Category: Sincerely, Karina

How to change a thought pattern you’ve had your whole life

One of the most important things therapy taught me is that changing your thought patterns can change your entire life. We’ve all grown up with certain thought patterns engrained in our mind, based on what we’ve learned, observed, and inherited. Some are more positive, like “It feels good to help other people”. But some can be more debilitating, like “I have to succeed or I am not worthy”.

Here are some others that can be holding you back from living your best life —

“I WON’T BE HAPPY UNTIL I [INSERT ANY ACTION HERE].”
Until I get that job, until I make that salary, until I find a boyfriend, until I land my dream job…you get the point. All of these things are external. Why is it that when we are looking for happiness we always look outside of ourselves? The only true way to find happiness is to look within and improve our way of thinking. External factors cannot control your happiness — only YOU can.

“I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING RIGHT, ALL THE TIME.”
Welp, that’s impossible. Yet when we do something wrong, we think it’s the worst thing in the world. We have such high expectations of ourselves—so high, in fact, that they’re often impossible to reach. Why not be a little more realistic? You don’t have to do everything right. All you can do is your best, given the circumstances.

cc: advicefromatwentysomething 

These thought patterns are actual neural connections in our brains that have been strengthened over time. So changing them isn’t easy. In fact, it’s like retraining a muscle. It takes time and effort, but when you do, man is it worth it!

STEP 1: RECOGNIZE THE THOUGHT PATTERN

The first step in changing a thought pattern you’ve had your whole life is simply to start recognizing it. Often times we think a certain way without even knowing it. First, just try acknowledging the moments when those thought patterns kick in. For example, I’ve recently realized how much pressure I put on myself to do everything right. I’ll notice moments when I get stressed throughout my day and realize they’re often created by this thought process. Even something as simple as getting in the right line at the grocery store. I’ll notice a slight feeling of anxiety and realize it’s stemming from this idea that I cannot do anything wrong.

But rather than shaming myself for having these thoughts, I try to simply acknowledge them. I’ll just notice when they are there. I don’t try to change them right away, but simply getting in the pattern of acknowledging them is essential for the next step. It also weirdly makes me feel less anxious. Naming the thought or emotion that is going on in my head can actually relieve some of the anxiety associated with that thought.

STEP 2: UNDERSTAND WHERE IT COMES FROM

It’s so important to understand exactly what these thought patterns mean, where you learned them, and what you truly believe about them. Once we examine them, we can realize how illogical or unrealistic that way of thinking is. This can be most beneficial with a therapist, but you can certainly do it on your own or with a friend as well.

All you really need to do is continue asking yourself questions, like “Why do you feel this way?”, “What other people in your life think this way?”, “Who taught you this way of thinking (directly or indirectly)?”, “What is your earliest memory of thinking this way”?,”What would happen if you didn’t think this way?”, etc. Questions like these can help reveal so much about yourself. And once you get a better understanding of why you think a certain way, it can be easier to alter that way of thinking.

STEP 3: CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE

Once you take time to think through where these thought patterns come from (which can take hours or even years), the next step is to create an alternative response. Try and come up with something you could say in your head to replace the thought process you’re trying to change. For example, with the absurd amount of pressure I put on myself, the alternative response I came up with is: “You don’t have to be perfect.” It’s something I’ll repeat to myself in those moments when I can hear those old thought patterns coming through. It may sound simple, but it can really help as long as you come up with an alternate response that truly speaks to you.

STEP 4: PRACTICE AND BE PATIENT

From how I’ve laid this out, it may seem like you just go through the three steps and then you’re fixed. Well, it doesn’t quite work that way. Changing the way you think takes time and effort. It’s very similar to muscle memory — retraining your muscles is like retraining your brain. So be patient with yourself. Let yourself stay in Step 1 for as long as you need, or repeat Step 1 when you’re just feeling too anxious to listen to an alternate response or when life throws you a huge ass curve ball (like your fur baby suddenly passing away in front of your eyes when you’re supposed to be on cloud 9 after your wedding!) And if you realize over time that the alternate response you came up with isn’t working anymore, allow yourself to explore another option. Give yourself the time and space to allow this thought pattern to change as it needs to.

