Question

When replying to this disscusion below,  you must make a MEANINGFUL comment. Maybe this will help: when you read your peers' post, pretend that you are in a classroom and you just heard him or her speak. Your reply must be meaningful enough that in a face to face class, you would raise your hand, wait to be called upon and comment or ask a follow-up question to their answer. It has to be a minimum of 50 words.
If I was a psychologist, I would suggest these two strategies to help my client overcome stress in everyday life.  If they are stressing about their life struggles, I would tell them that there are people in this world in worse conditions, yet they’re still able to work things out and enjoy life.  Keeping an open mind and meeting different types of people really allows you to see that everyone has their own struggles, and that you’re not alone going through these tough times.  As for the other strategy, I would use this if my patient was feeling upset or unmotivated.  Turning negative thoughts into more positive ones definitely help make things more enjoyable or bearable.  Personally, I use these strategies myself.  After working on the oncology unit, I really see the harsh reality of “life struggles”.  Thus, whenever I feel like I’ve had a bad day, I always tell myself my definition of “bad” is nothing compared to other peoples’ “bad” day.  As for those days when I’m feeling unmotivated, I try to make the best out of it because we only live life once.  I look for other reasons that I find enjoyable to help motivate me to get through these ordinary events.

Answer 1

I agree that comparing ourselves to people who are worse off than us can help us feel better. This process is called downward comparison and such a strategy can make us feel grateful for the things we have. I would like to understand how we can feel more motivated. The post mentions that we should try to turn our negative thoughts into positive thoughts, but it would be helpful to understand what specific steps we can take in this direction.