Mental Health and Wellness

There's a fine line between reflecting and analyzing one's thoughts, feelings, and situations that have happened. Reflecting on what happened, why something triggered a reaction or how you might want to respond differently in the future is a great way to learn and grow. Reflecting is a light, non-judgmental way to review a situation. Analyzing a situation takes reflecting to a much deeper, self-sabotaging mental space. Not much, if anything at all, is learned from analyzing because this leaves the person feeling awful about the situation and about oneself. I have noticed with my patients, that light reflection at the end of the day can be very useful. Reflecting on the good things that happened that day can leave the individual feeling accomplished and have a positive impact on their confidence and self-worth. Reflecting on the negative things that happened that day or the issues that triggered anxiety or depression symptoms can help the individual make changes to their daily schedule to avoid triggers or treat them like exposure therapy and use proactive tools to cope with triggers in a healthier way. Look at the last few days and notice times when you analyzed a situation, event, conversation, or something that might be coming up. Now look back and notice times when you reflected on situations, events, conversations or something coming up. Can you notice a difference in how you physically and mentally felt between the times you reflected versus the times you analyzed something?