How To Control Negative Thoughts? 7 Tips To Eliminate Them
Do negative thoughts dominate your mind? Do you think you are always thinking negatively? Discover strategies to eliminate negative thoughts and enjoy your life.
People often try to eliminate our negativity by avoiding it by doing other things so we don’t have to think about it or by trying to stop it, which causes a more amplified action of the problem in ourselves. Our negative thoughts They can be extrapolated to any area, from our self-esteem, personal growth, work, social and as a couple.
In this way, these bad thoughts become an internal battle that we do not know how to manage and the only thing we do to not be sad, anxious or depressed is to replace that feeling with actions that make us forget those thoughts. negative sentences for a time. Once you have finished that action that makes you forget the negativity, you will be the same or worse again, because the truth is that you are not facing it, you are not allowing yourself to feel, nor facing the situation as you truly should. Therefore, now is the time to transform those negative thoughts.
At first it is difficult to discern between the different types of thinking that exist in your mind. The first step to controlling negative thoughts will be to differentiate when our brain is full of negative messages and when it is not. According to various research in the psychology of thought, negative thoughts are identified as those that are repetitive and arise in a generalized way when faced with any type of problem.
That is, when the thoughts of life In general, they follow a pattern where negative phrases are continuous both from yourself and from the environment. It is very likely that you suffer from these negative thoughts. Furthermore, when these negative thoughts are recurrent, they can be a symptom of a mental illness, such as depression, anxiety disorders, among others. Although not all people who have negative thoughts suffer from a mental illness, the reality is that this type of attitude can affect the quality of your life.
Why does my head think things I don’t want to think about?
These bad thoughts can come from different causes. This type of uncontrollable negative thoughts According to psychology they have the following causes.
Anticipate the future: In the vast majority of cases, people end up fearing the unknown and above all the uncertainty that it can prevent from the future. That is why for change negative thoughts We must leave behind these types of fears that come from events that we cannot control.
Stress for the present: The negative thinking and anxiety They are very related. In this way, many people are continually worried about what people think of them or the events that may happen in their environment. This type of fear and recurring negative thoughts come from the fear of losing control in life.
Depression about the past: On many occasions the recurring negative thoughts They are preceded by certain situations in the past. So much so that there are people who live in the past because of these negative automatic thoughts. Therefore, in order to change negative thoughts into positive ones, you must let go of all the mistakes of the past.
These may be some of the main reasons why the shift in thinking in people. Each of the negative phrases that we put in our minds can slow us down in our development.
Effects of uncontrollable negative thoughts
He negative thinking It has a link with brain activity. So much so that according to various investigations by the National Institute of Mental Health, it was found that there were many differences between the brain of a person with positive thoughts and another with negative thoughts. In this way, it was mainly observed that these thoughts had the following effects on people.
Reconfiguration of neural networks: One of the main effects of negative thoughts It is the reconfiguration of the structure of our brain. In this way, recurring negative messages end up increasingly reinforcing us to be more and more pessimistic. Therefore, the longer you wait to change, the more difficult it will be to reestablish these types of attitudes.
Increases the probability of making bad decisions: Negative thinking makes us feel bad. In these cases, it has been proven that activity in the brain is reduced in the area related to self-control, judgment and planning. Therefore, the recurring negative thoughts They end up increasing the chances of making bad decisions.
More likely to have a mental illness: It is obvious that one of the main reasons why people want to change negative thoughts is precisely because of the link they have with mental illness. Against more negative thoughts phrases on your mind, the chances of having more mental problems such as depression, anxiety, or stress will increase.
These may be some of the main effects that bad thoughts have on your brain. In reality we could say that there are many more consequences of these recurring negative thoughts
Negative thoughts and anxiety
In many cases the negative thoughts and anxiety they are related. In fact, anxiety can cause and be caused by recurring thoughts with negative content. On the one hand, people with anxiety often worry about what will happen in their future. On the other hand, there is also rumination, which consists of having negative thoughts about something that happened in the past.
