This provides a snapshot of the Total Reference Book Process included in the Parents Guide section 1.1, as flowed down from Ref. Book (“Rise and Shine Anxiety & Depression & Life Management Tools”) . Collectively the Total Process provides all we can do for ourselves as humans to take care of ourselves, Naturally, with Permanent results…
Information provided below should provide enough information which you can flow down to your Youngins, as you see fit, depending on their curiosity, age, & mental maturity … Your prerogative of course as Parent or Mentor. Of course if you have the Ref. Book on hand, you have Everything :).
1) Again, the blog post written on the Substance & Effectiveness of the Reference Book provides a Real Good Overview regarding what the Book is all about and It’s Huge Positive Impacts/Influence it has had on People with Book in hand: https://riseandshineanxietydepression.net/2020/03/10
2) What the Positivity Tools/Skills Process does for an Individual, the Facts of the matter, & Why So Effective when Read and Work It:
A Positive mindset is what it takes to Aspire in Life; most People Understand that now… And a negative mindset will create all those Bad feelings, emotions and Issues…
We have to LEARN how to take care of Our Selves and Our Well-Being! We typically cannot just figure things out on our own & what it takes unless we are an Aberration in Life and are Naturally a rather a Positive Individual to begin with vs. being more negative which is more of the norm these days … Actually as humans, Naturally we tend to operate in directions of thoughts and actions overreacting to matters and accentuate our negative feelings… When we get Anxious, we tend to get more Anxious, Overreacting to things, and when we get lowly, and Depressed, we cower away and don’t want to talk to others, as we get consumed and that often amounts to not taking care of Ourselves as we should…
And Remember, or you will Learn in Life over time, in order to be GOOD at anything in Life we have to work hard at that… Same thing applies with working on our mental health! No One Can Do The Work for the Sufferer but themselves… But as a Youth, Guidance is necessary until you are old & mature enough to pick up the Ref. Book and Read & Work on yourselves on our own.
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- Facts are: negative thoughts impact Our brain/body chemistry in a negative way, creating our Bad feelings, Emotions, & Issues over time, and Positive thoughts serves to Normalize matters, brain/body chemistry, feelings and emotions, Lifting our Spirits and eliminating those mental health Issues (Anxiety/Depression, etc.) So bottom line, negative vs. Positive thinking is what we need to deal with over the course of the day, or thru Life to control our Well-Being. Our Well Being (i.e. How Good or Bad We feel), is a function of the Sum of Our negative and Positive thoughts over time.
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- & What are Negative thoughts? As section 5.5.1 in Ref. Book identifies, “Negative thoughts make you feel bad, lowly, sad, anxious, depressed. Most negative thoughts we have are not real (but perceived, imagined, anticipated), they are often not realistic, not rationale, and not valid. Give them little time and bury them, weed them out, stifle them.”
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- & What are Positive thoughts? Contrarily, as section 5.5.2 in Ref. Book identifies, “Positive thoughts: are empowering, invigorating, energizing. They make you feel GOOD through and through. They are so real, realistic, rationale, and valid. Anything that makes you feel good, relaxed, soothed etc. is a Positive.”
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- Also can’t forget to mention, our negative thoughts we come up with are unreal most of the time… Like 95% of the time or maybe even more… The Positive thoughts we provide to ourselves are the Real thoughts… But on that note, we have to be Honest to ourselves or we won’t believe them in our Self Thoughts/Talk.
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If We become rather negative, cortisol is produced and starts ripping through Our Body setting Ourselves up with Anxiety, and possibly, Panic Attacks. Also, with such a negative mindset, serotonin levels diminish over time leading eventually to Depression. When We become Positive per the Book’s Cognitive/Behavioral Modification Repetitive Training Process, after having prior Issues with negativity, this Normalizes Our brain/body chemistry overtime. And if We continue to be Positive through Life, It Is Just A Beautiful Feeling :); Nothing is Better than that Feeling! When We Get That Way, We essentially want to Do Everything, Go Everywhere, and See Everyone, but when We Don’t, Sadly, We Don’t want to, nor may not want to do anything (to the extent of being Agoraphobic). Refer to item 4) below, if interested, which addresses the slew of those negative feelings & emotions we can have when we experience Anxiety & Depression.
