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It's summertime and normally you can find me reading in the evenings on my hammock. Weeks ago the hammock stand we had for years, broke.
I started to search for new hammocks & stands but my husband told me to wait....they're too expensive. One of the things I look forward to the most in the summer, I'm missing out on. Before I know it the school schedule will be in full swing and the days will be shorter & cooler. I guess my husband wants to wait to see if we can get a hammock on clearance near the end of summer....which is too late for me!

I haven't been reading as many books in comparison to other summers.
Currently I have about four reviews that I need to post, but just haven't had the time to sit down and write. Also I just learned that the site I have been using for hosting my images on this blog is having issues, so I may need to deal with that issue soon. Fun stuff.

This has been the most stressful July in my entire life. I don't think I can ever remember thinking of the month of July and stress in the same sentence! There are many reasons for this, but the main ones are being a lending ear to someone with cancer and another friend who is leaving an abusive marriage, watching a 4 month old puppy for a week, some personal medical issues I won't go into here, bickering/friend issues with both my daughters and a few issues dealing with respect and time. Summer has always been more of a relaxed time, never depressing or rushed, but yet here I am experiencing it.

Most of my life I have been the friend to go to who will just listen.
I try not to give advice if it doesn't seem wanted or I don't know about the topic at hand. I think I'm there for people because when I was growing up what I thought and felt didn't seem to matter. I think this is why I was shy and just kept to myself after awhile. It also gets difficult when the people you trust or love the most look at you differently and lose respect for you. I've lost friends over the years who I trusted and confided in and then they majorly betrayed me. It's difficult to bounce back from things like that and want to be able to let new people into your life again. Guarded......that is probably the best word to describe me. I definitely have downfalls with being too serious or hard on myself. I was brought up as the oldest of three daughters, so I was made the example of. It wasn't right or fair how strict my parents were with me, but I know that everything I deal with now is because of the high expectations place on me. There's nothing I can do about it now, other than try to be the best person I can be.

Anyhow, summer is NOT supposed to be this serious, in-depth or depressing.
I've ALWAYS loved summer. Not so much the miserably humid days or mosquitoes, but swimming, picnics, fireworks, friends, lots of sunshine, sitting on the patio, laying on the hammock, gardening, reading and a myriad of other summer memories from my childhood are what make me cherish summer days.

I'm just curious if anyone reading this has ever experienced a disappointing summer? Can you remember the best summer you had and what made it the best? I live in the Northeastern part of the United States and summer days are truly numbered. Maybe that is why I cherish it so much because so much of the rest of the year is dreary.

What are you reading this summer?
Any recommendations?
Even though I don't have my hammock, I hope to get in a few books within the next month. And I will definitely start working on writing the book reviews of the books I have read.

Thanks for reading & sorry if I depressed you!
I just wanetd to clear up with my readers why the book reviews
have been less and there haven't been many posts here.

Thank you for following my blog & stay tuned......

Summertime ~ Depression?

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Posted at 10:57 PM | by Elle

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

This book was recommended by one of AVON's top representatives,

Lisa M. Wilber, Platinum Executive Leader.

Lisa also wrote a recommendation at the very beginning of this book.

Andrea Patten addresses the fact that everyone has always been told to hush the inner critic within you. Her approach is to try to work with that voice so that it can work for you, instead of against you.

"Finding benefits hidden by annoyances is not an easy process. It takes effort, energy and focus. And creating a new, more peaceful relationship with your Inner Critic is complicated by the fact that, for years, experts have been offering advice on how to silence the Inner Critic."

She believes that by trying to 'kill off' the inner critic brings it back to be "even stronger and naggier than before."

What is an inner critic? Patten describes it in this way:
"An Inner Critic is our brain's misinterpretation of stimulus or data that:
amplifies harsh self-judgement, creates negative self-talk and, interferes with the confidence needed to take action toward personal goals and desires."

The author also gives many ideas and skills to help "transpose the negative into positive."

"Your Inner Critic can brilliantly detect threats but is none too bright about priority-setting."

Patten also recommends giving your inner critic a new name....something that "brings both comfort and confidence."

"Personal growth strategies are not Swiss Army knives: I can't think of a single one that works in every situation, that's why it's such a good idea to try them on for size."

"Part of nurturing an inner ally involves deciding which messages to focus on and which ones to let go."

Some negative key words mentioned within the writer's vocabulary in this book are: demoralization, enemy, flaws, faults, tension, bad mental habits, threaten, warning, shatter, permanent, worrying, harmful, dangerous, panic and undesirable,

Positive vocabulary used in this book to counter-act the negative words above are: brave, honest, relax, soothe, energize, safe, forgive, strengths, peaceful, strong, partnership, healthy, powerful, brilliant, nurturing, honesty, acceptance, courage, flourish, opportunities, benefits, focus and energy.

I wish I could say more and believe more about the topic presented in this book.
I've tried many times in my life to turn things around by mental ability.
I honestly think this is way to continue to motivate yourself to just keep moving on in life. I don't think that just by 'thinking' about something that it will happen.
I could post examples here, but will refrain because I do not want to drudge up old memories just to upset myself on a book review.
Change takes action, that I believe. But even sometimes with action and doing the best you possibly can do, that still isn't enough.
It's discouraging, and unfortunately we learn to live with it.

I do not totally disagree with the thoughts and exercises presented in this book. Like the author said, it's not a one-size-fits-all type of thing. Definitely read this book to get ideas to help yourself deal with your inner critic.
Try to apply the mental exercises presented and
choose the ones that are best for you!