You come and go in phases

"There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life."
~ Author unknown

I start a new phase in my therapy on Monday - DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy). I'm nervous and kind of excited at the same time. From the intake interview I had on Monday, I could tell this treatment is a lot different from regular "talk" therapy. There's a group session every week, which is more like a class, where we'll learn how to regulate our emotions, react in certain situations, and basically un-learn all destructive learned behaviors accrued throughout our lifetime. This takes a long time. They want you to commit to the program for at least a year. They say it takes 2 'cycles' to really grasp the principles they teach and apply them to your everyday life. Each cycle is 6 months long. I was sort of hesitant to commit to something for that long, especially since I didn't even know what the program was all about, and if it was even a good fit for me. Well, I spent 4 hours talking to two of the therapists there during the intitial evaluation, and afterwards, they both remarked that I would be a perfect fit for the program. Of course, the cynic in me think they'll take anyone - just for the money - but, after describing to me what exactly I'll be learning in the program, I agreed that this would be a good route for me to take. It's different from anything I've ever done, and I'll be learning new things about myself, and most importantly, I'll be changing the way I think about almost everything, which, hopefully, will radiate out into every situation I encounter in life.

As anyone who knows me would tell you, I generally tend to be a negative person. I don't doubt that this negativity directly affects everything in my life - from relationships to employment to self-esteem. I have to change the inside before I can reap the fruits of positive thinking on the outside. They say that everything in your life - from choice of friends, where you live, how you live, where you work, how you look, etc. - is a direct reflection of the thought patterns in your brain.

We'll see how it goes. I start Monday with my first group session. Details to follow...