Detailed Positivity Process includes Optimum/Proven Coping Skills & Tools. These Tools & Skills are those we were not born with, but we need to Learn. The Ref Book also includes, Exercise & Eating Well (i.e. per section 3), and laughter & :)s. Collectively, this teaches us how to change or reprogram a negative mindset to a Positive mindset to prevent or eliminate significant levels of Anxiety and Depression (or related) in Life.
More Specifically, this Process allows us to drill down to our individual negative thoughts/mindset & sources of those negative thoughts (i.e. the Root Cause of our Issues), & changing those to Positives in thoughts/mindset via the Tools/Skills provided. This Self-Personalizes the process for Everyone!
(Actually this one is included in other parts of the Parents Guide for the Youngins & not in 1.1. here but FYI:) What one Learns via the Guide’s/Ref. Book’s Positivity Process Essentially Changes the way you Think, Operate, & React ( or Under-react actually) to Everything which is KEY & Necessary for Recovery/ Improvement, & subsequent ability to Aspire in Life.
3) As far as the Other Key Aspect we Need for Our Positive Well-Being, that involves, One’s Foundation/Faith & Focus on Our #1 Dependence as addressed in section 4 of the Ref Book. This is the Basis of Our Positivity when we have a Strong Foundation. However with a Weakened Foundation, that serves to be the Basis of Our negativity… The latter is the result of Not living Life Righteously, & with Integrity! So, really this could be our #1 Source of Our negativity if not living GOOD Lives! Consider the simple Fact: When We do Good/Right things with Integrity, etc. in Life, that’s such a Positive making us feel Good! And when We do things Wrong & Opposite that, that be negative, and those make us feel Bad… Living thru a Full Life it seems, a couple times thru, it is Crystal Clear as written in the Reference Book, We need Our #1 Support System to Help and Solidify Matters, Our Well Being, and Our Peace of Mind to Live Comfortably in this imperfect world. Furthermore, that is why in “The Final Cut” of the Ref. Book, I refer to Our Faith/Our Foundation/God in Essence at least 1/2 the Game in Life if want to consider Life a Game!
Now as for matters regarding Our Faith/Our Foundation/Our #1 Dependence, and It’s Importance, & as they go hand in hand with those Positivity Tools/Skills Process, here is a snapshot of some of that related “text within the Ref. Book”, or related words:
Aside from the Positivity Tools/Skills Process….“Additionally, this Book goes One Big Step further, addressing what I and many Others believe, is Necessary to Solidify Recovery (or Improvement) from Our Anxieties & Depression, and then Solidify Our Well Being (i.e. Our Positivity and Peace of Mind). This allows us the potential to achieve True Peace of Mind/Tranquility through Life, Living Comfortably in an imperfect world (Everyone’s Goal!). When we become Positive Thinking People via the Key Tools and Skills Process included in this Book, which Is Crucial for People to appropriately deal with their earthly problems, especially for significant sufferers from Anxiety and Depression, we then become more Clear In Thought and More Apt to See and Sense What Really Is Important in Life; and that Should Include Our Belief System/Spirituality/God (addressed in section 4 of this Book). When we acknowledge, per my and many other People’s Beliefs (hopefully), that without God, there would be absolutely nothing, including Ourselves, all the Animals and Wildlife, and this Ecologically Perfect World we were born into… well, that pretty much sums it up and validates it … doesn’t it, or shouldn’t it :)? Unless of course, we believe in the Big Bang theory where, I guess, that belief is based on some state of entropy or something where All This including Ourselves, just miraculously by luck/chance, came into being and ended up this way ((?:)). For those who are not sure, I ask you… did All of This come from nothing at all, or from Something rather SPECIAL :)? If you’re thinking something Special, you are on the Right Track :)! … When we work on our Positivity via the Tools, Skills, and Instruction set specifically addressed in this Book, together with Our Faith/Our Foundation/ Our #1 Dependence (God/Jesus if Christian) ref section 4 in Book, Collectively, I Firmly Believe this is as Good as we can do for ourselves as human beings on planet Earth, providing us that potential to achieve that True Peace of Mind through Life.”
