The Overwhelmed Brain

Emotional Intelligence for Critical Thinkers

When a dysfunctional upbringing leaves you with nothing but broken tools

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When a dysfunctional upbringing leaves you with nothing but broken tools
When a dysfunctional upbringing leaves you with nothing but broken tools
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When a dysfunctional upbringing leaves you with nothing but broken tools
August 5, 2018

Your level of function or dysfunction as an adult is almost always determined by the most unhealthy or toxic people in your family growing up.

When you are raised by those who didn’t or couldn’t love and support you as you deserved, you may have developed “broken” tools to deal with situations as an adult. When your emotional toolbox has a bunch of broken tools, you may keep getting the results you don’t want, causing you to stay unhappy.

In this episode, I help you identify those broken tools and what you can do to start utilizing them the right way, or even fixing them altogether.

Is your negative self-perception causing you to believe in lies?

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Is Your Negative Self-Perception Making You Believe in Lies?
Is Your Negative Self-Perception Making You Believe in Lies?
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Is Your Negative Self-Perception Making You Believe in Lies?
July 8, 2018

People see us differently than we see ourselves. The problem isn’t when we think we’re better than others perceive us, it’s when we don’t believe people who say good things about us.

When you find yourself throwing away compliments in place of beliefs and self-perceptions that aren’t true, you stay in a self-perpetuating cycle of negativity and may never get out until you are ready to give up that sometimes you are just plain wrong.

Pulling out of the emotional rut

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Pulling out of the emotional rut
Pulling out of the emotional rut
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Pulling out of the emotional rut
June 17, 2018

There is a path out of the rut of depression, feeling unworthy, unlovable, stupid, and any of a number of other thoughts and feelings that can permeate your life.

If you’re in that miserable, stuck state, this episode may be a path to a door that shines the light on the dark.

When your parent doesn’t make you feel worthy

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When your parent doesn’t make you feel worthy
When your parent doesn’t make you feel worthy
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When your parent doesn’t make you feel worthy
May 20, 2018

Where does your self-worth come from if it isn’t instilled in you from your parents or caretakers? There is a path to a higher sense of self-worth and self-esteem. It may not be an easy path, but it does exist.

In this episode, I read a message from someone who’s father prefers his new family over his old one.

How To Make Better Decisions To Get The Outcomes You Want

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If your life is filled with stress and an overall sense of unhappiness, you may be unknowingly making decisions that are hurting you in ways that you don’t even realize.

Picture a funnel for a moment. A funnel can be a great visualization of what happens when you make a decision. The stem (the small opening) represents the choice you have before you. The mouth (the wide part) represents the outcomes that manifest because of those choices.

I like that visualization because a choice stems from a thought that leads to an action that could lead to massive change in your life. Your choice “funnels” out into the world, affecting you and everything in it sometimes.

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