ABSTRACT
Instructions When you are withdrawing from people, sometimes it is difficult to know whether it is positive withdrawal or negative isolation. Think of a time recently when you felt an urgency to get way from someone or from several people. If you had a magic carriage waiting for you, where would it have taken you? If it is one of the places in the picture, tick the appropriate box. If it’s none of these, draw your own in the empty boxes. Write how long you would want to stay there (you don’t need to be realistic). What would you be thinking about? What would your self-talk be? Write or draw your answers in the thought bubbles. Then stand back and look at what you have done in terms of the pictures. Is it clearer as to whether your wanting to get away is negative isolation or positive withdrawal? If it’s negative isolation, did you learn this way of coping from someone in your childhood? How could you stay and communicate your feelings/resentments instead of moving into withdrawal? If it feels more like positive withdrawal, how can you satisfy your needs for alone time more effectively in future?