“…… I often refer to the Positivity Tools/Skills Process (i.e. Book’s majority in page count), to be a Stepping Stone, or an Enhancement of Faith! This Process would allow negative thinking Individuals a Quicker Path to allow One’s Faith to Grow, as we put those Positivity Tools/Skills in the Book in play, Clearing Up Our minds from all the negative clutter, and allowing Our Thoughts to be Clear. Isn’t it understood, by All, when we are Positive vs. negative, and are Clear of Mind, Our Connection to Everything in and around us just seems to be So Much Better vs. when we are negative? Of Course it does or is, needless to say! Hence, this Positivity Process does allow our Connection with the “Big Picture” (God), to become Stronger and Stronger, and Deeper and Deeper as we progress! This is Certainly what I experienced…”
“In Essence, the Positivity Tools complement/supplement the Bible addressing How Best We can take care of Ourselves based on our Biological and Physiological makeup as humans, not covered within the Bible. Examples of this includes: Importance of Exercise, Eating well, :)s/laughter… how to breathe Best as humans … how best to deal with our worries as best we can, dealing with those worries of today, and not the worries of tomorrow or thereafter as addressed in the Bible, & providing necessary Details regarding such matters…”
“At times, our Positivity which we can develop extensively/beautifully via the included Positivity Tools/Skills Process, can only take us so far, until we reach that threshold within us, past the burden we can bare, when we need More (i.e. Our Faith…); unfortunately, help from another human is very limited. I have grown to know this from firsthand experience, with some of those (very) down times. Considering an example of an Extreme case of the combination of PTSD, and subsequent Addiction (to alcohol), Faith was the only answer for Louis Zamperini! His biography is written in the Book “Unbroken”, addressing this, which is also addressed fully in the sequel to the movie “Unbroken”, entitled, “Unbroken: Path to Redemption”.
“As we proceed through, and Hopefully acclimate to section 4 of the Book, Repetitive Training definitely comes into play in our personal journey to shore up Our Foundation, and allow Our Faith to Grow; i.e. via repetitive readings of the Bible/Scriptures etc. (if Christian), and of course Prayer. This is similar to Repetitive Training needs when learning the Positivity Tools/Skills Process, addressed in section 5 & 6. And Yes, Prayer is synonymous in a sense, with the Positive self-talk we provide to Ourselves as we proceed through the Process. When we then inter-mix Our Positivity self-talk with Prayer in statements we say to ourselves, as I address in section 4.4, per the (4) bulleted self-talk statements provided as examples, this becomes Especially Effective… So when we include Prayer in the Positive Self-Talk statements to Ourselves, this I believe, makes these Self-Talk statements as Powerful as they can be, as we allow Faith to Grow.”
“I am Certain, when we battle Deep Depression as I have, the Power in Something Much Bigger than us, is a Huge factor in the Process to help deal with such matters in Our Lives, when coupled with the Positivity Tools/Skills Process. What Definitely Helps, as I’ve learned, are those (4) Positivity self-talk statements (shown in section 1.2.1 in this Guide) intermixed with Prayer mentioned above, as we allow Our Faith to Grow… Doing this just seems to double up on How Powerful they can be when dealing with Our Issues.”
“In fact, I formulated those 4 bulleted Positivity/Prayer statements (included in section 1.2.1 in this Guide) above, when I was going through a Significant Depressive time in my Life early on! I was definitely in a Bad way at the time… I just remember when I kept saying/thinking those words during those times, things really started turning around for me Positively, pulling me out of the Mud … Previously, I was working Positivity statements which I had learned by that time, but that alone did not seem to cut it in that state of mind I was in. I Needed Additional (!), and that is when I felt the need to lean more on/into my Faith… That was What I Needed! I Knew by then, no way in hell I was going to go with that medication garbage (!); hmmm fitting words :)! That made it Very Clear, the Importance & Power of tying Our Positive Statements in with Prayer (Faith), especially when in Recovery from Depression (at the very least for me as I felt at times). But Yes, I found providing such self-talk to myself, seems Very Effective all the time. And an FYI for ya … I do often end those end of Positivity/Prayer statements now with, “….. Totally aligning myself with Your Principles God & Jesus that I learn from the Bible”.”
“The Importance of Faith in dealing with Issues, Certainly does not apply to me Only, needless to say… How Often have We heard from So Many who have gone through some Seriously Difficult & Tough/Rock Bottom times with e.g. Addictions, Depression, or other, where the Common Denominator for Recovery was Their Faith #1… How SO TRUE as I Felt It and Lived It myself first hand, especially when matters fall outside Our Control. As previously mentioned, you may want to Read “Unbroken” (a terrific Overall Book!), or see the “Unbroken” sequel “Unbroken: Path to Redemption”, which addresses an extreme case where Faith ultimately Saved The Life of Louis Zamparini, who suffered, understandably and terribly, with PTSD, and consequently, alcoholism.”
“Summing up the Total Process of Recovery, or Significant Improvement of Our Positive Thinking Ways for Anyone, and then Flourishing, depends on Amending or Taking Care of Our Heart & Soul (i.e. Our Spirit/Our Faith addressed in section 4), and Our Mind & Body (i.e. the Positivity Process covered in the majority of the Book, with details in sections 5, & 6, along with importance of Eating Well, & Exercise per section 3). We Need to Learn, to Balance our Lives, Physically, Mentally, and Our Spirit (Our Faith) which collectively defines Our Wellness & Well Being.”
“So, it is a matter of the Individual merging the Positivity Tools/Skills Process with Our Faith to Best Take Care Of Ourselves. And I do understand through my Life’s Journey, As Faith Grows, Fears do tend to diminish :)…”
When you Work both aspects of the Process you will find the Proper & Beautiful Balance between use of the Positivity Tools/Skills Process and Faith! This Combo Solidifies Everything For Life!
If desire to see all “The Final Cut” Ref. Book text Rationalizing and Clarifying the “Importance of Combining Book’s Optimum Positivity Tools/Skills Process (Only Psychology We Need to Know), with Our Foundation, Our Faith, & #1 Dependence cannot be understated, refer to this Blog post: https://riseandshineanxietydepression.net/2019/09/17
4) So, What do those Issues of Anxiety & Depression a Sufferer or one that Struggles amounts to and the Feelings they need to deal with if not resolved:
As written in section 1.7 of the Reference Book & as quoted from Lucinda’s Program I Learned from:
“Below is information pulled directly from Lucinda’s program that addresses characteristics of Anxiety and Depression sufferers. This gives all a feel for what this is all about and how guttural the pains of A & D really can be; actually this information is compliments of the Anxiety half of the disorder only:”
“People suffering from chronic anxiety often complain of:
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- Strong anxiety episodes
- Racing heart/chest discomfort
- Trembling
- Nausea
- Hot and cold flashes; sweating
- Feelings of unreality and disorientation
- Dizziness
- Scary, uncontrollable thoughts
- Depressed feelings’
- Fatigue
- Feelings of helplessness
- Panic episodes
- Muscle tension
- Migraine headaches
- Numbness in various parts of the body
- Strange aches and pains”
“People suffering from anxiety disorder often have extreme apprehensions about the following:
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- Dying
- Having a heart attack
- Fainting
- Losing their breath
- Going insane
- Losing control
- Embarrassing themselves in front of others
- Choking
- Hurting themselves or someone else”
“The four most common concerns of the anxious sufferer are:
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- Dying
- Embarrassing themselves in front of others
- Going insane
- Losing control”
