#selfimprovement #mindset #positivity #mentalhealth #personalgrowth #overcomingobstacles
Are you struggling to shut off those negative thoughts that keep creeping up in your mind, holding you back from achieving your goals and living your best life? You are not alone. Negative self-talk and past mistakes can be a major roadblock in our journey towards success and happiness. But fear not, because there are practical solutions that can help you shift your focus towards the good things you have and silence those pesky negative thoughts.
## Recognize the Patterns
### 😞 Identify the Trigger
Negative thoughts often stem from specific triggers such as stress, fear, or past experiences. By recognizing what triggers your negative thoughts, you can take proactive steps to address them before they spiral out of control.
### 🔄 Challenge the Narrative
When negative thoughts start to creep in, challenge them with positive affirmations or counterarguments. Remind yourself of your strengths, accomplishments, and the good things in your life that you are grateful for.
## Practice Mindfulness
### 🧘♀️ Ground Yourself
Engage in mindfulness practices such as meditation, deep breathing, or yoga to bring yourself back to the present moment and quiet the noise in your mind. Focus on the sensations in your body and the sounds around you to anchor yourself in the now.
### 🌿 Gratitude Journaling
Start a gratitude journal where you can write down three things you are grateful for each day. This practice can shift your focus towards the positive aspects of your life and cultivate a sense of appreciation.
## Surround Yourself with Positivity
### 🌟 Positive Influences
Surround yourself with people who uplift you and support you in your journey towards self-improvement. Avoid toxic relationships or environments that feed into your negative thoughts.
### 📚 Inspirational Content
Fill your mind with inspirational books, podcasts, or videos that promote positivity and personal growth. Consuming uplifting content can help reframe your perspective and inspire you to focus on the good in your life.
Remember, shutting off negative thoughts and focusing on the good you have is a journey that requires persistence and self-compassion. Be patient with yourself and celebrate small victories along the way. You have the power to take control of your mindset and create a more positive and fulfilling life for yourself. 🌈 #mentalwellness #yougotthis #positivemindset
I had a pretty rough 2023 with depressive episodes as a result. I’m writing diary, do meditations, work out and go to therapy. I have the feeling it’s getting better.
Don’t take my word, but I’m a medic student, been an emt for 5 years, seen some shit but I would consider myself emotionally stable.
It takes practice to counter negative thoughts, usually with positive thoughts. I’ve also read about giving negative thoughts a silly voice in your head.
Take care of your mind: sleep well, eat healthy, hydrate, exercise, don’t purposely ruminate.
Another important factor for me is to be true to myself, meaning if I make a mistake, I’ll own up to it, learn from it and tell myself I went in with good intentions. Be kind to yourself, talk yourself down from bad emotions and breathe
The human mind is fascinating. Most of the times, negative thoughts are a product of our brain attempting to keep us safe by overreacting. Trying to stop a thought, either positive or negative, has been proven nearly impossible. Like if someone tells you “don’t think about a pink elephant”, your mind ignores the “don’t” command and just goes ahead and thinks of a nice pink elephant. Because of this, it is best to distract your brain with something else to think about. A diversion like a game that requieres your full attention, listening to affirmations, or a hobby that takes you into flow. Whenever my thoughts are getting on the negative side, I listen to affirmations from YouTube while I’m working on my job search. That puts me in a better mental state and I’ve noticed the results in how cover letters come up written
For me, ssri’s really helped turn down these voices. Basically it’s enabled me to ignore day to day stress that I cannot control. I tend to not get locked into any drama at work, unless is it truly important.
It’s a little numbing, but in a good way, for me.
If you start ssris, I suggest you make a short term and long term gameplan. Many people with anxiety get an initial euphoria energy and focus, but this only lasts a few weeks before stabilizing. Plan ahead for this, and start new habits on day one. You are more likely to continue a gym habit if you attend for four weeks, and you’ve got over the initial hump.
Also, try to keep low dose. Healthy active and curious lifestyle are more powerful than ssris, and low doses should be used as a tool to achieve this lifestyle.
All personal anecdote; not a doctor.
Calling an emotion by its name can help lessen its grip on you. Saying “hello self doubt” or “hello anxiety” when they arise can help create space between you and the thought. Then you’ll realize you don’t have to ruminate in these thoughts and can choose to focus on what you need.
