Reframing: 4 Ways it May Be Good For Your Mental Health!
Along with hundreds of thousands of other New Englanders, I’m staring out the window on one of the first days of “Spring,” looking at five inches of newly fallen snow with more on the way(!) It’s been coming down hard most of the day, with the temps hovering around a balmy Spring 26 degrees. The first Red Sox game of the season was canceled, so I know there are probably lots of unhappy fans as well. Last week my husband and I were laying on Flamenco Beach in Culebra, luxuriating in the soft, tropical breeze and the warm aqua water. Life is Hell…… Or is it?
If it hadn’t been for the brutal weather I’d have been miserable, catching up on my book work after our little Puerto Rican getaway. If the sun had been shining and the weather glorious and Springy I wouldn’t have opted to complete some online trainings I’ve needed to do. The laundry and the cooking would have fallen behind, the bills wouldn’t have been paid before the week was in full swing, the AirBnB reviews would have been undone, I wouldn’t have discovered all the terrific Ken Burns videos on Amazon Prime, and I certainly wouldn’t be enjoying the warmth of the roaring fire my husband has made. Nor would I be looking forward to later taking a toasty hot tub under the stars, amidst the newly white landscape. So, am I being a Pollyanna, or am I using the needed skill of reframing? It’s the latter, my friends.
Reframing is very good for your mental health in a number of important ways:
- It helps you transform a situation which might make you feel like a victim into one of opportunity.
- It helps you to make a creative “reboot,” expanding your sense of possibilities and problem-solving.
- It sets a positive tone, helping you to feel good as you change the noise in your head.
- The more often you feel good the happier you’ll be, and the more you’ll spread it to others. The more often you spread happiness, the more people will want to hang out with you. Chances are, you’ll then have a more satisfying social life.
So, bring on the snow, April 4th or whenever!
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