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"i Am"

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Straight up, I am rather well known here for discounting feelings over facts. I'm not inclined to them personally and have found them to be rather more obstacles than advantages. Feelings are not facts. I deal first by staying grounded on facts. Then, only then, after I'm grounded do I perhaps entertain feelings. I though have always been very keenly aware of the potential detriment of emotional reactivity... my parents were great examples of this and I had no wish to follow their tutelage or footsteps.
 
Is it different for "normal" people or is it just sort of the Christian religin thinking?

You find this kind of process all over the world in hundreds of formats. Religion being only 1 of them. And Christianity only 1 of dozens of religions.

I would say it's found "even" in Christianity, because that's the single most victim-based self blaming religion I've ever encountered. From having a dead god, martyr, & grieving mother as it's centerpiece; to sin, original sin, & reward/punishment in the next life -powerless in this one- heaven&hell; turn the other cheek, forgive trespasses against you, meek shall inherit the earth, etc.? It really is the single most depressing faith I've ever rubbed elbows with. Granted, there are hundreds of denominations of Christianity. And each one focuses on its own favorite aspects. And those are just aspects of the overall arch of the Children of Abraham. (Judaism, Christianity, & Islam all worship the same God. Other religions worship different Gods.) So clearly I'm making some massive generalizations when I lump Christianity together as one type of faith. There are individual denominations which could not be more different from each other. Just for example, the LDS faith doesn't worship a martyr! Their Jesus? Survived being tortured & escaped along with some of his followers and set off for new lands and new adventures. So their entire outlook -religiously speaking- tends to be far more positive / survivor-esque, than most sects which are far more victim-esque. But even in the most different versions of each sect there are still common threads, themes, & stories that bind them all together. Hence the name Christianity. So very much an "even found in Christianity" rather than "exclusively found in Christianity".
 
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I had to find a "middle ground". Stoicism was my middle ground.

I read a bit about stoticism and i dont know if i can do that. I have strong intense emotions and i do deny them but thats when im numbing and compartmentalizing, none of which is good.

I dont know if denying feelings to get to the facts us even possible for me.
 
To clarify... I know when there is a feeling I need to stay with to see what it's about , what I need to do with it... but I also know that when I change the words to the crap rolling around in my head, it helps... I have been at this healing thing long enough to make a distinction ... when I start thinking and feeling 'stupid', it is important for me to not give in to that and counter it with words of new experiences which proves I am NOT stupid...
A lot of times when I hear about affirmations and such, I always think about Tavis Smiley on Sat. Night Live." I am good enough and people like me"... that was one of my fav skits on that show....
 
It really is the single most depressing faith I've ever rubbed elbows with.

Indeed. The cult was named "Christian", i was seeking refuage in a Christian youth center, either years were Nazereene (however you spell that) and my entire dad side is Nazereene as his dad was a Nazereene pastor.

My therapist, I think, is Catholic but he doesnt believe in hell. He believes in pergitory stating that even the saved must be punished for their wrongs. That's actually giving me comfort right now as everyone telling me that my dying mother/main abuser was "saved" and now wont ever be justice. I didnt bring her to court so i denied that one and my therapist said that all went the way it should they would all be visiting her dying in jail. Not sure one can torture someone and then just get to go to heaven or whatever. Not even sure i believe in an after life but it is bringing me a bit of comfort.

Stoicism isn't about denying feelings... it is very reality based.

I read up on it a bit. However you discribe it, not sure i can do that.

I know when there is a feeling I need to stay with to see what it's about , what I need to do with it... but I also know that when I change the words to the crap rolling around in my head, it helps

Right! There are feelings I NEED to feel and there are feelings I NEED to infestigate, then there are those self loathing feelings that I NEED to counter.
 
Doubled back to add that rational mind is the soundest guide to steer by. I also happen to disagree with Friday, though I don't usually about Christianity, Islam and Judaism all believing in the "same" god.
 
A challenge you might get on board for is to find the kind of mental & emotional conditioning found OUTSIDE of religious perspective. That way, less cognitive dissonance. Ditto, whilst early childhood education, kids sports, etc. are rife with laying the foundations for strength, confidence, morality, etc.? Might hit a little close to home coming from childhood trauma. But those are really only 3 areas where people intentionally shape their minds and hearts.

Therapy, is very clearly one of those places. You're already doing that.

Team & individual sports.
Collaborative arts.
Volunteer Groups
Etc. (Aka it's more fun to discover them on your own than be told ;) But a scrap of a treasure map is always useful, neh?)

Pretty much anywhere you find a group of people working together towards a common goal? (that isn't money / aka jobs, although some jobs are extremely motivational & self building; for example military, police, fire / most jobs aren't) You will find methods & practices that are designed to instruct & shape the hearts and minds of the practitioners. Whether it's habitat for humanity, or YMCA, or a dance group, or martial art. Some groups are far more open/direct about intentionally shaping their members. Others it's just something of a byproduct. Each program will have different messages they teach people to believe about themselves and about others.

HINT : Look for teenagers. "Normal" human development* teens are only just deciding who they are & want to be & naturally gravitate towards areas that shape them into the people they want to be. Which means that savvy adults? Market themselves towards teens. Whether it's at risk youth or the most exclusive "enrichment" & "well-rounded" activities to pad college applications. There are always always always adult beginner programs where there are teen programs. Adults simply have less time, in most cases, to devote... And the urge to define and create ones self usually wanes the more people do define themselves and come to am equilibrium in thought & practice.

* Human development is incredibly fluid. What's normal for teens in the west isn't what's normal for all teens everywhere in the world. And sooooo many things table that process -like trauma- for many people. But since you live here in the states? Look for programs geared towards attracting teenagers, then look into their adult programs. Whether it's sports, arts, sciences, maths, engineering, activism, volunteer, etc. Choosing your own messages? Not just accepting what other people tell you about yourself? Is the hallmark of growing up :) Most people start that process as teenagers. Some of us don't start until later.

***
Upside to finding groups whose messages you wish to incorporate into the way you think/feel/act? It dovetails quite neatly into wishing to start making friends and being more social. It's rarely an instant thing, but shared experience & perspective is usually what brings people together. So you go for yourself, and in the process? Often find other people.
 
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@FridayJones my brain does sort of already work in 'group mentality' (sort of) so I guess that's one reason I used to volunteer a lot. That and I think my subconscience was, I think, trying to "make up" for the past.

I did, for a short while, volunteer with kids & youth that were taken away by child services. Sit with them, play with them, talk with them etc. It wasnt something that was open voluteer place, I had a friend that was one that worked there and let me come in because she saw through my denial and often said she could see how wounded I was. It wasnt something I did for a long period of time or often but it is something from my past that I cherish.

I am now physically incapable of most stuff but I can look at volunteer things that doesnt require much physical movement. I do love helping people thus why I do the job that I do.

Okay since the topic has turned away from my area of interest to your Christian difficulties

No, it was brought up and i commented since I can relate and cannot relate to stolicism so cant comment. I did research but cant relate to it.

I am still wanting to discuss positive attitudes vs allowing yourself to feel negitive emotions, name them, and infestigate them vs when to challenge negitive thoughts and emotions and how to do that whether its with "I am" statements or other ways. That is why I posted about it.
 
Oh, I know, my entire family other than my dad & step mom (whom almost idololizes him), dislikes him. But why? They are fire & brimstone sort of people. My dad calls him a "feel good preacher". I dont know. I dont like or dislike him.

I do like what @FridayJones said too about the differences.
 
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