“On the flip side, “Depression is a condition that can be defined in various ways; its severity ranges from the “blues” or a “bad mood”, to severe clinical suicidal depression. Mild to Moderate Depression takes the form of “the blues”, to feeling hopeless. Clinical Depression impacts people to the extent that they lose interest in the outside world, have pronounced and prolonged behavior changes, and at its worst, causes separation from reality. “Suicidal” level of depression impacts people to the extent that they see no reason to live and evaluates that everyone would be better off without them. “
Needless to say, no one wants to suffer this way as us sufferers do, and no one ever wants to go there if they have not been there yet! And when you have the opportunity of bouncing between episodes of Anxiety and Depression, there just cannot be a worse feeling. Take it from one who went thru 25yrs, Worse Case Anxiety & Depression, & OCD (same A&D feelings though/no difference really… just a lot of unreal/negative thoughts going on)…
5) Regarding negative thinking based conditions, which I strongly feel can be Completely Resolved in Most cases by the Reference Book’s Process, these include: OCD, PTSD, Addictions(Rcovery), ADD, ADHD, BPD, & Bipolar Type 2, although since the Process is all we can do for ourselves as humans, Naturally, then Most Definitely this could Significantly Impact the Lives of those diagnosed as Bipolar Type 1 as well. Descriptions addressing PTSD, Addiction Recovery conditions reside in the Reference Book… Others indirectly, considering I was diagnosed with A&D & OCD Worse Case for 25 yrs.… and now… no inkling of any of that! … Below, I provided further descriptions of all these conditions in Layman’s terms for a better understanding of these Issues if interested.
Regardless of the category of these Issues, all the PAINS stem from too much negativity vs. Positivity to begin with & Resultant Impacts mentioned above to our Minds and Bodies… It has to be… There is not another mechanism humans have which could trigger these Issues. We’re just human! Regarding the various conditions they are labeling People with these days… this is my understanding of matters regarding these Various labels which we are diagnosed these days as, if Struggle or Suffer:
a) Anxiety and Depression: This has always been the Umbrella Issue/Condition covering most of the present diagnosed mental health Issues and the resultant Feelings/Emotions we have when Suffer due to the negative (thoughts) Impacts on our Brain/Body chemistry impacted, regardless of the sources and triggers of this Pain.
b) OCD: This condition is the direct result of unreal negative thoughts or a barrage of those which we formulate internally, in strange or various ways, as we get caught up in the domino impacts of negative thought progressions. In my case, this condition stemmed from fact I was Intensely Analytical, & Detailed oriented and was a negative thinker by nature, from the get go in Life… I thought I had to Know and figure out Everything Ridiculously! … And the end result of the Pain is again Anxiety/Depression
c) PTSD: For those who suffer with PTSD… “It is understood this condition occurs in Individuals or Soldiers who have been thru traumatic events, or who have witnessed traumatic events. But the bottom line reason why some people suffer more, or less, or why some don’t suffer much at all with PTSD, considering like situations, is due to Individual specific negative thinking ways, which exasperates the condition when excessive.” So those who are not negative thinkers will not develop the condition, whereas those who Suffer are the negative thinkers… And the end result of the Pain is again Anxiety/Depression
d) Bipolar: In years past there was no diagnosis for “Bipolar Type 2” from what I understand, where the “Pros” with such a diagnosis just seem to have another reason to prescribe Medication, and in this case, “Medication for Life”… That is my Complete take on that! Yep, for the $s inevitably! It is the Education system that is letting the Pros deal with matters as such, since they don’t know any better as addressed earlier in this Guide. Well my Son was diagnosed as such… He actually locked into both aspects of what I wrote… NO Meds and Doing Beautifully :)!… What Bipolar Type 2 is in my Complete Understanding, they just have Higher levels of Anxiety and Depression in effect than maybe the average A&D Sufferer… As for Bipolar Type 1, that is even a more Extreme Level of Highs and Lows, and in the past was identified as a Manic-Depressive Condition! The past & present Solution does include Meds for Life I do understand. But considering this Process to Improve is for Anyone and All We Can Do as humans Naturally, it is a given it can definitely only Help a Bipolar 1 Sufferer, but maybe or likely not to the extent of eliminating all the meds for Life? This is how Lucinda, the Lady I Learned from, Lost her husband… He was Manic-Depressive, in a Bad place, refused medication and ended his life :(…!
