Loosening the Grip: Finding Peace by Letting Go of What Hurts Us |
What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
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You have the power to change your hurt feelings.
Some family relationships require that you set a boundary.
Change starts when you accept that you are the catalyst.
Cognitive behavioral strategies are helpful in changing your outlook.
In my younger years, a clinical supervisor provided insight on emotional attachments that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since: We let go of toxic habits and unhealthy relationships when the cost to hold on exceeds the anguish of letting go. The pain we experience from remaining connected to people who hurt us can be greater than the discomfort of changing. Upon this realization, our minds shift from feeling powerless to control negative emotions to encouraging physical or emotional habits that feel good. Change happens when it is just too painful to keep hoping that improvements will germinate from others.
In her book, The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins encourages a similar point of view: When we accept the world as it is, we are free to concentrate on our happiness. Robbins invites us to let people do or say what they want, and then........