Do you feel like you see life in a bad light? Do you always interpret a situation from a negative perspective? Discover why negativity takes over your mind and how to remedy it.
Our mood and attitude have great power, especially with the people around us. Have you ever found yourself watching a movie or series where negative things happened and the characters had a negative or hostile attitude and when you finished watching it you felt that way? This behavior that infects us negativity bias to which we all naturally tend.
Most of us have a tendency to obsess over certain negative thoughts that arise from a bad experience or our own mistakes. This happens since the negativity It often has a greater impact than the compliments thrown our way. Therefore, removing the negativity that invades us is quite difficult.
The reason behind it is that events with negativity They have a greater impact on our brain. Psychologists call this fact negative bias or negativity bias since it can influence people’s behavior either in their decisions or even in all their relationships.
What is negativity bias?
To know how to stop being negative, we must understand why we tend toward this negativity bias. This concept is the tendency that human beings have to more easily register negative biases due to an evolutionary attitude.
Thus, the negativity As a psychological phenomenon, it is explained because bad first impressions can help us avoid certain dangers and therefore there is a greater chance of survival. This is why in almost any interaction we have, we are more likely to notice the negative things and remember them much more easily than the positive ones.
For this reason, for eliminate negativity or remove negativity To a person we must first understand what our tendencies are.
We remember traumatic experiences much better than positive ones
We remember insults better than praise
We react more strongly to negative stimuli
We think about negative things more often than positive ones
We respond more strongly to negative events before positive ones.
It is for this reason that remove negativity What dominates us is a constant process of work within us. In many cases when negativity constantly takes over our lives, it is vital to consult with a professional psychologist to determine the causes of this and remove the persistence of this type of thoughts in the mind.
Why is negativity contagious?
The negativity Not only is it naturally persistent in our attitude, but it is also contagious between people. This is due to the presence of mirror neurons, a group of cells that from birth allow us to be empathetic, social and even imitate. An example of this would be in babies themselves, who when they hear another newborn cry they automatically begin to do so too for no apparent reason.
These neurons have such power that they allow us to imitate other people not only in their behavior but also in an emotional sense. It is during our childhood, in the learning period when we develop imitative skills as a result of noticing and interacting with other people. In this way, when we smile at a small child he will also do so, since we are acting as a teacher and he is learning to imitate us and behave like us. The same thing happens with the negativity
Although mirror neurons work in different situations in our lives, perhaps when we notice it most is when they have a negative power on us. We may feel uncomfortable or not like a situation at all, but as we listen to or interact with people who send us negative input on that topic, we will become infected. Feeling upset, uncomfortable with the situation and even angry at finding ourselves in it.
The reality is that we can be very positive about things and socializing with positive people will benefit us a lot, but the influence will not be as great if we compare it to when we surround ourselves with negative people.
How to remove negativity?
When we are negative we tend to unite or feel comfortable with other people who are also unconsciously negative. But the reality is that when we find positive people around us we feel uncomfortable and out of place because we don’t end up being ourselves. The truth is fight our negativity To see things happily and without sadness requires effort, and we will not always feel comfortable in the process.
Stay away from negative input: Depending on the person, it will be much easier for you. It is not the same as the negativity comes from a co-worker or friend, not your mother. You don’t have to end the friendship, but rather take a few breaks from that person that allow you to detach all that negativity that affects your emotions so much.
Face your negativity: When you are aware that your behavior is being negative, and your emotions are running high for this reason, you can start to turn things around. It doesn’t have to be a radical change, but in small things. It is obvious that you are not going to change your thinking overnight.
Talk to negative people: Surely, there will be people with whom you already know to communicate what you affects your negativity It’s not going to be of any use. But possibly, others of them will allow it and making them understand what it affects you to hear all that will help them to change their chip.
Change your perspective: The way you visualize your experiences as well as remember them may be tainted by this. negativity bias Therefore, you can try to remedy these types of thoughts by reinterpreting things from a more positive perspective or seeing it in a more neutral way.
Establish new patterns: To remove negativity or eliminate negativity We must try to think or do things in a different way than the one we are used to. For example, if you are mentally reviewing an unpleasant event or thought you can redirect this attention to another activity that brings you more joy.
As we see eliminate negativity It is a constant work that we must do within ourselves. Leaving our negative thoughts behind is the key to seeing life from a happier perspective.
