As a boy I can safely say I didn’t have many (If any)negative thoughts. Maybe a bit of unhelpful thinking in the form or worry fromtime to time. But would you not be worried falling through a skylight on aschool roof and not telling the teacher??
I can speak on behalf of Liam here too and say negativethinking was not one of his traits.
When you look back to childhood what reason would you benegative? You are fed, watered and are around you friends every day. Life isgood!
As you become a little older the pressures of life start toappear. Peer pressure, exams, career choice, parents turning the screw on youwhen they catch you underage drinking. Or in my becoming a father at the age of16.
Things just seem to get that little bit more real and you’reexpected to make adult decisions whilst still being a boy.
It’s difficult to identify negative thinking as a teenager.I think you can easily get lost in thought without knowing that this train ofthought is having a negative impact on your life.
Overall, I have always tried to remain a positive person.I’ve had to pick myself off and dust myself down several times. Dad at 16,nearly sent to jail at 18, another child at 18, gambling addiction and thensome. I honestly felt like I was living a nightmare for 13 years, so if I’dadded any negative thinking in there, I honestly don’t think I’d be here today.
I know Liam has survived as an addict with a similar thought process.
Does that mean we never had any negative thoughts? No. We are human, and they can always creep in from time to time.
I think negative thinking as an addict, you’re in danger of rapidly sinking. I think negative thinking in recovery can be quickly identified and squashed! Spotting these unhelpful thinking patterns, owning them and being proactive in your approach is always the way forward.
You don’t have to be in recovery, just squash negative thinking. This applies to anyone.
As humans we will sometimes wake up and are thinking can be a little off. Sometimes there will be a reason for it, sometimes not and that’s ok. Sometimes we just must sit with it, own it and be proactive in your approach.
Just because I’ve stopped gambling doesn’t mean I don’t have bad days. Just because Liam doesn’t take drugs, doesn’t mean he has bad days.
I just know one thing for certain, negative thinking will sink us, positive thinking will keep us moving forward. I know which one I’ll stick with.
Mark