ANOTHER TIP

Another thing I learned from therapy, is to S.T.O.P. Such a simple word with a lot of meaning that I try to practice when I feel a panic attack coming along. I have been getting flashbacks lately and going into full stream panic attacks — things that have brought this on: CPR training at my last job (all I thought about was the constant CPR I gave to Freddy on the way to the ER), or when I see roadkill, or when I feel like I don’t have control over my new puppies and they could be put in danger) These are the times that I STOP: S, literally means to stop completely in your tracks, to pause what is happening (unless it is an emergency and you need to move to safety). Ttake a breathe, I used to think taking deep breaths wouldn’t help much, but research shows that taking the time to breathe in deeply, and breathe out several times helps you to calm down. I tend to do this step A LOT and it really works.  Oobserve the situation. Look around the room, the yard, the place where you are.and most likely, everything is somewhat calm. When I do this step, I have noticed things like my dogs playing in the yard, my husband cooking us breakfast, birds chirping, people out for a walk — all normal every day things. This helps you realize that it’s going to be okay. Lastly P – proceed mindfully. Once you have physically stopped, took in some deep breaths and observed, you should be able to try again and continue on calmly.

Although I only went to therapy for a few months (right when I quit my big corporate job 2 years ago), I still recall the skills I learned and try my best to apply them to everyday life, especially with the tragic loss of Freddy and my whirlwind of feelings stemming from that experience. I try to find a healthier way to react and it’s not always easy, but all we can do is try to use the tools that are available to us and want to break those old negative thought patterns!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great weekend! 

XO,K

A promise to Freddy…

Three months later, I am still hurting over the loss of my Freddy, but I am finding ways to honor his memory and focus mostly on the good times we shared. I still look for him in the house at times, thinking he’s right there next to me, eager to give me kisses and whining for my attention. To me, he was my child and I was his mom, he was a special being who opened my heart as it has never been opened before. Because of Freddy, I know I am forever changed for the better.

On that note, I have started to hide my grief in front of people who have never had a dog pet, as they may see it as a bit of an overreaction. Most people are too polite to say that it’s “just a dog” out loud, even when they are thinking it.  I have been lucky to have a few people who truly understand how deep and intense the pain can be and thus respect and honor my grief. Plus, those of us who have loved a dog know the truth: Your own pet is never “just a dog”.  Anyone reading this who may be going through a loss of a pet and is seeking advice, I promise I will share what has been working for me in another post in a few weeks.

—-Now to the promise we made Fred.  My husband and I planned to get another dog –a brother, a fellow canine playmate once we got back from our wedding and we were starting to look around for one we were stopped in our tracks. 

After struggling to find what our new normal could be like, we realized that Freddy made us dog lovers,  our normal absolutely needed to include a dog. 

We started to look again and came across a photo of an adorable puppy with a DOB of 8/11, we knew it was a sign,  I mean 382 miles away, a puppy was born the town over from where we got Freddy — on “that” very same day.  We went back and forth emotionally, but ultimately decided to go and adopt him.  Well, the puppy from the photo was already taken by someone else and we came home with one of his litter mates, only to find out a day later that we got the wrong dog. . We were kind of bummed about it, but had so much love to give. We figured that maybe it was another sign that things got mixed up and the one we came home with was meant to be in our lives. We named him Theodore,  the named we always planned to name Freddy’s canine brother.

Theo seemed to have a drippling problem. He soaked my clothes every time he lay on my lap and every time he slept, he drenched his back legs. It was only a few days of having him so I tried not to over-analyze. I mean a 10-week-old puppy is bound to have a ton of accidents like that. Well, his belly looked bloated and we saw a worm in his stool. Being super nervous to take him to the same exact animal clinic that Freddy was a patient at, I decided to go to *Banfield Pet Hospital at PetSmart.  I was relieved when the Veterinarian seemed to ignore our concerns about the urine drippling (said he was a “silly puppy peeing on himself”), bloated belly (saying he “just has a big wormy belly”) and the black discharge in his ears (saying “it’s just waxy puppy ears”).

