By learning to identify these inaccurate thoughts that reinforce negative thinking, you can learn to challenge them: Recognize thought distortionsĪ thought distortion is the mind’s way of protecting us by convincing us that something is wrong. Ask yourself whether the negative thought is helping or hindering you, and then say something like, “Let’s try a different approach” to lead yourself to more positive thoughts. Instead, it may be more helpful to change negativity to neutrality. Rather than addressing the negative thoughts, thought stopping insists that they are eliminated. Unfortunately, this approach often backfires as the negative thoughts rebound. Avoid thought stoppingĪttempting to put a hard stop to your negative thoughts may seem like the right solution. It also allows you to identify your negative thought’s triggers and how you can prevent or address them. Having a journal, whether on paper or a digital one, helps to express those thoughts and feelings. Having negative thoughts can sometimes feel overwhelming. To replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you can try several techniques and approaches. People with these types of negative thoughts often fall into the trap of thinking in should statements, such as “I should accomplish this so that I can be a good daughter.” How to Turn Negative Thoughts Into Positive “If I don’t do well, I’m a failure.” Holding high expectations for yourself all the time and attaching your worth to your performance isn’t healthy. You may not know for certain how much someone cares, so it helps to address negative thoughts in a different way. People do care, although not everybody expresses their emotions in the same way. However, constantly believing that nobody cares can be very detrimental to your well-being. “Nobody cares.” It is normal to feel like you are all alone sometimes. It may be helpful to remember the famous quote that says, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you are right.” By telling yourself it’s impossible, you are affirming that belief in your mind, which will then influence your experience. “I can’t do it.” Saying that you can’t do something without trying it is an example of a fortune-telling automatic negative thought. Although the truth is that we are all good enough in our own way, disqualifying the positive aspects can lead us to spiral into more negative thinking patterns. People who think this type of negative thought tend to wallow in a state of self-doubt and pity. “I am not good enough.” Have you ever felt like you weren’t good enough? You aren’t alone. This partly explains why we do things such as remember insults more than compliments, respond more to negative stimuli, and dwell on unpleasant memories or events more than pleasant. For instance, one of the signs of all or nothing thinking is to ignore positive aspects of something even though they are present. Sometimes this hardwired tendency influences the way we think even outside of life-threatening situations. However, negative bias is not always useful in the way we live today. The better we adapt, the more likely we are to survive. This bias has been found to play a role in our early development, such as when children learn how to avoid potentially harmful stimuli in ambiguous situations. It provided humans with critical evolutionary adaptive functions that allowed for survival from life-threatening risks such as predators. This is a type of thinking error or cognitive distortion that paints everything in a negative light.Įxcessive negative thoughts are due to an evolutionary mechanism in our brains called the negativity bias. However, many people experience having negative thoughts more often than positive ones. When unfavorable events happen in our lives, having negative thoughts is a normal response. Turning negative into positive thoughts is possible with some knowledge, awareness, and tools to help you along the way. Fortunately, there’s a way to change this. It can also make us feel anxious and depressed. However, focusing on negative thoughts can prevent us from enjoying experiences, distracts us from the important things, and drains our energy. From worrying about the future to replaying events in the past and even focusing on parts of life that leave us feeling dissatisfied, there seems to be something that pulls us towards negative thoughts. Some people spend a lot of time ruminating, and often, the thoughts that occupy their minds are negative. Finding a balance between negative and positive thinking is important.You can replace negative thoughts with positive ones using different exercises.Many people tend to focus more on negative thoughts than positive ones.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |