How do I prevent negative thinking?
Anonymous
on
Jul 7, 2016
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To prevent negative thinking, it is important to notice when you are having such thoughts. We often keep thinking negatively without even consciously noticing.
Next step is to challenge your thoughts rationally:
Why are you thinking that way? What makes you support your answer?
Next part in the plan is to try to assess your faults and flaws and see if there are a chance if improvement. Also, it is healthy to remember we are all just flawed pieces of living being, hence there's no such term as perfect! Be happy the way you are amd see what good you can find even in that negativeness.
Again, look for positive aspects in your life, read a lot of positive quotes, watch lots of motivational videos..Hope it will help.
Dealing with intense emotions?
Anonymous
on
Jul 13, 2016
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Refer the 7 cups guides on Managing Emotions, Grief, Anxiety, Depression, Lonliness, Panic Attacks to learn some nice strategies of dealing with negative thinking. You may not find them anywhere else.
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Lesichka
on
Jul 27, 2016
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I have personally struggled with my own negativity so much. I forgot how to self talk and hear my own voice without hearing my negative and war faring ego! So much had to be said to myself to stop the negativity voice inside of my head that branches to my mouth so quickly. I am starting to conquer the negativity demon by actually saying the opposite of what is appearing in my head. For example: I want to become a better person and wife. I start saying to myself and also out loud "I will be a better person and a wife by being open minded, caring, respectful, loving, understanding, correctable and moldable". Now where I have noticed that where I struck out constantly was saying this instead : "I WILL NOT be a bad person. I will not be saying mean things. I will not, I will not." When you wish for something you do not want...you end up getting it anyway due to it counter acting the positive! Even when you think you do not deserve to be positive- that is the negative aspect telling you that. Everyone deserves it! Please remember this and steer clear from my mistake.
Anonymous
on
Nov 24, 2017
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Negative thinking reflects a negative belief, a strong hold on something out of fear and worry.
It is the first step if you know you are thinking negative, and celebrate you will be soon out of it.
You just need some wise choices and a little practice of making your choice automated so that next time you don't get trapped!
What I do is use '5 seconds rule' by Mel Robbins which suggests count 5 4 3 2 1 backwards and then plant a good thought/ incident. Don't wait for more than 5 seconds to start acting.
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enigmaticMoment64
on
Jul 1, 2016
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A lot of negative thinking is a habitual action. There are thought cycles that repeat themselves once they are triggered by a certain event. Recognizing them and catching yourself when you go down a common route "wait, I already know that one!" can help you to end them early.
The other huge part is to make a conscious effort to introduce more positive, proactive thinking. You can do this by a number of ways, and the most important part is that think something positive so that too can become a "habitual cycle" eventually.
It can really help to think of it as talking to yourself as you would to a friend - would you beat your friend down if they had a bad day? Or if something didn't go the way they wanted to? Wouldn't you rather encourage them and empathize with them?
It can also help to actively use affirmation, that is positive phrases you have for certain situations. It is good to think of a few beforehand so you can just use them when you need to. "Even if I feel tired and sick, I still love myself". (even if you aren't fully believing it right now)
It can also help to see "failures" as chances for action. Positive thinking is not thinking everything is good - it is about making the best out of the situation. Think about what you can control in your life.
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SMStar
on
Jul 13, 2016
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1) Stop thinking in extremes
2) Stop over-generalizing the negative
3) Don't minimize the positive
4) Stop mindreading
5) Stop taking all the responsibility
6) Stop forcing your own rules on life
7) Stop making stuff up and believing it
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chiotchae
on
Sep 7, 2016
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It's easy for us to get side tracked and think negative. It's hard to think positive sometimes; however if you believe in yourself and tell yourself that life goes on, you can get through it! We should always look at the bright side of things, because negative thinking will only make us lose hope and bring us down. Instead of constantly thinking about a mistake you made and filling yourself up with regret and sadness, think of it as a tool to help you become stronger and knowledgeable. Just like that, you can try thinking about the good side of things
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Michaelangilo
on
Oct 11, 2016
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To avoid thinking negative, you have to get in touch with your feelings - If you feel sad, angry, jealous or something of the sort because of a thought - You know that the thought is negative, at that moment you think about the best happy thought you can, something that makes you positive- a laughing baby, a funny moment, or being grateful. It is not hard but not easy also - But once you a hang of it, it will give you wonders.!!
Anonymous
on
Jan 29, 2017
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Every time you have a negative thought you combat it with a positive thought. Do not let your mind get overrun with negativity - use positivity as a weapon. Negative thinking is something that you acquire over a period of time thinking negatively, and in order to combat it you must you positivity. I find that surrounding myself with positive quotes, items that make me happy, or talking to someone I trust helps to distract me from negative thoughts when I'm not feeling well enough to fight back. If you want to fight the darkness you turn the light on!
