The key is not to ignore the thoughts; acknowledge them! During the day think about what kind of thoughts they are, and why they are unhelpful. Then at night you can remind yourself; it’s this thought again; I don’t need to believe it because (insert reason you came up with in the daytime).

And then you can move on to other stories.

I this this is right. The studies that show that antibiotic ointment actually slows healing were the main point the urgent care folks made. Plus thorough washing is usually sufficient.

Yes, this!

We don’t have to believe our thoughts. Our brains produce unhelpful thoughts all the time – and there’s nothing helpful about a thought spiral, especially when you’d rather be sleeping.

Notice when the thought first arises, and give it a label “wrong path” or “mean thought” or whatever. Then remember that you decided to take a different path – maybe imagine yourself exploring in nature to find a new path.

There are lots of ways to use metaphor and visualization (if that works for you) to help manage the unhelpful thoughts.

You can also think about what you’d tell a close friend if they were having similar thoughts. Or what your young self needed to hear as support.

Look into CBT for more info.

Good luck!

Last year my spouse gashed his leg and the urgent care used petroleum jelly both to protect the wound from air, and to keep the dressing from sticking.

They said current standard of care says not to use antibiotic ointment; it’s better to clean thoroughly then use just a barrier cream (like petroleum jelly).