How To Get Rid Of Negative Thoughts: Whenever something happens in our life, the person we rely the most on to ask a question is – ‘ourselves’. It’s we who hold all the answers to our confusion and mysteries. Yet, how frequently are we right or in justice with ourselves? You must have gone through the negative spiraling too in your life which Mark Manson calls the feedback loop from hell. After a negative thought hits your conscience, one after another start flowing in after it.
Have you ever wondered that it’s not impossible to get rid of these thought patterns and lead a wiser life? There are lots of ways of doing so. We’ll discuss a major part of it here.
1. Do regular Journaling
While keeping a notebook and writing in it seems like a chore, try jotting down your thoughts once in a while at least. A notebook seems non-living but does more wonders than humans. You can unveil your true self and have genuine talks via pen and paper. This helps you recognize your thought patterns, catch negative ones and understand your emotional state better.
You can also make illustrations of your emotions whenever possible to capture the feeling and later learn from it.
2. Take out and replace patterns
Nobody is a magician or a mind-reader, of course. But if we look closely at our behavior, we find so many fascinating things like the way we handle stress, talk to a friend, handle arguments, and so on. Usually, we’re inclined to look at how other people are taking action against a particular situation. Now imagine the magic unfold if we start getting self-aware. When we are self-aware, we can pick out negative sequences and try replacing them with gratitude or appreciative ones.
3. Do not let evil control your actions
More frequently than enough, we are judged on daily basis. Though not every judgment is meant to harm us but is rather put that way all over social media. This leads us into thinking that we are not enough and cannot decide for ourselves.
We let our inner negativity spoil our productivity and day-to-day life. This eventually causes a sense of inferiority or superiority over time as we lose the image of who we are.
How To Get Rid Of Negative Thoughts: Try shifting the resulting mindset to a process mindset and you’ll have more peace.
4. It’s not you, but only a voice
How To Get Rid Of Negative Thoughts: A voice that stops us from doing the right things and manipulates us into thinking that we are generally wrong. It’s the same voice that eats half of our lives infesting our morale.
Do you know that Sir Thomas Edison was always called incapable and non-talented by his teachers during school? He developed a severe inferiority complex out of it which kept telling him that ‘he’s not enough. But he overcame that and, as a guess, said to himself- “this isn’t who I am but merely a voice. I can choose to not listen to it”.
You can also choose to not listen to it. It’s not who you are but a reactive pattern. You’re nowhere close to those negative things that the voice talks about.
5. Preserve your critical thinking
If you ever found yourself saying, “this is totally wrong. I deserve better than this since I did as best as I could”, then congratulations! Your critical thinking is alive. You differ right from wrong when it’s happening. But can we always do that? Not really but you can get better at it through different methods.
Some people seek professional help that gives Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to make them understand their logic and reasoning.
It is completely fine for you to seek the same too. Or if you want to do it on your own, you can look out for great books like:
- Declutter you Mind by S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport.
- Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop.
- Attitude Is Everything by Jeff Keller.
- Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh
6. Stop the negative self-talk
To our every action, there is an underlying motive. Similarly, when we do negative self-talk we are either seeking a crumb of understanding from the outside or trying to process our own thoughts. But we don’t realize that reciprocation to such thoughts impacts our perception of ourselves.
With every negative self-talk, we are making a mental note of evidence of our negative personality. Thus, leading to a disfigured image of our values.
How To Get Rid Of Negative Thoughts: You can ask a friend or family member to immediately put you to stop as soon as they notice you doing this. This way they’re not trying to look down on you but want you to be a better person by helping.
7. Recognize friends and foes
Criticism is sometimes healthy but also not of every kind. In the current society, we are attracted by the people who give us frequent validation and temporary gratification via small talks or exaggerated praise.
It’s easy to let yourself receive fake or temporary appraisals than to take true criticism for your own benefit. People who criticize us for our good, as we know, want us to be better. But we try to avoid them the most and run where the long-run-hell lies.
This being said, you can figure out who is encouraging you to be more YOU and who is trying to change you.
This can also be used to indicate red flags in a relationship. If the other one feels like they need to change something in you, do not hesitate to leave.
8. Say affirmations
A very famous book by Sir Napoleon Hill named ‘Think And Grow Rich’ is one of the best ways to get started on gaining self-confidence and finding hope. The book is just an example to illustrate here that affirmations hold a strong value in our lives.
You can start by writing things you’re grateful for and things that make you different. You can also read out loud those affirmations every morning after waking up to yourself around 5-10 times. Now, repeat this every day.
To conclude this, here are the summed-up points:
- Keep a journal of your feelings.
- Recognize your thought patterns and omit negative ones out.
- Keep a track of your actions and don’t let one thought ruin it whole.
- Those inner voices you hear are not reflections of reality but only imagination.
- If you want to preserve your critical way of analyzing thoughts, it’s okay to seek help.
- Never talk negatively about yourself, even in private.
- All those who praise you are not necessarily your friends. Learn to take criticism to your benefit.
- If you find something worthy of praise and gratitude towards yourself, show it every day. Do affirmations.
Conclusion
Negative thoughts can be damaging to our mental health and overall well-being. However, there are effective ways to combat and overcome them. This includes practicing self-reflection, mindfulness, reframing negative thoughts, engaging in physical activity, developing healthy coping mechanisms, and seeking support from loved ones or a mental health professional. By taking these steps, it is possible to get rid of negative thoughts and improve one’s outlook on life. Remember, it is important to invest time and effort in promoting positive mental health for a happier and fulfilling life.
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FAQs
Ans- From triggers to lack of emotional understanding, anything could cause negative thinking. One of the main causes can be how you react to any situation. In a day, we face different conditions; some delight us while some upset us. Although, we only count the negative happenings of that day to estimate how our day went. Now shift this perspective to ‘negativity comes and goes’ kind of one.
You can practice regular breathing exercises or meditation to develop a better inner conscience and break negative patterns.
Ans- If taken productively, overthinking is good for you. People who don’t overthink are generally spontaneous with their decisions or reactions but those who do, take their time in doing anything. It is fine as long as you’re using this to figure things out.
But if it counterattacks you, then you need to stop it as soon as you recognize it. Clearly say ‘stop’ when you find yourself thinking negatively.
Journaling can also be a way to get over this.
Ans- Most of the online content would tell you that overthinking is directly connected to mental health conditions like GAD or generalized anxiety disorder. Here, I say that it need not be. Over-worrying can surely be one of the symptoms of GAD or Depression. But overthinking doesn’t always mean harm. Sometimes, it can actually help you better understand yourself. Just try to not let it control too much of your life or your time.
Ans- Thoughts that enter your brain against your will are also called ‘intrusive thoughts. These thoughts sneak into our minds at very unexpected times and drive a loop of negativity for hours. In medical terms, these thoughts could be (not necessarily) symptoms of mental health disorders like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or Schizophrenia.
