How To Manage Your Negative Thoughts: 7 Practical Tips
Experiencing negative thoughts that make us feel bad and lead us to suffer from something that worries us is completely normal, and in fact it is often necessary to address aspects of our lives that need to be addressed.
However, sometimes it is difficult to prevent these thoughts from taking control of us and making it very difficult for us to adopt a constructive mindset; For example, it happens when we are paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, or when we become obsessed with getting them out of our minds and we do not obtain the desired results. Therefore, here We will discuss a series of tips to manage your negative thoughts on a daily basis.
Research focused on the development of effective psychotherapy techniques has been studying strategies for emotional management and management of unwanted thoughts for several decades, a problem that can decisively affect people’s mental health.
Nowadays there are many ways in which we can overcome negative thoughts of all kinds that assail us in our daily lives, and some of them have “simple” versions that can be applied by the person themselves in their daily life in the form of general advice (although the most effective option is always to attend psychotherapy). Let’s see what these recommendations and guidelines are.
1. Don’t try to block them
One of the main practical keys that we can apply daily to successfully manage the negative thoughts that assault our mind is Do not try to block these thoughts or keep yourself out of consciousness at all costs.
People who tend to have recurring negative thoughts know that trying to push a thought out of the mind usually has consequences opposite to what is desired, and the only thing we achieve by doing so is thinking even more about that content that makes us feel bad.
Instead of trying to force ourselves not to think about something, psychology professionals recommend direct attention to other things activities or aspects of life that we find most satisfactory, as indicated in the following section.
2. Redirect the attention focus
Those people who have greater control over their own thoughts tend to be able to direct their attention towards other stimuli or mental content at key moments.
Voluntarily directing attention where we want is a very useful strategy at any time when any unwanted negative thoughts pass through our mind and is much more efficient than trying to block or eliminate them.
To direct our attention towards other thoughts that are more constructive or stimulating than those that make us feel bad or paralyze us, there are many strategies that we can follow, but they all go through assume the idea that what worries us will remain in our mind for a while, and that this is normal.
3. Accept the discomfort
Another way that people have to successfully manage a negative thought is to accept the temporary discomfort that we experience with that thought, but taking into account that this is part of life and that sooner or later you have to deal with this type of unpleasantness.
This is important, because otherwise we are adopting a position of denial of the problem, and by not accepting the discomfort that we experience for a certain time we are paying more attention to it and giving the thought more importance than it has.
4. Transform discomfort into constructive elements
Transforming the discomfort we feel into reasons that help us improve and move forward towards our goals is a very useful strategy when negative thoughts appear that affect us. To do this, ask yourself the following question: What can I learn from this discomfort I feel? From there, it will be easier to focus attention on a chain of actions that contribute to solving what worries us.
This transformation of discomfort into something positive can be summarized in the following example. If what worries us has to do with the feeling of guilt, we can focus on learning from our mistakes and drawing constructive conclusions about what has happened.
5. Learn to disconnect
Learning to disconnect is essential to correctly manage negative thoughts, since after a long period of suffering caused by distressing content, anyone needs to rest their mind due to the exhaustion caused by this type of thoughts.
Some of the strategies that we can apply are Mindfulness practice a relaxation and attention-focusing technique that will help us control our thoughts much better and also focus on the present to leave behind obsessions, psychological ruminations and unfounded fears.
Some other activities that can help us disconnect can be weekly physical exercise, walks in nature and positive social activities such as meeting friends, going to the movies, etc.
6. Set realistic goals
Establishing realistic goals well distributed over time It is a good way to begin to solve the problem that concerns us and by doing so in an organized and methodical manner we will achieve success in our endeavor.
In the same way, the fact of getting to work to solve our problem already acts therapeutically in our perception of the problem and helps us relativize it so that it does not affect us so much in our daily life.
Another piece of advice that is notably related to the previous one is to not demand too much of ourselves and not try to solve all our problems at once or overnight.
Some people who find themselves in the middle of a problem try to have total control over what happens to them, and when they see that their demands do not correspond to the reality of the facts, they end up dragging themselves and end up throwing in the towel.
As in any aspect of our life, it is also very important not to demand too much of ourselves, treat ourselves with respect and be aware that sometimes we cannot do everything.
7. Go to the psychologist
The most useful advice we can follow when our problems and negative thoughts continue to persist is go to a qualified psychology professional to provide us with their services to overcome any adversity.
In the consultation of a specialized psychologist we will receive all kinds of useful guidelines, strategies and advice to manage negative thoughts, and we will also train useful psychological techniques related to the control of emotions and intrusive thoughts.
If you are looking for psychotherapy services, do not hesitate to contact us. In Cribecca Psychology We can assist you in person or online by video call.
