My Brain's Not Broken

It’s possible.

I’ve been trying to work these two words into my vocabulary for months, trying to say it out loud as much as I can. It’s possible. There are a ton of ways to say it too, based on your inflection, so it was also important that I was saying it in the right tone of voice. At first, I was saying it wrong and turning into a negative phrase, but after some repetition, I’ve been turning it into a more positive reminder and tried to strip those words of their negativity.

Words, phrases and tone of voice are key things to think about when you spend as much time inside your head as I do. And the more often you think about something in a certain way, it can settle itself in your brain. My anxiety can spiral and when it does, I have trouble thinking of new things. When this happens, I can only focus on what’s settled in my brain, which for me is often a bunch of negativity. That’s why changing the way I say this one phrase, ‘it’s possible,’ could help reset the way I think.

By saying something is possible, I’m admitting there is a chance something could happen. In this case, it’s common for that your brain will investigate further to look at the odds, find out if it’s likely, or if it’s a good decision or if it’s the best thing for you to do. That’s a natural thought process, and many people go through those steps when making decisions. But when you say something is impossible, you don’t even get to investigate what could happen. And that’s what I end up missing out on.

I’m trying to say ‘it’s possible’ more because I realized how limited my mind can get if it’s not focused. And by limited, I mean negatively thinking that whatever is in my head is an impossible goal. In order to think about a positive outcome, I have to make a specific effort toward that goal. If not, the spiral will continue downward.

I have plenty of goals in life as well as in my mental health journey. I’ve had my ups and downs and I’m sure that there will be plenty more of each. But when it comes to the positive goals for this journey, I haven’t even begun to explore what’s possible. I don’t care about the odds or likelihoods, to be honest; I really just want to explore what is possible for me. Because that’s something to work toward, a goal to chase after. And for someone who struggles with believing in their motivations and working toward things, like many other people who struggle with mental illness, I think this could help us all out in a big way.