Negative thoughts can be overwhelming and can have a significant impact on one’s mental health. In this article, we will explore 7 ways to overcome negative thoughts and improve overall well-being. The tips range from recognizing cognitive distortions and building distress tolerance to changing the perception of the problem or reframing, self-soothing coping skills, releasing judgments, and expressing thoughts and feelings.
By implementing these techniques, individuals can take control of their thoughts and emotions, leading to a more positive outlook on life. Through this article, readers can gain valuable insights into how to overcome negative thoughts and improve their mental health.
Key Takeaways
- Recognize cognitive distortions and challenge negative thoughts
- Build distress tolerance and take control of emotions
- Reframe problems, practice self-soothing coping skills, release judgments, and express thoughts and feelings to overcome negative thinking.
Recognize Cognitive Distortions
One of the ways to overcome negative thoughts is to recognize cognitive distortions. People often have a tendency to think in extremes, which can harm their mental health. For instance, if someone does not reply immediately, they might assume that the person does not want to be friends with them anymore. This is an example of black and white thinking, which can reinforce negative thinking. It is important to be aware of such thoughts and distortions and challenge them.
To help build distress tolerance, individuals need to manage their internal emotional state in response to self-inducing factors, which can include negative thoughts. This requires the ability to take a step back, pause for a few moments or days, recenter oneself, and then take action. Keeping calm in the face of stress does not signify nonchalance towards the problem or suppressing one’s feelings. Instead, it allows individuals to feel in control of their emotions and behavior rather than letting their emotions control them. Being aware of what stress feels like in the body, such as labored breathing or tension in the neck or back, can help individuals regain control of their body and thoughts and make a decision on how to move forward.
Another way to overcome negative thoughts is by reframing the problem from one that is negative to one that is more hopeful. For example, instead of feeling defeated or powerless because of financial problems, individuals can try to apply for a scholarship, look for financial help from appropriate institutions, or work part-time while studying. Reframing problems gives individuals power because they are owning their problem instead of letting the problem own them.
Applying self-soothing coping skills can also help overcome negative thoughts. Examples of skills are affirmations, deep breathing, replacing thoughts with cognitive abilities, and grounding physical activities. It is important to release judgments about oneself and find healthy ways to express thoughts and feelings, such as talking to a close friend or loved one or writing them down in a journal.
By recognizing cognitive distortions and applying these seven ways to overcome negative thoughts, individuals can conquer unnecessary fear and hinderance to become their best selves.
Building Distress Tolerance
Distress tolerance is a person’s ability to manage their internal emotional state in response to self-inducing factors, which can include negative thoughts. Building distress tolerance requires the ability to take a step back, pause for a few moments or a few days to recenter yourself, and then take action. Keeping calm in the face of stress doesn’t signify nonchalance towards the problem or that you’re suppressing your feelings, but instead, it allows you to feel in control of your emotion and behavior instead of letting your emotions control you.
Some ways to help you build distress tolerance is to be aware of what stress feels like in your body. This may be labored breathing, tension in your neck or back, sweating, or clenched fists. These symptoms are normally felt before action is taking place, in between the stimulus (what is happening) and the response (how you act). You should take a moment to regain control of your body and thoughts and later make a decision on how to move forward. After all, you have the power to decide if you want to act in accordance with your temporary emotions and feelings or if you want to act based on healthy logic, your values, and what’s in your long-term best interest.
Changing the Perception of the Problem or Reframing
Linda and Charlie Bloom MSW suggest that reframing the problem from one that is negative to one that is more hopeful is another great way to overcome negative thoughts. One way of reframing is by redefining a problem as a challenge. For example, instead of feeling defeated or powerless because you have to give up your dream school due to financial problems, you can try to apply for a scholarship, look for financial help from appropriate institutions, or perhaps work part-time while studying. Reframing problems gives you power because you are owning your problem instead of letting the problem own you.
By changing the perception of the problem, individuals can break free from negative thinking patterns and start viewing challenges as opportunities for growth. This can help individuals feel more in control of their lives and lead to a more positive outlook. Reframing is a powerful tool that can be used to overcome negative thoughts and improve mental health.
Self-Soothing Coping Skills
Affirmations
Affirmations are short and powerful words that can assist in having positive thoughts. For instance, one can say, “I may not be in control of this situation, but I have control over myself, and that is enough.” Affirmations can help to calm the mind and reduce negative thoughts.
Deep Breathing
Deep breathing can help counter rapid and shallow breathing that occurs when one gets upset. It can make a person feel more relaxed and calm. One can try to inhale deeply, hold the breath for a few seconds, and then exhale slowly.
Replace Thoughts with Cognitive Abilities
If a person feels that their thoughts overwhelm them, they can try to put them aside for a little while and distract themselves with other cognitive-based abilities. For example, learning a new task, doing crossword puzzles, or sudoku can help to shift one’s focus away from negative thoughts.
Replace Thoughts with Grounding Physical Activities
According to psychosomatic literature by Wong, triggering thoughts that activate the fight-or-flight response can be reduced through positive physical touch and pressure. Some examples include counting one’s breath, bringing attention to both feet, and noticing how they feel on the ground, placing a hand on the heart, or touching something soft like a pet’s fur or a fuzzy blanket.
These grounding physical activities can help to calm the mind and reduce negative thoughts.
