Why Focus on the Negative
Have you ever noticed that in the main people tend to talk and think about the negatives in their lives. Be that global things like the negatives of Brexit or a Donald Trump presidency or local negatives things like why do I feel unfulfilled or why is my relationship not what I want.
Now of course it is totally appropriate to look at the negative aspects of life, but the trouble is that most people leave it there they focus on the negative and not look for positives. I see this every day in my consulting room. When I am asked by no therapist friends how do I cope with such negativity, I say that when a client comes to me we spend far more time looking at solutions rather than problems.
This of course is not unique to my practice, solution focused therapy is a far reaching therapeutic movement with practitioners all over the world. There was a line in The Phantom Mennace which I think is apt, “Your focus determines your reality”. If we can all endeavour to focus on the positives and potential solutions to our issues, we will be happier and healthier in the long run. This will also diminish the need to self medicate or in some cases even self harm. Therapy does not have to be a painful place, it can be a place of positivity and forward progression which will serve not onl the client but also the people in the client’s life.