These two forms of negative thoughts are characteristic of anxiety. For this reason, people who usually have this type of recurring thoughts They may end up developing an anxiety disorder or be suffering from it.
Changing these types of attitudes in us can be very difficult at first. The reason is precisely that we have created a habit in our brain and it is very difficult to get out of our way of being. Despite this, there are certain strategies to eliminate negative thoughts that will help you change them into positive and encouraging messages. According to psychologists to know how to avoid negative thoughts or change negative thoughts you can do the following.
Recognize the pattern: The thoughts that generate negativity in ourselves are usually linked to patterns or repetitions of involuntary acts that generate depression, stress, shame, etc. In order not to fall into these emotions, it is necessary to analyze what patterns generate them in us, how and when they occur, and why they tend to attract us. Once we have them identified, it is time to go back. listen to your real thoughts and do not allow yourself to act automatically as you are used to. You have the option to choose and think about how you want to feel about that situation. It is not the same to answer the question “What day is it today?” with “Horrible, it’s raining!”, than saying “It’s okay, it’s just raining.” The negative thoughts They are normal, the problem is when we believe it and magnify it. Therefore, to know how to eliminate negative thoughts, it is essential to recognize the pattern that leads us to them.
Focus on your emotions: Negative thoughts don’t come out of nowhere. Most of them are given by two factors that we must take into account: 1) By factors that come from the past ; and 2) Due to factors that concern us about our future These two aspects tend to be two of the most frequent causes of stress in individuals, generating anguish and discomfort. When we are absorbed in our negative thoughts we stop seeing reality. It’s like when we put a carrot in front of a donkey, he will only see the carrot, which is what he wants to get, but he will be letting everything around go by because he only cares about the food. The same thing happens with negative thoughts. Are you so worried about him raining? You can have a great day despite the rain with lots of positive things but you are missing out because you are only focusing on the fact that it is raining. To avoid falling into these recurring negative thoughts, it is recommended to focus on our senses. Focusing on the things we see, hear, hear and even touch. Being one hundred percent in everything that happens will allow us to put aside negativity and have full attention to the present we are living.
Practice mindfulness: As we grow and get older our lives become more complicated, so our fears, anxieties and hopes are magnified. Therefore, the negative thinking It is much easier for it to reach us and settle in our minds for a long time. Practicing full attention or mindfulness can help us a lot, strengthening our consciousness and taming our mind. In fact, it has been proven that regular meditation allows us to reduce our stress on a daily basis and allows us to know how to eliminate negative thoughts that affect us so much.
Rationalize your negative thoughts: Sometimes the best way to realize that we are being or thinking negatively It is asking ourselves the right questions to help us discover what is happening to us: Is it true? Does this thought help me? What do I really want? How can I get out of the situation? How could I do more? positive this thought? As a result of these questions we will be able to make constructive decisions about what we want and move forward on the right path. Thanks to this process of rationalization of the uncontrollable negative thoughts we will be able to avoid its most destructive consequences for our lives.
Make a thought journal: Although it requires a lot of effort, keeping a thought journal can be a very effective way to eliminate each of these automatic thoughts that come to mind. To do this, you must write down every day how you have felt and what the bad thoughts or the positive messages that have dominated the actions of your day. This way you will be able to better identify and understand each of the thoughts that come to your mind.
Don’t try to eliminate your negative thoughts: One of the main mistakes we make when facing these bad thoughts is precisely to try to interrupt them completely. The problem with trying to do this is precisely that the more you try to eliminate them, the more they will gain strength. Therefore it is vital to change these negative thoughts try to rationalize or understand them.
Talk about them: Although it is much better to share positive messages than negative thoughts, the reality is that telling others about your concerns will make you improve in many ways. In this way, talking about them with another person will allow you to keep each of the negative automatic thoughts at bay. You can share them with your friends or even with a professional psychologist with whom you can learn many more techniques or Strategies to eliminate negative thoughts
Fill your mind with bad thoughts It will make you unable to access all your objectives and goals in your life. Therefore, to achieve happiness, physical and mental well-being should be one of your first steps to achieve it.