e) Addiction(Recovery): This is a result of People who are addictive by nature, and in order to curb the Impacts of Anxiety & Depression, due to excessive negative thinking going on, they attempt to deal with those Pains via their Drug or Alcohol abuse & addictions… As I say in the Ref. Book, it is Highly Recommended they get themselves in a 12 step program or related to kick their addictions initially… Furthermore as addressed: “As we walk the fence of Life which is getting pretty thin these days, if we struggle with Anxiety and Depression, and hence with negative thinking ways, we either fall off the side of the fence dealing with significant levels of Anxiety & Depression, minus addictions (as I did for 25 years), or we fall off on the other side of the fence, with addictions in attempts to deal with the pain. So again, it is a negativity vs. Positivity game, combined with One’s Faith, when dealing with these matters as Best as an individual can.”
f) BPD: Borderline Personality Disorder ? Please… As wacked as I felt when I was Suffering Significantly, a Worse Caser, for 25yrs A&D & OCD, if a doctor told me, I had a Borderline Personality Disorder… Heck I would have Definitely Believed that… & Hence, who knows, maybe likely I would have been tagged with that as well this day and age… It’s Crazy how many different labels /conditions People are being diagnosed and tagged with… I tell ya it is just about coming up with another condition which they say needs medication again … RRRRR … Easy to Hate the antics of the MH Professionals! RRRRRR… Frustrating and Appalling!
g) ADD/ADHD: I put them in the same category really… With ADHD being likely a more appreciable condition of the same really, with no hardline differences vs. ADD… Simply put you all are relatively Smart & have a lot on the mind and you have a difficult time to Focus those thoughts and energy Properly, being fidgety etc.… The Process of Positivity vs. negativity provides a Complete Process to condition the Sufferer via the process of Loving Ourselves Unconditionally including tuning into Breathing & Muscle Tension/Relaxation & Meditation media to calm down the mind and body… We learn to Underreact to Everything… Tell me this would not be part of the Process to Improve for them :)… This Conditioning is Imperative to be able to tune into our inner thoughts… & is a pre-cursor to Patience… Big part of it for All really… Then dealing with Panic from the get go as well, & then Learning how to whittle down to our negative thoughts & sources of those thoughts, which is the basis of our Bad Feelings, Emotions, and over time these Issues…Heard Psychotherapy is what is used to resolve ADHD Issues along with the Meds, of course… shockingly :)… NOT!! Of course really this New way of saying things, & associated Professions, lines up closest to what I have per the Book’s Positivity Tools Skills Process. The Key Difference though, the way the MH Community handles Mental Health for Individuals, is that they make the general population feel like each and every person is unique requiring special care and handling… So Wrong based on what I Learned! … We Are All Just human here, and it is the same Game for Everyone… as we drill down to Our negative thoughts and sources of those, that Self-Personalizes it for Everyone!”
That Sums Up Matters for Education purposes for Parents & their Sons & Daughters as needed.
Have a Great & Blessed Day,
Ron
"Rise and Shine Anxiety & Depression & Life Management Tools" & "Rise and Shine Parents Self-Help Guide for the Youngins" 