This week's collaborate discussion reflects a course session focused on the
factors that give life meaning and how we can promote healthy development
through adulthood. The messages we receive from our family and friends during
our early development help us to define ourselves, as well as depict how we are
perceived and valued by others.
My professor mentioned, and I agree, that we
can only be resistant to the ideas of others, not our own. Elanor Roosevelt
once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”. We are in
control of how others make us feel. If we choose to believe the ideas of others
then those thoughts will manifest through our behavior and self-esteem.
During this session, my professor asked us this: "Suppose tonight, while you slept, a miracle occurred. When you awake tomorrow, what would be some of the things you would notice that would tell you life had suddenly gotten better?"
This Miracle Question really made me think. The way I interpreted this question was that by learning to cope with factors that cause us negative thoughts, we can learn to dissociate a thought as a problem. I related this discussion to some challenges I came across during my internship work as a School Mental Health Counselor. I work with a student who was sexually abused by her uncle. Her anger and resentment is causing her feelings of stress and depression. She has explored various coping skills and practices the ones that help her relieve these feelings. It was at this point that I found myself at a steadfast with a client and reached out to my advisor for advice. My advisor explained that the harmful thoughts of her experiences would never go away. With that being said, she proposed that I begin exploring with my student on how she can take better control of her thoughts before they cause her the negative feelings she wishes not to endure. I encourage her to utilize positive self-talk, which promotes self-awareness.
This Miracle Question really made me think. The way I interpreted this question was that by learning to cope with factors that cause us negative thoughts, we can learn to dissociate a thought as a problem. I related this discussion to some challenges I came across during my internship work as a School Mental Health Counselor. I work with a student who was sexually abused by her uncle. Her anger and resentment is causing her feelings of stress and depression. She has explored various coping skills and practices the ones that help her relieve these feelings. It was at this point that I found myself at a steadfast with a client and reached out to my advisor for advice. My advisor explained that the harmful thoughts of her experiences would never go away. With that being said, she proposed that I begin exploring with my student on how she can take better control of her thoughts before they cause her the negative feelings she wishes not to endure. I encourage her to utilize positive self-talk, which promotes self-awareness.
