Re: Trusting our gut instincts

[Guest guest]

Thank you for this. What an eloquent message to all of us who do

have trouble trusting ourselves and our instincts.

Sylvia

>

> Greg's observations of his therapist made me think about a lot of

> issues arising during my dealing with BPD and Nada, and going NC

> with family who remains in nada's space including nada. Last

night

> after reading Greg's experience, it made me think back to a

journal

> entry I had about making decisions. Having lived with a person

who

> has BPD all of my life, I did not know if my decision making

process

> was intact, or am I just like Nada. So, I had to step outside the

> box for a moment, as scary as it is for us because of our lack of

> trust--This is something I heard in counseling when my then five

> year old daughter was molested by a neighbor, and I blamed myself

> for not going with my " gut instinct. "

>

> Decisions that you may not be satisfied with can lead you to ask

> yourself how could I have made one choice, when my gut feeling

> pointed to the other. Because we can look to the past and imagine

> the future with clarity, there exists a tendency to mull over even

> minor choices and to over-analyze people and situations. But when

we

> choose to put aside reasoning processes for just a moment,

insights

> may be revealed. Listening to your intuitive mind allows you to

> access a natural cache of wisdom within. You may find that

> in " trusting your gut, " your innate sense of what is right and

wrong

> will become both strong and reliable.

>

> Intuitive or gut-level reactions may seem less credible than

> decisions based on logic or carefully weighed facts because

> intuition is perceived by most as a less intelligent way of coming

> to conclusions. You may also discount your gut feelings, even when

> they turn out to be right, because you may be afraid of what

others

> will say.

>

> To get in touch with your intuition, first pay attention to sudden

> perceptions and feelings, even if nothing more than a prickling of

> the hairs on the back of your neck. Acknowledge it and let go of

> your fear of being wrong. Trust your inner voice. If you already

> have strong gut feelings, practice acting on those feelings

without

> fear. Don't let doubt keep you from embracing them.

>

> There is no substitute for being prepared, and knowing that you

can

> comfortably trust in your gut feelings can be a vital part of

> preparedness.

>

> I hope this is helpful to you Greg; you always provide us with

such

> emotion, intelligence, and support. I could only hope that we

> learned from your words, and can now help you out in making a

> difficult decision, but most importantly helping you to stay

strong--

> we all support you no matter what decision you make...And this

goes

> for our entire group who are having to make tough decisions...

>

> erbussmom

>