BEWARE…of these 3 common traps that will sap your happiness

BEWARE…of these 3 common traps that will sap your happiness

via PsychCentral by Elisha Goldstein 

There’s a funny print cartoon that shows a man and woman sitting on the couch staring at a TV screen, and the caption reads, “It’s 12 o’clock, do you know where your mind is?”

As time goes on and we grow from children to adolescents to adults, for many of us, somewhere along the way life begins to become routine. Day in and day out, whether we’re walking, driving, talking, eating, going to the grocery store, or spending time with our families, our minds get kicked into auto-pilot and continue to develop their habitual ways of thinking, interpreting, expecting, and relating to other people.

However, these habits also include habits of the mind that can keep us stuck in stress, anxiety, depression, or even addictive behaviors.  Here are a few habits of the mind and a mindfulness practice to help you break out of auto-pilot and gain more control over your life.

Three Common Habits that Sink Happiness:

  1. Catastrophizing – If you’re prone to stress and anxiety, you may recognize this habitual mind trap. This is where the mind interprets an event as the worst case scenario. If your heart is beating fast, you may think you’re having a heart attack. If your boss didn’t look at you while walking down the hall, you think you’re going to get fired. You get the picture. This style of thinking will support increased stress, anxiety, and even panic…

…keep reading the full & original article HERE