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General :
Negative Self-Thoughts

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 Asterisk (original poster member #86331) posted at 9:38 PM on Saturday, September 13th, 2025

For an extremely long period of time after my wife’s disclosure, I found myself clinging to every old and new negative self-thought that I unknowingly gave harbor. I was becoming a hoarder. Not of old things nor collectables, I was compulsively amassing injurious self-thoughts.

I’m embarrassed to admit, I found safety encaged by my own defensive mistrust. For years, seemingly inconsequential words spoken or events happening around me that I typically would have long forgotten or seen as throw away moments were now food for gathering. I freely confess that I clung to this cache of self-doubt.

One would think I would have been eager to rid myself of the filth I was surrounded with. These days, I often ponder with full puzzlement, why did I refuse to break free from the emotional narrowing, for there was no value in its ownership. But I refused to loosen my grasp on that valuelessness I cleaved, because it seemed to be all I was left to own.

Due to the pain, I just couldn’t see I was being betrayed by my own accumulations. For far, far too long I was adhering to a discouraged life, reinforced daily by my own, hoarded collections.

posts: 60   ·   registered: Jul. 7th, 2025   ·   location: AZ
id 8877465
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Cooley2here ( member #62939) posted at 12:56 AM on Sunday, September 14th, 2025

Those thoughts were your moat to keep you from harm. Being a bs is being in danger.

When things go wrong, don’t go with them. Elvis

posts: 4682   ·   registered: Mar. 5th, 2018   ·   location: US
id 8877485
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Mindjob ( member #54650) posted at 4:26 AM on Sunday, September 14th, 2025

I found that most of my self- directed negativity died off naturally, after I accepted and integrated that I had changed for the better. I figured that the thoughts themselves weren't the problem, but rather arose from unaddressed issues.

So the thought "I was so dumb not to see it" turned into "I was actively deceived so I bear no flaw or responsibility in feeling this pain." Then even THAT turned into "Now I know how to autonomously grow back and heal after a betrayal," and any negative self talk arising from this particular source finds no lodging whatsoever in my head. Though mostly it doesn't even happen anymore.

Once I got a handle on this process, I can apply it to anything. There's no denial of the pain, just no more fear of it. Not do I equate resilience with strength anymore - now I see strength as the ability to fall like a dead cactus leaf in the desert and still fully grow back to my total self.

I don't get enough credit for *not* being a murderous psychopath.

posts: 606   ·   registered: Aug. 14th, 2016   ·   location: Colorado
id 8877491
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