What Kind Of Stories Do You Tell Yourself?

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Abstract

ife will follow this exact trajectory. On a positive note, since you’re the author, you can rewrite it all.</p><p id="3d5e">In the 80s, Micheal White and David Epston developed narrative therapy. Within this therapeutic approach, human problems are viewed as arising from oppressive stories that dominate a person’s life. (Carr, 1998, p. 486). Narrative therapy offers several techniques that can help us rewrite our reality. These techniques can be facilitated by a licensed professional if need be; however, you can apply them to your life independently as long as there are no <a href="https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/seeking-therapy">evident signs that you should seek help</a>. I learned these strategies from the two hundred dollar textbook I bought for school but I think everyone should have access to this knowledge.</p><p id="70cb">The following information is taken from the Canadian edition of <i>Counselling: A Comprehensive Profession </i>by<i> </i>Samuel T. Gladding and Kevin G. Alderson. Chapter 12 which covers postmodern theories of counseling deals with the methodology of narrative therapy. I’ve summarized the techniques used by professional counselors below.</p><h2 id="486d">Externalizing</h2><p id="21a4">This involves separating the individual from the problem. The problem is objectified in order to facilitate the process of finding a solution and optimizing our resources.</p><h2 id="5f6b">Search for unique outcomes</h2><p id="e2c8">Instead of focussing on the dark times, we should search for times we managed to escape their influence (unique outcomes). This provides great clues about how we can avoid or manage challenges now and in the future.</p><h2 id="5f06">Focus on the unique outcomes</h2><p id="a71d">This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Once you’

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ve been able to find experiences and outcomes from your past that transcend your problems and as a result, your current life story, focussing on these will fortify your confidence. Now, dive deeper into the events, sequences, and plots that surround these unique outcomes and evaluate their meanings.</p><h2 id="6413">Linking and extending the outcomes</h2><p id="f5b2">Through focussing on the life story you wish to embrace, extend positive outcomes from your past into the future. Ask yourself how you’ve managed to accomplish goals in the past and apply those tools to the rewriting of your life story.</p><h2 id="0b93">Inviting witnesses</h2><p id="c8bc">Invite people who support your new narrative to witness your transformation. Remember and focus on those supportive people. Extra accountability and help are invaluable.</p><h2 id="7bac">Using positive written materials</h2><p id="05da">Look over any certificates, awards, or, letters of reference you may have received that affirm your positive qualities and make it easier to shift your perception.</p><h2 id="64c3">Helping others</h2><p id="e671">Trying to help others see themselves and their lives differently is not only rewarding but also enlightening. It can put our issues into perspective and by encouraging others to be kinder to themselves, we learn to tell a more positive story about ourselves.</p><p id="a845">I hope those suggestions from narrative therapy can be helpful to you. I mean, they better be since they cost me two hundred dollars to access. I encourage you to reflect on the type of story you’re living out. Are you a hero or a villain? Will your story end with glory or despair? If your narrative isn’t progressing as desired, figure out what you want and starting in your mind, claim your happy ending.</p></article></body>

It’s never too late to create your happy ending

Storytelling has always played a significant role in human culture. The Chauvet cave paintings in France bring us moving, breathing life from a dead time, featuring hundreds of prehistoric creatures in dynamic poses. There’s a theory that this ancient art tells the story of a 37,000 year- old volcanic eruption. Even cave-people, who were desperate to survive in a harsh environment, found it necessary to share pieces of their unique experience through stories. Storytelling is intrinsically human.

In modern life, storytelling is just as relevant as it has been throughout our history. It’s how we learn, how we entertain ourselves, and how we connect. Unfortunately, the human tendency to think in narratives can be our downfall. We are constantly creating and reinforcing narratives about ourselves subconsciously and because of the immense pressure and scrutiny of everyday life, we often paint ourselves as villains in the stories of our lives.

We tend the follow the script written in our subconscious mind. What most of us don’t understand is that the author of this script is the self. If you cast yourself as a sad, lonely failure, the story of your life will follow this exact trajectory. On a positive note, since you’re the author, you can rewrite it all.

In the 80s, Micheal White and David Epston developed narrative therapy. Within this therapeutic approach, human problems are viewed as arising from oppressive stories that dominate a person’s life. (Carr, 1998, p. 486). Narrative therapy offers several techniques that can help us rewrite our reality. These techniques can be facilitated by a licensed professional if need be; however, you can apply them to your life independently as long as there are no evident signs that you should seek help. I learned these strategies from the two hundred dollar textbook I bought for school but I think everyone should have access to this knowledge.

The following information is taken from the Canadian edition of Counselling: A Comprehensive Profession by Samuel T. Gladding and Kevin G. Alderson. Chapter 12 which covers postmodern theories of counseling deals with the methodology of narrative therapy. I’ve summarized the techniques used by professional counselors below.

Focus on the unique outcomes

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Once you’ve been able to find experiences and outcomes from your past that transcend your problems and as a result, your current life story, focussing on these will fortify your confidence. Now, dive deeper into the events, sequences, and plots that surround these unique outcomes and evaluate their meanings.

Helping others

Trying to help others see themselves and their lives differently is not only rewarding but also enlightening. It can put our issues into perspective and by encouraging others to be kinder to themselves, we learn to tell a more positive story about ourselves.

I hope those suggestions from narrative therapy can be helpful to you. I mean, they better be since they cost me two hundred dollars to access. I encourage you to reflect on the type of story you’re living out. Are you a hero or a villain? Will your story end with glory or despair? If your narrative isn’t progressing as desired, figure out what you want and starting in your mind, claim your happy ending.