Ways To Stop Negative Thinking

Everyone has a mind that 'speaks' to them. These are considered to be our verbal thoughts or 'advisors'. This is the part of you that is connected to your language brain, which functions as a threat detector.

Having threat detectors or “critical sounds” is a good thing. It shows things that could be dangerous for you, including things that may happen in the future and mistakes of the past.

The function of a critical voice is to help you avoid the same mistakes so that you are physically and existentially safe. You hear no sound. But you see critical thoughts popping up as you go about your day. You have evolved to experience your thoughts as literal truths. This allows you to learn indirectly by listening to what other people have to say, rather than just directly through your own experiences.

Your inner voice is always active, and overly inclusive in assessing what is threatening. It is a “feature, not a bug” of your critical voice. It wouldn't be a great threat detector if you could turn it off at will, and it wouldn't be a great threat detector if it underestimated threats, would it?

Negative thoughts can cause problems like social anxiety, depression, stress, and low self-esteem. The key to changing your negative thoughts is to understand your current way of thinking and the problems it causes, then use strategies to change those thoughts or reduce their impact.

Your thoughts, emotions and behavior are all related, so your thoughts influence your feelings and actions. So, while you all have unhelpful thoughts at times, it's important to know what to do when they arise so that you don't have them. let them change your life.

Therapy is useful for changing negative thoughts, but you can also learn how to change your own thinking patterns. Some ways that can be done to get rid of negative thoughts include:

- Identify negative thoughts

- Using mindfulness to develop self-awareness

- Learning to overcome feedback and criticism

- Practicing acceptance instead of trying to avoid or deny negative thoughts

- Replace negative thoughts with more realistic, positive ones

- Use a diary to track your thoughts

Combat Negative Thoughts With Mindfulness

Mindfulness is rooted in meditation. It is the practice of detaching oneself from thoughts and emotions and viewing them as an outside observer. Practicing mindfulness can help you become more conscious of your thoughts and develop greater self-awareness. Mindfulness aims to change your relationship with your mind. Try seeing your thoughts and feelings as objects that float past you, so that you can stop and observe them or let them pass. They don't control you.

The goal of mindfulness is to control your emotional reactions to situations by allowing the thinking part of your brain to take over. There is a theory that mindfulness practice can facilitate the ability to use the mind more adaptively. One study found that people who practiced mindfulness experienced fewer negative thoughts after being exposed to negative images, suggesting that mindfulness can reduce the frequency and impact of negative thinking.

Pause for a moment

If you feel stressed, anxious, or stuck in a negative thought pattern, PAUSE. Focus your consciousness on the world around you with your five senses.

Pay Attention to the Differences

Notice the difference between being trapped in your thoughts and experiencing the present moment through your five senses. Also notice what is on your mind. Are you arguing with yourself? Struggling to deny negative or critical self-evaluations? Trying to get an unpleasant thought or image out of your head? Ask yourself whether this mental struggle is serving you.

Label Your Thoughts

If not, see if you can step back and “label” your thoughts for what they are, not literal truths. For example, you could practice slowing your thoughts down and adding the sentence, “I think that….” Continue this practice of labeling, without trying to soften, change, or avoid whatever thoughts you happen to have. See if you can feel what it's like to have distance between you—the thinker—and your thoughts.

Choose Your Intent

Once you “Pause” your mental struggles, notice what is happening and how it is going, and label your thoughts for what they are – simple mental weather that will come and go – you will be better able to choose your intentions, and next steps correct. Steps for you. Are you going to continue to struggle with your thoughts? Or you can choose to take small steps towards something that matters to you in your life.