It’s not infallible but sometimes you just need that little bit of space.
Decide that you want to develop serious mental and physical health issues.
Or, decide that you want to develop your self worth. And stop giving a shit about what the people introducing, and encouraging these thoughts, either think or say about you.
It sounds like you have a vast wealth of experience to draw from. Suppressing that history is the last thing you should do.
Own it.
Mediation and practice.
Turning off the talk and judgement is the path to enlightenment. Try meditation, sit quietly and focus on your breathing. Start with a couple minutes and add on to that. When the thoughts come back in thank them for their help and return to focusing on your breathing. An alternative is to close your eyes and listen. Don’t apply labels to any of the sounds just accept them as they are.
Some books that might help: The Power of Now, Conversations With God.
Start a gratitude journal. The more you focus on things you are grateful for the more you will see to be grateful for.
This something my therapist and I have been working on the past few months. Two things that have helped me are:
1. My lock screen is a picture of a stop sign. If my thoughts are spiraling and I see it, I am able to stop the thought and move on to something else.
2. On Etsy I was able to get a bracelet stamped with the word STOP. The bracelet is on a black leather band with a a small metal plate. The word is not noticeable to others.Having a tactile reminder to stop the thought really helps in the middle of the when I have racing thoughts.
I hope you find something that works for you. Try to remember that depression/anxiety etc are lying a**holes! ❤️
Practice compassion to yourself and others, talk to yourself as you would to someone you love.
You can literally distract yourself from negative thoughts. There are a lot of methods like focusing on your breath or your surroundings. Just distract yourself for like 30-60 seconds, long enough to lose your train of thought, and don’t go back to it.
Take a moment to think of things you are actually grateful for and another moment to reflect on the beauty that actually exists in the world. It’s there.
It’s too easy to focus on what’s wrong or what you don’t have. It takes a conscious effort to practice gratitude.
Stoicism.
A tool with many uses.
Learn to ignore negative thoughts just like you would negative people.
Easier said than done though.
Try therapy! Let them know you want to work on this. They can help you!
Are you trying relaxing things if you can afford it like massage or a sound bath?
If not perhaps taking hot baths with candles could also help.
You need to prioritize your self care.
Read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Changed my life. Audiobook is even better. His voice is so relaxing.
Don’t beat yourself up about it. Observe these thoughts and let them float past. Once recognised, look to a positive thought.
Learning that there is scientific proof that meditation makes our [brain stronger](https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/guest-blog/what-does-mindfulness-meditation-do-to-your-brain/) was a game changer for me. The more I did it, the better I got at being able to direct my focus where I wanted it instead of being led around by random impulses. And at the same time my anxiety became much less intense.
Doing it first thing in the morning also is a great way to calibrate your mood back to something closer to neutral. I didn’t realize how much my mood could vary day to day. Some days I wake up frazzled and scattered, some days grouchy, some days I’m just unmotivated, others way too motivated…sitting quietly with your eyes closed and focusing on your thoughts and breathing for about 10 to 15 minutes really does set all of that back to zero. And it makes each day more productive and consistent.
Oppress your nervous system by overloading it. White noise, for example.
remember that thoughts are just thoughts. You made them and they can’t hurt you. And let them pass. That’s the whole point of meditation. Try reading 10% Happier. It’s a good western interpretation of the benefits of meditation.
Keep a diary of positive things that happen in the day (and who you are thankful for -not God) overtime you can build a habit of looking for the good things in life.
Magic mushrooms mannnnnn
But fr when i take them i do perceive negative aspects of myself, but in that state of mind there’s an overwhelming sense of love that sees those parts of you as obstacles you can overcome to better yourself
As someone who’s had mental health issues for an over a decade but also not a therapist and couldn’t afford therapy until just this year actually (excited to begin that journey!).
Find coping mechanisms that help you. Begin with allowing yourself to be kind to you, it’s a skill that needs to be honed. I’m sorry but the reality is for lasting change it won’t happen straight away but you’ll see progress over time and you’ll feel good seeing that within yourself (if you’re like me anyway).
