Self Soothing Mindfulness

We all have a running inner dialogue of thoughts.

Sometime this inner self talk is pessimistic, critical or blaming. By attending to your inner self talk, you will notice critical thoughts intruding, and that’s ok. The aim of a mindful activity is to continually bring your attention back to the activity, noticing these messages from outside and within. 

You can begin by spending 15 minutes every day capturing your thought process on paper. Looking at your thoughts on paper helps you to identify the exaggerated pessimistic thoughts you have. After identifying your negative thoughts, write several positive statements for each negative one.

First, focus on what you can do about the problem. Replace unfulfilled longing with realistic goals or plans for change. When you can’t do anything to change a problematic situation, work toward acceptance.

Keep a list of your most common negative thought habits and positive alternatives for each. Refer to this list whenever negative thoughts arise, until you can substitute helpful alternatives from memory or immediately make up new thought alternatives to counter the negative thoughts.

It helps to counter the negative attention with some positive self affirmation by saying kind statements to yourself as if you were talking to a friend:

“You are a good person going through a hard time.

”You will get through this.”

“You can handle this,”

“This feeling will pass.”

Below a mindful meditation script that can be incorporated into your daily routine.

Trust Mantra

And think of a peaceful word, perhaps the word trust

Let this word go over and over in your mind like an echo

Repeat the word to yourself over and over and over

Simply attend to the word in your mind at your own speed

Repeat it to yourself at your own pace and volume

There is nothing you have to do

No effect you have to achieve

Just attend to your word as it goes over and over in your mind

Whenever your attention wanders or you are distracted

Simply return to the word trust and let it echo in your mind

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