Recent content by Msunn

For me this comes back to self compassion. In the past I judged myself harshly, had perfectionistic standards etc. As I've gone through this process I've learned to be much kinder and patient with myself. This can be a very confusing process to go through, with pains coming and going, moving...

Great opening post Walt, with a lot of food for thought. I think as I've learned to be more compassionate with myself I've been more aware of the inner bully/ inner critic and not being willing to listen to that voice. I've never had much luck in this process getting angry at my subconscious...

Thanks David, I appreciate your thoughts. I do think not wanting to face that shadow side of myself has led to repression and probably TMS. I wish I could say in my case that all these observations of mine have led to being pain free, but they haven't. So I'll keep learning from you and the...

I relate to what others have posted. I did a good amount of journaling early on, and finding the source of the repressed emotions and even journaling about them didn't do much for me, to relieve pain. I see that it works for others that way so I know it's good tool, but in my case I'm realizing...

I'm in! Would love to read the book

This is a big issue for me. I don't deal with anger very well. My pattern is to avoid conflicts with people, and feel uncomfortable when I do express anger. I think I've gotten better at that in recent times, but I still have a lot to learn there. As far as suppressed anger from childhood, I...

Thanks Walt. I'll look forward to that.

I know I think too much, (my downfall sometimes):) but here are some further thoughts on this. In traditional therapy they say the only way out is through, meaning if I have repressed sadness and anger and other feelings as a child, the way out is to feel the feelings and let go of some of that...

I notice there aren't a rush of posts on this subject! I really like what you had to say Ellen. Thank you for your honesty. Quite a while back at this point, I saw a therapist as I was going through a divorce, and over a period of time she encouraged me to feel my feelings, particularly sadness...

Hi Cirrusnarea, thanks for your very honest post. I think many of us who grew up with abusive childhoods deal with those same voices. What's helped me the most is to see the difference between self esteem and self compassion. Self esteem is many times tied to achieving something or measuring...

I did quite a bit of "family of origin" work with a therapist quite a while back. I really understood at that time what happened in my family when I was a child, and was able to let go of a lot of that, with her help. So when I started journaling as suggested here I felt I was rehashing a lot of...

Thanks for your input Walt. You always have a positive message. I'm really getting how wounding the perfectionism is and just appreciating myself as I am. Many years ago I had a neighbor with a sign on his wall that said, "If you don't do what you want to, who will?" I think I finally understand...

Happy Birthday Forest!!!! Thanks for creating this website and for all you give to others. Many Blessings!

I really relate to a lot of what has already been posted. In my case I think perfectionism has driven a lot of this inner dialogue. I've been very perfectionistic with music, having impossible standards to meet and being hard on myself. Prior to developing TMS I felt very blocked creatively...

Great subject. I think one of the most important and helpful concepts I've learned here is self compassion. I've always had perfectionist qualities and I expected a lot of myself especially in regards to playing music, comparing myself to others and coming up short, having impossible to achieve...