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How much of a role do you think attitude plays in recovery?

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I never liked feeling like a victim. I was. But that didn't mean I was going to remain one.
I definitely see this in myself. I think most attitudes and approaches can have positives and negatives.

I know my “I am not a victim” thing can be very stubborn and unforgiving of myself but it also means I’ll keep working at what I think will help me. Some people I know have a great deal of emotional understanding of themselves and their situation but struggle at ‘stowing their shit’ so to speak.

Maybe it’s less about having the RIGHT attitude and more about knowing the strengths and weaknesses in how you tend to approach things and playing to that.
 
I don't know. I think everyone is different. I've felt really helpless and hopeless a lot of the time during my recovery. But I also swore to myself that someday I would use my experience to help others going through the same thing, and that's been a constant all the way from my first day of trying to get better through today. I don't know if that's an attitude as much as a mindset, or a vow. But it seems to have made a difference to me.
 
Helplessness and hopelessness are often part of my package, because I have depression issues going on a lot of the time in a big way. But I agree with this sentiment:
I do think that a mindset allowing one to acknowledge the potential for change is important.
Tbh, when I was reading this thread and it quickly turned to positive v's negative I was kind of taken aback. Because in having to manage my depressive episodes, being "positive", or trying to have a more positive outlook, was never really part of my recovery process. I have depression - a positive mindset simply isn't something I can do.

So, me personally, I scrap the positive v's negative mindset with 'attitude'. I go for curious and open-minded about the prospects of recovery, and the different methods available to achieve that. Trying to stay curious and open-minded in my attitude? Has very definitely been one of the key elements present when I've made good progress.
 
There are two things with recovery and PTSD I'm really struggling with right now. One of them I was able to shift my mindset where I purposefully went in with a more accepting positive attitude and it didn't trigger me so much.

The other? No progress -- and I own that I have a very negative attitude, which feeds the trigger of the event - which feeds the negativity... and around I go spinning myself into misery. I can't stop it from triggering me right now but I can change how I think... I still and so negative about this thing. Ugh.
 
No dazzling insights here.

Sometimes "mindset" is a stick to beat myself with - there's nothing wrong with me, I just need to change my perspective, etc. Not constructive.

But open to change, like @joeylittle said? Yes, I am starting see where I'm in the habit of being scared and miserable. Just staying shut down, waiting for the next blow, is not a meaningful way to live.

I don't think I was always in this habit. It ebbed and flowed. When I first got out of the situation where trauma was happening, I grabbed hold of life with everything I got - it wasn't necessarily positive or pretty, but it was engaged and determined. I got (back?) into the habit of shutting down later - when life got overwhelming (but not traumatically so), I had a lot less structure/concrete and immediate demands on me, and I lost track of the bigger context of who I was and what I was living for. Got bogged down, trying to get un-bogged again. Be able to actually recognize when I'm safe(r).

So, habit/mindset of being stuck, vs habit/mindset of being open to change? Yeah.
 
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