I know—I’m terribly behind on my blog. I have all this guilt and, of course, the  
     pessimistic thoughts: I suck at life. This is so typical. Why can’t I accomplish any of my
     goals? Ironic, perhaps. Or, just completely fitting.

          I could give you all of my usual excuses: work, and freelance assignments, and this event
     happened, and that one, and there was all the laundry, and I was tired, and my Internet broke. But, let’s face it—I was lazy. (Dr. Seligman would argue that this is an “I” statement. That I’m internalizing and blaming myself and being pessimistic. But really guys, it’s the honest truth!)

     However, even though I haven’t been writing in here, nor have I had a session with Dr. Seligman in weeks, I am finding what I’ve learned is often on my mind. I can’t say that I’ve fully mastered using disputation yet, but I do find myself using distraction often. Only, I created my own methods. When I catch myself thinking negative things, this sort of internal monologue follows: Shut up. Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! Nooo, you can’t think about that. Turn it off. Shut it out. Be positive. Happppyy thoughts. Life is good. La la la la la la. Ok, but now what do I think about? So then I think about how I’ve gone completely mad, and basically this process just repeats itself four or five times a day, and then I get chocolate and wait for the serotonin release. (Studies say it’s true you know, and FYI, red wine works too. I choose to skip over the parts about migraines, weight gain, and digestive track problems. That’s just doctors focusing on the negative.)

     Now, all this may sound like I’m failing, but, I like to think the fact that I’m thinking about these things at all is an improvement. Perhaps my learning curve is a little slower than some, okay. I have 28 years of damage to undo people! But I have had my good moments, too. And I have some stories I will share. And my next lesson is in the works. I just wanted to check in to tell you that I’ve not vanished or given up. Promise to be back soon!