The stress of facing a federal prison sentence
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that either you, or someone you love, is facing a stressful legal situation. When that happens, it’s easy to get bogged down in the anxiety and stress of going through the federal justice system. You might feel like everything is out of your hands and you’re a spectator, watching your life unravel in front of you. While facing federal prison time is a scary prospect, you actually do have some control over how you’re feeling.
You have more power than you might think
You can reduce your stress and improve your mood by leveraging the power of internal self talk. When you feel extremely stressed, you’re probably engaging in some negative internal dialogue. Take back control by shifting the internal self talk in a direction that works for you, instead of against you.
Step 1: When you recognize the negative self talk, imagine the image of a stop sign in your mind. Focus on seeing the red stop sign come closer to you and notice the word STOP. Use this image as a signal to stop the negative thought in its tracks.
Step 2: Replace the negative internal statement with an empowering question. Here’s an example of what that “looks like” when put into practice…
For example…
If you catch yourself thinking, “I cannot handle my upcoming PSI (Pre-sentence Interview)! I don’t know what to say and I will probably mess things up, and make it worse for myself.”
Put up the stop sign and spend a minute, or so, focusing on the word STOP.
Replace the negative statements with an empowering question, such as, “What 3 things can I do this week to help me feel prepared for the PSI?”
Shifting into action
Do you see how all of a sudden you shift from feeling helpless to feeling like there’s something you can do to improve the situation? With this shift in thinking, you can create a goal and take the one next step to increase your odds of a better outcome.
If you’re interested in working with a Life Coach to reduce your stress, keep you on track and help improve your chances of a better outcome, contact Jenny and schedule a consultation for Coaching Services.
