Any thought can be stressful.
Even the most apparently peaceful and hopeful thought can be stressful.
I will go to heaven –> Maybe not? Maybe I did or will do something terrible so I won’t go to heaven? Maybe I don’t even know how horrible it is as I do it? Maybe there isn’t a heaven?
Everything happens for me –> Yes, although if that’s true I am not making full use of it. Maybe I am missing what it means for me. Maybe I am missing opportunities for growth and healing. I am not up to the task. I miss the boat, over and over again.
These types of thoughts may be comforting, and they may help us reframe or give us pointers for action or exploration. At the same time, they can be – and eventually will be – stressful. Holding onto them as true may even stop us from exploring what’s more true for us than these thoughts.
They become a place to “land” and life is too kind to allow us to land for very long anywhere, including in nice ideas about how things are, so it nudges us along through making holding onto these ideas stressful.
Some additional examples:
Everything is perfect as it is –> OK, but I don’t always see it. Again, I am missing reality. I must be very deluded. I am not up to what’s required of me.
God is kind –> Again, I must be very deluded because I don’t always see it. I feel, perceive, and live as if it’s not true. I am really off track. I am missing out. Others get it and I don’t. Why am I not getting it? What does it mean that I am not getting it?
She loves me –> Ah, that feels good. But what if it changes? And does she really love me? Maybe she just loves her idea about me, and what if I can’t live up to that idea?