Negative chatter for me is a response to traumas I experienced in my child and teenage years so I began responding to negative chatter by saying “I’m human. It’s okay to have made that mistake/feel this way/choose this boundary” etc that morphed over the years into “I’m me/I have made changes before, I can do this. Let’s try this…/I have felt this way and it passed, what may make me feel better is… /this is my mental health, not me, my coping strategies are…/I’m enforcing this boundary because…”
I think I probably have ADHD so I create space to engage with that part of myself and embrace it in a healthy way such as planning to do something I’m really interested in, allowing myself on bad days to do just one five minute thing then rewarding myself with something that gives me dopamine like gaming.
Distraction is a good coping mechanism at times but it doesn’t create lasting change, in my experience. Intersperse distraction with the less engaging parts you need to get on with. That way when those negative thoughts get overwhelming, you can have a break from them, process them and get back to being you.
As someone who’s had mental health issues for an over a decade but also not a therapist and couldn’t afford therapy until just this year actually (excited to begin that journey!).
Find coping mechanisms that help you. Begin with allowing yourself to be kind to you, it’s a skill that needs to be honed. I’m sorry but the reality is for lasting change it won’t happen straight away but you’ll see progress over time and you’ll feel good seeing that within yourself (if you’re like me anyway).
Negative chatter for me is a response to traumas I experienced in my child and teenage years so I began responding to negative chatter by saying “I’m human. It’s okay to have made that mistake/feel this way/choose this boundary” etc that morphed over the years into “I’m me/I have made changes before, I can do this. Let’s try this…/I have felt this way and it passed, what may make me feel better is… /this is my mental health, not me, my coping strategies are…/I’m enforcing this boundary because…”
I think I probably have ADHD so I create space to engage with that part of myself and embrace it in a healthy way such as planning to do something I’m really interested in, allowing myself on bad days to do just one five minute thing then rewarding myself with something that gives me dopamine like gaming.
Distraction is a good coping mechanism at times but it doesn’t create lasting change, in my experience. Intersperse distraction with the less engaging parts you need to get on with. That way when those negative thoughts get overwhelming, you can have a break from them, process them and get back to being you.
Practice. Took me 40 years and a lot of therapy.
I’m not great at the focusing on the good part but I literally just repeat “I’m not think about that” in my head and it usually helps me stop thinking the bad thoughts
Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F@#$ helped me a lot. It’s widely available for free as an audiobook, or on paper from your local library
I would say to stop trying to get rid of negative thoughts entirely and focus instead of adding more positive ones. Over time, as you add more and more positive thoughts, exercise gratitude, and hopeful thinking, that positivity takes up more space and leads to balance.
Step one: Acknowledge the thought
Step two: say it out aloud
Step three: realise that it is ok to have had that thought
Step four: reframe the thought to something more adaptive/positive/helpful
Step five: say that thought out aloud.
Step six: always remember that you are not your thoughts.
Based off of some mindfulness approaches
Good luck
My recommendation is to take a few minutes to meditate at the start of each day and think about what you are looking forward to during the day and maybe give yourself a little pep talk. At the end of the day, before you go to bed, take a few minutes to meditate on what you are thankful for about your day and your life. Verbalizing it is great, but if that seems weird at first, that is ok.
It takes practice but get into the habit of TALKING TO YOUR BRAIN back or thinking back against thoughts that pop in.
Example say you think sumn like “god I couldn’t do that I’m just not smart enough”, reply out loud or in your head with sumn like “actually, I TOTALLY COULD do that and I should, I’m not a dumbass I am actually really smart”.
Whatever, it doesn’t have to be amazing, but like, get into the habit of responding, because those thoughts are gonna pop up every now and then.
Imagine your thoughts like birds flying overhead. Be content with letting them fly around, even the ugly ones. Just don’t let them build a nest on your head.
Realise that thoughts aren’t necessarily true! However the emotion underlying those thoughts might be. For example: you might actually feel insecure and sad about something that happened. Instead of ignoring or denying those feelings, treat yourself with kindness. You wouldn’t ignore a crying child either, would you?
Surround yourself with positive thinking people. Avoid negative thinking people even if they are family or friends. No need to drop them, just reduce exposure.
Jump into a cold shower. Do the funny dance that everybody does when ice water hit them. Laugh at yourself and they are gone. Like that
Shutting them off is hard. Countering them though, that’s easy. Every thought is just that, a thought. The power you have is to whether or not you indulge them. It’s a mental game where you have to counter the bad with the good. Same exact process for those bad thoughts. I hope this helps.