I was listening to @meno talk about perspective in the @helpie meeting yesterday and it was such an inspiring and important message.

As someone who deals with depression and anxiety, I constantly need to be aware of ANTS.

ANTS suck.

Automatic negative thoughts (ANTS) can lead me into a swirling vortex of despair if gone unchecked.

Our thoughts lead to our emotions, and emotions are powerful energies which can attract similar energies to us.

Sinking into dark emotional turmoil based on a series of ever-increasing negative thought patterns is like a thick, black cloud surrounding and smothering me.

It's difficult to break out of that state once I get to that point so I need to constantly be aware of my thought patterns and banish unnecessary negative thoughts when they happen....before they lead me down a road where I'm lost and I can't find my way back.

It just happened last night actually.
I was sitting here minding my own business when a string of unrelated thoughts led to an extremely unpleasant memory.
I've been down that road before.
Dwelling on that memory is of absolutely no benefit to me.
The past is gone. There's nothing I can do to change it.

I've gone through mourning, grieving, and lessons learned.
I've done my best to clear the emotional blockages of guilt by letting go and forgiving myself.
But, I'm an extremely sensitive empath so I feel too much....constantly.

So, when this memory tried to invade my soul last night I banished it and replaced it with a pleasant thought so that it didn't lead me to become trapped in the quicksand of negativity.

Which leads me back to perspective.
I replaced that negative thought with one of gratitude.
No matter how bad you think things are, there is always something to be grateful for.
Feelings of gratitude can raise your energy levels to attract positivity into your life.
I could list hundreds of things that are wrong with my life, but perspective allows me to open up to a wider view where I can see everything there is to be grateful for.

There will always be problems and challenges, but life consists of light and dark, mercy and severity.
Perspective allows us to strive for balance so that we can see the light even when we think we are blinded by darkness.