Put it in a drawer

As part of my DNRS brain retraining, my coach reminds me to "put it in a box". This is a way of storing a problem/issue and planning a time to address it, so you don't stay stuck on continuous negative ruminating or future forecasting thoughts. This approach is especially helpful for upcoming ugh appointments. When I use this tool I usually imagine the box as a colorfully wrapped box with a bow that I stick in the closet.

In the kitchen I grew up in we used to have a small set of drawers hanging on the wall. I think it was supposed to be for spices but my parents used it for special miscellaneous keys or other weird items. I liked exploring the drawers sometimes. I don't know what happened to it when we emptied the house for selling about 10 years ago. I decided to recreate it as a place to store the stuck thoughts I would put in a box. So the painting below is the result. Each drawer has a special design to help with visualizing a pleasant positive place/image for where the thought is being stored for now. The paper is a little warped so the image seems warped (it will be better when I scan it), but I wanted to post while the painting is fresh, so I can "put it in a drawer" now.