She said we have a “very healthy puppy”, gave him some de-wormer and sent us on our way.

Well, my worrying habits would soon prove beneficial. I was overly worried about the leaking, about the dark wax in his ears, about the bloated belly. I swallowed my anxiety of going to Fred’s vet and took Theo there Friday afternoon.

There, I explained the same concerns to Dr. L just like I did at Banfield 5 days prior. As he was examining T, there was worry in his eyes and he immediately took him for a “fast” ultrasound.

I am getting the ultrasound images sent over to me and will post them shortly.

Dr. L told me there is a severe problem: a massive amount of fluid outside of his bladder and no visibility of a right kidney. He alerted me that he needed to take x-rays immediately. At this point, I walked outside to update my husband, as things seemed to be escalating rather quickly.

After the x-rays, Dr. L brought a gasping Theodore wrapped in a towel back in, put him in my arms on the examination table and started to explain, “this is not good, this is not a healthy puppy whatsoever…”

I am embarrassed to admit what happened next. But as he was explaining the situation to me and as T’s head was collapsing in my arms, I had flashbacks of holding Freddy after he was hit by the car and died in my arms as I frantically administering CPR. The next thing I remember from the conversation, was that my brother kept repeating, “please breathe” and the paramedics were taking my pulse…

I had blacked out.

As my eyes started to open, all I could see was Theo’s little head and puppy eyes looking at me from the corner of the room still so aspirated. I regained strength — I needed to see if I could save him — I would not lose another precious soul.

Next steps were to take blood work to see if there were abnormalities associated with kidney function. I gave Theo a kiss as he was taken away and the paramedics escorted me out.

I did not know if I would see him again.

This is where we are now.  He was sent to the ER at the Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital. 

A conclusive ultrasound was performed and again there was no identification of a right kidney, and the concern was the massive fluid pocket, which was urine.  Our options at this point: 1) send him back to where we got him from with a high probability he would be euthanized or 2) try and save his life with surgery.

Once they open him up and remove the nonfunctioning right kidney tissue (as planned), attach the suspected ectopic ureter to the bladder, he has a chance to survive.

We can’t give up on such a helpless living thing that in just 6 days brought us joy again. The bloating and pain he’s been in have not stopped him from showing us love and dedication, so how could we give up on that? There must be a reason that we got the wrong dog – that we got a sick dog – someone knew that we would fight to save a life.

We want Theodore to have a chance at a good life just like his brother Freddy had.

If you would like to contribute to Theo and share our story, we would forever be grateful. You can always follow along as I will post updates on his condition here.

I know I will have more dogs in my lifetime, but Freddy will always be my first dog and the dog who taught me so much about myself. Theo already can thank his big brother for allowing his momma to always examine him and knowing what is normal and what may not be 🙂

*In no way am I bashing Banfield Hospitals. I just want people to be aware that misdiagnosis can happen and your responsibility as a dog owner is to always look for signs of discomfort and do your research on what’s normal and what might not be. If I did not do so much research with my first puppy, Theo would not have a chance at life. That was confirmed by the doctors. The large sac would eventually burst ending his life.

Farewell to our first home

 

Our home has officially been put on the market.(Here is the link!) I am having mixed emotions about it. I really enjoyed living so close to Boston and in such a busy city atmosphere, but it just isn’t home anymore. It feels empty without our Freddy and the memories are too strong for us to stay. N and I both agree that we want something safer (away from a busy road & city traffic) and we want a lot of land. We are taking the passing as a sign for us to move on with our lives and start the new chapter. So, I am excited for what’s to come, I mean I HAVE to be, I WANT to be. I have to continue living and not be weak. I have an obligation to someone, to my husband and I need to be strong for him and for our future…

Side note: For some people out there (& trust me, I was 100% like that), losing a pet really seems like something you can get over rather quickly. I honestly did not understand when people were upset about their cat or dog passing away…I mean I knew they were hurt or whatever but it wasn’t a human, so why were they grieving? 

