Right, he wrote this before my blog began. Everyone can start to be aware of their self talk.
It is scary if you do not try to heal too. Trauma needs action and dedication to heal.
It will make you stronger and if you learn to follow the breathing track or practice mindfulness on your own, life will open up and you will experience self worth and calm in due time.
Do the work everyday and results happen in their own time.
If you commit to a daily practice the negative ego that you serve now will be helpless to the pressure you will exert upon it. Change your self worth and further healing happens. Add a few more tools and things may shift. Small shifts can be beneficial. You will be healthy again if you commit to a daily practice.
PTSD will make you suffer if you avoid without a break for the rest of your life. This lesson must be learned or it will haunt you.
That is the bare facts of this reality. Actions and dedication will make a difference.
Awareness. The life that is open to me now presents calm, opportunity, a welcomed unknown, with me open to experience what life presents. It will never be like this minute ever again. We will die on the same day same hour same minute whether you listen to your stupid thoughts or not.
look at it from this angle every thought robs you of time now you will never get back.
All men die not all men live, is so true. urgency, apply everything you have and live life again with vigor.
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Posted by Marty on January 12, 2012 at 4:43 am
Negative self talk is like throwing jet fuel on a fire as adding another bucket of cortisol to,our nervous system.
Why we can change our self talk.
Posted by kaitlots on January 16, 2012 at 11:54 pm
I have this workbook, and it is really great.
It’s amazing to see the same message repeated in that book and on this blog. I still cannot even fathom the impact of negative self-talk; but I can attest to the proof of intervening even a few thoughts a day, and seeing the positive, and telling myself positive things. The difference is astounding.
And yes, this does take daily, rigerious practice. But I feel the attention to the breathing provides comfort, so the intensity of this battle between ptsd, ego and myself has some moments of relief.
Posted by Marty on February 13, 2012 at 4:04 am
This is a classic, and excellent.
Ego very interesting that ou ask. negative ego is a person who has no ease of life, hard to trust people,things, always suspicious, thinking we need to explore and think every move out.
Control and avoidance and suspicion reign.
We consrc our ego and we with complex PTSD have a negative ego. Check out your inner dialogue, tomorrow when you shower in the morning. Write it down and see where you mind gravitates to. if it is worry, security, fear, doubt then you tel me.
Our egos slant our memories because memory is a few things and we fil in the rest.
So we are reprogramming our ego since we programmed this one.
Our ego,is created b us, is not real just stories made up for identity and specialness.
Posted by Marty on February 13, 2012 at 4:43 am
We Make the ego up like our own ventriloquist dummy that we give life to. There is no real who am I.
Who am (I)? I am here in this moment experiencing all that I perceive with all my emotions.
If you were to describe yourself say 16 years ago before anxiety who would that person be?
Are you the same person as five years ago. No then who are you?
how many emotions do you associate with since you have anxiety or PTSD?
an you describe you, your ego with a feeling?
Are you always one feeling or do feelings come and go?
Arewe our feelings or emotions because we all have the same amount. So we are the same but our ego’s are different?
Posted by Marty on February 13, 2012 at 4:57 am
the ego is the one who brings these thoughts and ideas forward to direct our attention and thus captain our vessel.
How has that worked out for you the last fourteen years. exactly the ego does not know or care we suffer. it cares that it gets to direct things.
If you say something literal the ego brings up everything in memory to reinforce that belief. Thus all the importance I say with self talk.
If for instance you say this anxiety has damaged me. The ego wil reinforce that belief with everything in the data bank that will align in place.
I sat for a year in a real chronic pain group all doped up with opioids and other crap.
I would hear things like my pain is so awful so,powerful, so,unrelenting that it made me cringe. Something was wrong but I hurt to much to care.
Eventually I realized I was setting among a group of people who had already surrendered. Not me. One followed me and you can read tha in the chronic pain page.
I cussed my pain. I threw my pain pills away and made a pact to resist all I could. The mind unencumbered and free ca do more than we can imagine.
I named my pain because pain was like the wind and abstract pain needed human qualities for my opponent. I named my pain Mr P. after Happy Days and Mr. C.
Now I could wage a physical war with chronic pain. First I found that pain could make me cry but it could not stop me from moving my legs. I had power and as a professional athlete, the outcome was over there, I had budged it and now would stabilize and eventually use my own endorphins to compact it.
from 6 to 8 norco and morphine tabs a day which were losing strength to none now as I age. The mind can accomplish if action and discipline in a specific direction is followed.
Posted by monica on February 13, 2012 at 12:07 pm
i am going to put down all my other books and read the chemisrty of calm. by the way, he is a physchraist and is against meds. he talks about mindfulness.
Posted by Marty on February 13, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Well, thinking your way out always gets more confusing.
Accept if you can that you will never understand some things however taking action is the onl thing that heals.
Since you have decided to read this book before all others, that is fine.
Now while reading this book, I see you have a choice,
You can start practicing on the model of the breathing track while you read away.
mindfulness is part of the book and you will have to face or integrate that trauma stored from childhood from a bi polar mother. I can onl imagine a lung girl must of been neglected or confused with an original caregiver having a hard time even caring for herself.
All the information you have digested the last couple of days or the book you are going to read will not heal,you one bit, action will.
Mental action and changing the relationship you have with your own thoughts.
have you noticed that you well inside your head is the only place your anxiety has life.
What your terribly anxious about most people fail to see danger or even concern.
I implore ou to practice the breathing track while you continue to search out more information.
I believe the book you are reading is more about nutrition first instead of meds. Interesting and expensive as well.
Nutrition will never integrate the trauma you have stored in childhood in your amygdala.
Posted by Ricky on February 23, 2013 at 9:17 am
Liquid, you are transforming ieednd. Happy to see Marty on your team. We appreciate the thought leadership from Neutron and believe with the merger your voice will be that much stronger. Thanks for keeping it real. The transformation theme is right on the money aligns with the thinking at our firm as well. Look forward to seeing your work moving into 2010.