Overall, self-soothing coping skills can help a person overcome negative thoughts and reduce stress and anxiety. By incorporating these skills into their daily routine, a person can take control of their emotions and behavior and make decisions based on healthy logic, values, and what is in their long-term best interest.
Release Judgments
Negative self-talk can be incredibly damaging to one’s mental health, and it is important to learn how to release judgments that may be holding you back. Comparing oneself to an idealized version of themselves or to others can create a cycle of negative thinking, which can be difficult to break. Here are some ways to release judgments and overcome negative thoughts:
- Practice self-compassion: Be kind to yourself and recognize that everyone makes mistakes. Try to treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you would show to a friend.
- Challenge negative thoughts: When you notice negative thoughts creeping in, try to challenge them with evidence to the contrary. For example, if you are feeling like a failure, remind yourself of past successes and accomplishments.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness can help you stay present and focused on the current moment, rather than dwelling on negative thoughts or judgments.
- Seek support: Talking to a trusted friend or therapist can be a helpful way to release judgments and gain a new perspective on negative thoughts.
- Engage in positive self-talk: Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations, such as “I am capable and deserving of success.”
- Let go of perfectionism: Perfectionism can lead to a constant cycle of self-criticism and judgment. Recognize that it is okay to make mistakes and that perfection is not attainable.
By practicing these techniques, you can learn to release judgments and overcome negative thoughts, allowing you to live a happier and more fulfilling life.
Express Your Thoughts and Feelings
Negative thoughts can be overwhelming and can hinder one from being their best self. To overcome this, there are several ways to express thoughts and feelings. One effective way is to recognize cognitive distortions, such as black and white thinking, and challenge these thoughts.
Building distress tolerance is another way to manage negative thoughts. It involves taking a step back, pausing for a few moments or days, and then taking action. This allows one to feel in control of their emotions and behavior, instead of letting their emotions control them. Being aware of what stress feels like in the body, such as labored breathing or tension in the neck or back, can help one build distress tolerance.
Changing the perception of the problem or reframing it from a negative to a more hopeful one, can also help overcome negative thoughts. For instance, instead of feeling defeated or powerless because of financial problems, one can apply for a scholarship or look for financial help from appropriate institutions.
Self-soothing coping skills are another way to overcome negative thoughts. Examples of these skills include affirmations, deep breathing, replacing thoughts with cognitive abilities, and grounding physical activities.
Releasing judgments and finding healthy ways to express thoughts and feelings is also important. This can be done through talking to a trusted person or writing them down in a journal. Visual journals or recording thoughts to a phone recorder can also be helpful.
In conclusion, there are several ways to overcome negative thoughts and express thoughts and feelings. By recognizing cognitive distortions, building distress tolerance, changing the perception of the problem, applying self-soothing coping skills, releasing judgments, and finding healthy ways to express thoughts and feelings, one can conquer negative thoughts and be their best self.
Sponsorship by Endel
In the quest to overcome negative thoughts, one of the ways that can help is by applying self-soothing coping skills. These skills serve as the first aid for stressful thoughts and can make one feel more relaxed. Some examples of self-soothing coping skills are:
- Affirmations: These are short and powerful words that one can tell themselves to assist in having positive thoughts. For instance, one can say, “I may not be in control of this situation, but I have control over myself, and that is enough.”
- Deep Breathing: When one is upset, their breathing automatically becomes more rapid and shallow. Deep breathing can help counter this and make one feel more relaxed.
- Replace Thoughts with Cognitive Abilities: If one feels that their thoughts are overwhelming them, they can try to put them aside for a little while and distract themselves with other cognitive-based abilities such as learning a new task, doing crossword puzzles, or Sudoku.
- Replace Thoughts with Grounding Physical Activities: Triggering thoughts that activate the fight-or-flight response can be reduced through positive physical touch and pressure. Some examples one can try include counting their breath, bringing attention to both of their feet and noticing how they feel on the ground, placing a hand on their heart, or touching something soft like their pet’s fur or a fuzzy blanket.
In addition, Endel, backed by neuroscience technology, can help calm one’s mind to create feelings of comfort and safety wherever they go. Endel morphs music to the time of day, weather, heart rate, and location. It plays gentle sounds so that one can hit that deep sleep they so desperately need. The first 100 people to download Endel will get a free week of audio experience. Check out the description box for this exclusive offer.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Negative thoughts can be overwhelming and hinder individuals from being their best selves. However, there are ways to overcome these thoughts and take control of one’s mental health.
The first step is to recognize cognitive distortions, such as black and white thinking, and challenge these thoughts. Building distress tolerance is also important, which involves managing one’s emotional state in response to self-inducing factors. It is crucial to take a step back, recenter oneself, and then take action in a calm manner.
Changing the perception of the problem, or reframing, can also be helpful. Reframing a problem as a challenge, instead of a negative situation, gives individuals power and ownership over their problems. Applying self-soothing coping skills, such as deep breathing and cognitive distractions, can also assist in overcoming negative thoughts.
Releasing judgments and finding healthy ways to express thoughts and feelings, such as through journaling or talking to a trusted friend, can also aid in managing negative thoughts.
It is important to take care of one’s mental health and actively work towards overcoming negative thoughts. By implementing these seven ways, individuals can take control of their mental health and live a more positive life.
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