ABCD

After experiencing my first full-blown panic attack, I visited my guidance counselor, who recommended to me the ABCD method of processing my thoughts and emotions.
A: Adversity — what's the problem?
B: Belief — what is your mind telling you is going on?
C: Consequences — what are the results of letting your thoughts go in this direction?
D: Diversion — what's the reality of the situation, and how does that differ from the distortions you're perceiving?

Within her office, we worked on calming me down, and over the years, I've done my best to continue the maintenance of my thoughts and emotions through therapy. Not everything that enters our minds should be preserved or given free reign to control us. And if our thoughts are neglected, they can become distorted, exaggerated, and removed from the reality of our lives. When we take the time to groom our thoughts, cutting those that are ruinous, while nourishing those that give us strength — when we conquer our thoughts, we no longer become subjected to them, but rather agents of our own future, our own fate. Self-awareness is the first step to any lasting, positive change. Though I've expanded my toolkit to keeping sane, that first step was hard to take. But over the years of meditation and journaling, talking through that I was experiencing and being reflective of my thought process has kept me mentally healthy, and has given me the structure to make it through every anxiety or panic attack, through depression and trauma. It's only when we empty out the water of our buckets, can we reach out to those in need, pouring their flooding burdens into our own robust minds.