Well, when you incorporate that pet into your every-day life and really make them part of the family, it brings about a very heavy heart when something happens to them, especially if it was tragic and unexpected. We only had 3 years with our little dood,  it couldn’t possibly be this hard if he lived to an old age, I would have found comfort in knowing he lived a full and long life and it was just his time, but at 3, I just can’t wrap my head around it yet.  Freddy’s life ended tragically and too soon, but he did live a very fulfilled life because N and I made sure of it every single day. We spoiled the shit out of him and I am SO proud of us for doing so. He was my certified ESA, my little man, my back seat driver, my co-pilot, my blanket on cold nights, my support when N was traveling or working late hours, my support when I had a bad day, my tear wiper, my walking buddy, my shopping partner, my dinner date, my workout buddy, my beach bum, my travel partner, my snuggle partner, my food tester, my follower, my shadow, my best friend, my son, my baby, my life. 

I would love to share (& plan on it in time) of how I am coping with losing Fred because I think it would help someone else out there. I mean, talk about getting married and being on a high for 5 minutes and then boom, be hit with a huge fuckin tragedy. I still have flashbacks of the scene — one of which is too violent to describe at this time.

Anyways, back to my topic! I promised today on my Instagram post, that I would share some photos of our property. We put in an offer for a house in the burbs and it was accepted BUT with a contingency that we sell our current home in TWO weeks! #nopressure

Feel free to share this post if you know of anyone looking to buy close to Boston, but still far enough from all the congestion that city life can bring (located in Medford, MA). Our favorite thing to do literally every day was drive 3 minutes up the road to the Middlesex Fells Reservation, which is 2,575 acres of walking, hiking and mtn biking trails! I found myself constantly thinking how cool is it that we can be in Boston in 6-8 minutes, yet we can feel like we’re way up in NH somewhere. It really is an awesome location and I will miss it!

Again, Thank you SO much to everyone who has reached out to me and to Nico. It means the world to us, whether we know you or not. We appreciate it!

 

Xo

K

 

Summer Update – the good and the bad

Hello!

Thank you for all your messages lately. I wanted to share that my wedding was more than N and I could have ever expected. It was perfect. A real fairy-tale. I will share some professional photos once I get them, but here is one of my favorites taken by my (now) cousin, Jodi.

As promised, I am working on a segment with all my wedding planning tips, sharing everything from choosing your wedding party (remember I asked my ladies with these DIY bridal party boxes) to the activities you should plan days before the BIG day.

I also have some extremely sad news to share, my baby bear, Freddy_doodle was hit by a car in front of our house one week after we returned from Europe. I honestly cannot talk about that yet. It hurts too much and combined with planning a wedding, it is the reason I have not written for some time. I am however SOOO grateful I did everything in my power to make sure he was a part of our wedding <3 

Thank you for sticking by me and my blog. I have SO much content to start sharing again — I am also collaborating with some great influencers to bring awareness to shelter animals. Combining fashion with an amazing cause is something I am really excited to be able to do. I will continue running @Freddy_doodle with the intention of helping other animals.

Last update, N and I are putting our condo on the market and moving. We planned to do this eventually, in a year or so when we bounced back from the wedding financials, but losing the love of our life was a sign that we need to start the next chapter of our lives and not wait. We call it Our Chapter 3.

I will share how to market your home for selling with tons of pictures and tips (declutter and depersonalize are key!) and am working to collaborate with some interior designers to make the new place (once we find it) our family home.

Stay tuned and thanks for reading and following along. The journey of life is so unpredictable sometimes, but what I have learned is that we all need the love and support from others to make it through the difficult times.

With love,

K

 

 

 

 

Fridays Five: My Bridal Shower

My lovely sister and mother threw me a gorgeous Bridal Shower on Sunday! I feel bad when people do things simply for me, so I tried to get involved with the planning and details but was forced to stay out of it. I’m so busy with work and wedding planning, so I didn’t pry too much 😉

I was taken back by how beautiful everything was! I knew it would be — I just wanted to help but I am glad I didn’t because it made it that much more special to me and a moment I will cherish forever. 

–The LOVE balloons were one of my favorite decor pieces!–

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