How to understand that you need to change your life right now

If you are dissatisfied with your life, you might be thinking of the ways to alter it. Oftentimes, we make excuses for not making changes. And one of the most common excuse sounds like this – “I’ll start a better living as soon as all my problems come to an end.” It’s a big mistake to think like that. You’ll have to solve various problems until you die. Indeed, the number one reason for not leading a life you want is your thinking.

The Symptoms of Distorted Thinking

The way you think directly influences your feelings and behaviors. People with distorted thoughts are prone to bad habits, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking drugs. They may continue relationships that have no future because they don’t dare to end them. The life begins to fill up with confusion, chaos, darkness, and fear. The fear of someone’s opinions, judgments, or failure stops people from new ventures.

Determine the patterns of your current thinking, the problems they have led to, and look for a solution. Maybe you will need professional help and search the net for “outpatient rehab near me”.

Here’re some of the types of distorted thinking:

  • Overgeneralization – Making a general conclusion based on a single incident, assuming that one negative situation will lead to others, possibly even worse.
  • Catastrophizing – Predicting that something awful will happen without evidence to support the prediction.
  • Reading Minds – Making negative ideas about what other people are thinking without knowing what they’re really thinking.
  • Ignoring the Positives – Diminishing your accomplishments or good personal qualities.
  • Polarized thinking – Categorizing things as either black or white, with no shades of grey
  • Filtering – Taking the negative details and magnifying them while ignoring the positive aspects of a situation.
  • Emotional Reasoning – Turning emotions into facts, for example, “I feel crazy so I must be crazy.”
  • Hypothetical Statements – Over-criticizing yourself with what you “should” or “should not” do.
  • Blame – Blaming yourself for every problem, or throwing the blame on others when you contributed to a situation.
  • Labeling – Putting a label on yourself, like “I’m a loser” vs. “I made a mistake”, instead of assessing the situation as a whole.

Cognitive distortions are at the core of what many cognitive-behavioral therapists try to help a person learn to change. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is used in rehabilitation centers for alcohol- and drug-addicted people.

Just by understanding that you have moments of distorted thinking, you are taking a big step to a solution to your problems. The sooner you will take control of your thoughts, the sooner you will reach a better quality of life. If your negative thinking has already led you to substance abuse, and you’re going to search for “a rehab facility near me”, do this right now.

The 3 C’s for Life Change

To successfully face the negative aspects of your life, you’ll require 3 C’s: courage, commitment, and consistency. By focusing on these three qualities, you will set your goal to overcome depression or quit drinking, or whatever, and come to fruition.

Courage is the ability to admit that you have a problem you find unpleasant, shameful or unbearable. For example, smokers are not shy to say that they can’t live without cigarettes and had several unsuccessful attempts to quit their harmful habits. When it comes to alcohol and drugs, people are often afraid of the stigma. “I should go to an outpatient treatment near me, but what if someone does find out?” – They think. Some find it difficult to admit they suffer from depression. Just believe that you are bold enough to face the reality of your current status.

Next up is commitment. That means making a decision to solve your problem and engaging yourself in the promise. Once you commit to something – especially if that commitment is verbalized to another person – you feel an overwhelming need to stay consistent with the commitment.

Finally, consistency is key. It’s the skill of directing your actions towards the goal, set to achieve. For example, a man has social anxiety that is the reason he starts overusing alcohol. He sees a psychologist and starts following all his recommendations until he is free of the troubling condition.

So, the receipt of success is: recognize there is a problem, make a strong decision to solve it, and take little actions every day until the new behavior becomes your second nature! Only then you will gain freedom and peace of mind.

Professional Help for Those Who Need a Life Change

So, you are ready to go online and search for “outpatient alcohol rehab near me”. You’ve already shown courage to admit the problem and commitment by making a decision to solve it.

In rehab, you will first undergo detoxification. It’s easier to do this in a safe, guided, and supportive environment, surrounded by positivity.

After detox, you will start participating in BCT and additional types of therapies and activities, like holistic therapy, exercise, and outdoor recreation. These practices will help you alter your addictive thinking and behaviors.

The length of treatment is 30-90 days. It depends on the duration and severity of substance abuse. You will be nurtured by professional staff, but you should make individual efforts to succeed in treatment.

If you commit to the treatment program and do your best, you will reach sobriety and make the great shift – moving from fear, despair, and self-pity to a person glowing with possibilities and love, and to a life of peace of mind, serenity, and joy.

It’s vital to complete the program. You can feel that you are already in control of the situation. But be consistent! Relapse rates for addiction are similar to those of other chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and hypertension. The therapeutic community claims a 30 percent success rate, but they only count people who complete the program.

Commit to your recovery and life change right now! Find an outpatient drug rehab near me!