With a near capacity crowd attending our most recent DBSA meeting, we were treated to facilitator Don’s newest presentation. Entitled “ The Voices” Don went on to describe voices we sometimes have in our head, representing good and bad ideas. He advised that it’s sort of spooky to have inner voices talking to you, but most of us have them, at one time or another. 

Don presented a fun fact for the evening; asking us, did you know that 95% of our brain activity happens at an unconscious level?  And only 5% of our cognitive behavior comes from our conscious mind. Yet another important reason for us to make sure we are getting our rest each and every night. Don also talked about getting rid of negative self-talk. Negative self-talk can be that voice inside our head, our inner critic that seems to always want to convince us how “bad” we are. He encouraged us to get up off the couch and do something. If you are having trouble getting motivated to clean the house, you can start by setting a timer for 20 minutes. You may find that the chore you thought would take forever , won’t take long at all! 

Don advised once we have quieted the inner negative self-talk, to focus on the good stuff that our inner voices are telling us. He mentioned a few ways we can listen to our good inner voice. Most importantly he advised we should first find some quiet time to listen better to our good inner voice.  We can do that by turning off the phone and shutting off the tv.  We could also meditate, exercise, do yoga or even take a hike or walk somewhere. Whatever works for us, that will help to slow down our mind, and live more in the moment.  This will allow your good inner voice time to shine.

It was a very fascinating and thoughtful presentation from Don tonight. Please make sure and join us next Thursday September 30th, when Miriam will be presenting “ Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do – Pt. 2”