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HiddenSoul1714
on
Dec 29, 2017
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One way that can help is when your mind seems to wander off into a negative view, look at the situation in a bigger perspective and list all the positives. Another way you can try and completely prevent it is to look at everything in an optimistic light. When something bad happens, smile and tell yourself you can do it. If you fail in something, tell yourself that what mostly matters is you get back up.
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JennMarie2
on
Mar 22, 2020
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Negative thoughts can be a big burden in our day to day lives. Although it is hard to prevent negative thoughts altogether, one of my favorite techniques to deal with negative thoughts is to redirect yourself whenever you feel the onset of these negative thoughts and feelings. So when you catch yourself starting to have the negative thoughts, whatever they may be, you can train your brain to recognize the thought, and then do something else. For example, the way I use this theory is when I catch myself having these negative thoughts I straighten up my room. If it doesn't need straightening then i vacuum the house. Simple things like that can help you to train your brain to move away from the negative thoughts.
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PeacefulFlute74
on
Jun 22, 2016
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I found that learning about Learned Helplessness and Learned Optimism helped me tremendously. I couldn't just eliminate my negative thinking, I had to learn what to replace it with. I had to learn what healthier thinking would look like to know what to do instead.
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Lizzy013
on
Jul 15, 2016
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To prevent negative thinking, identify three positives for every negative. By forcing yourself to come up with positive outcomes, it allows you to see the larger picture that may be blocked by negative thoughts.
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sereneHoney26
on
Aug 18, 2016
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Always remind yourself, negative thought doesn't help you in problem solving, it will cause the situation become worst. Therefore, please stand up and be rational, think what can you do to solve the problem or make bad situation become. Better. Feel free to chat with me. Thanks!
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ListeningOak
on
Dec 23, 2016
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First acknowledge that you are having negative thoughts, you can't being to prevent something if you don't accept that it's something that is occurring.
Second you create a replacement system, when faced with an unpleasant thought you consciously replace it with a more positive thought. This can be as simple as imagining an image you love until your mental voice stops or forcing it to tell a different narrative, replacing "I couldn't" with "I tried hard, now I'm going to succeed because of that gained knowledge"
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supportivebutterfly1
on
Oct 11, 2017
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Negative thinking is a cycle. I have found the key is to imagine your thoughts pass by like clouds, or imagine throwing your "negative or worry thoughts" into water and letting it wash away. The more you think about them, the more they reappear. Whatever thoughts you are having, no matter how strange or scary they might be, I promise someone else have felt that way, and they delt with it, as can you.
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oliviaheretolisten
on
Mar 30, 2018
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Understand that you are an endless being of possibility. The possibility on one hand, of reinforcing your negativity, or on the other hand, to prove every ounce of your body's doubt wrong.
Anonymous
on
Sep 22, 2019
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Surround yourself with things that make you happy, and that bring you joy. Deconnect with negative people and find a small thing, like a quote or a song, that will cheer you up when you think something negative!
For example: whenever you feel like a sad or negative thought crawls up in your mind, don't try to passively get out of it. Rather actively put your mind to something positive. Create art, do sports, listen to the "Happy" playlist on spotify. Create something and surround yourself with happiness and joy. Find things that interest you and invest your energy in this.
Anonymous
on
Apr 9, 2020
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It is no secret that negative thinking is part of almost everyone’s life. For some reason, it seems it is easier to think negative thoughts, than to think positive thoughts.
Some techniques i have read about and tried some are: Practice becoming aware of when these thoughts come up. When we try to ignore negative thoughts, they don’t go away, they continue to pop up. To counteract them, recognize them. When catching yourself thinking negatively, consciously, try to think of something else, something positive and uplifting. Think often about the goods things you have in your life, and less about the bad things. Look at the filled part of the glass, not at the empty part, even if the empty is greater than the full. Align your thinking with your actions so that you dont have time to dwell in the negative thoughts.
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MeditationIV
on
May 26, 2021
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Here's a very cool tip that I recently came across. It requires self-awareness and some determination, but I have no doubt that anybody asking this question already has both of those in their arsenal. So here we go:
The next time you catch yourself in the early stages of negative thinking (for example; rumination, worry, anticipatory anxiety, etc.), try to fill your short-term memory with something neutral and arbitrary. For example, rather than allowing yourself to continue going down a path of worry, start counting instead!
Start from 1, and go all the way up to 50... or 100... or 250... Or, go from 1-30 and then from 1-30 again. You can also try different sets, like listing colors, or listing months. You could even do these in different languages to add some greater mental exercise in there.
As a bonus challenge, you could also combine listing with positive associations by, for example, listing your favorite things - foods, places, songs, films, etc... :)
Hope this tip helps some of you out there the way it's been helping me!
Love,
forestfires87
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