People often try to
eliminate our negativity by avoiding it by doing other things so we don't have
to think about it or try to stop it, which causes a more amplified action of
the problem in ourselves. Our negative thoughts can be extrapolated to any area,
from our self-esteem, personal growth, work, social and as a couple.
In this way, these bad
thoughts are based on an internal battle that we do not know how to manage and
the only thing we do to avoid being sad, anxious or depressed is to replace
that feeling with actions that make us forget those negative phrases for a
while. Once you have finished that action that makes you forget the negativity,
you will be the same or worse again, because the truth is that you are not
facing yourself, you are not allowing yourself to feel, or facing the situation
as you really should. Therefore, now is the time to transform those negative
thoughts.
What are negative thoughts?
At first it is
difficult to discern between the different types of thoughts that exist in your
mind. The first step to control negative thoughts will be to differentiate when
our brain is full of negative messages and when it is not. According to various
investigations into the psychology of thought, negative thoughts are identified
as those that are repetitive and arise in a generalized way in the face of any
type of problem.
That is, when the
thoughts of life in general follow a pattern where the negative phrases are
continuous both from yourself and from the environment, it is very likely that
you suffer from these negative thoughts. Also, when these recurring negative
thoughts can be a symptom of a mental illness, such as depression, anxiety
disorders, among others. Although not all people who have a negative thought
suffer from a mental illness, the reality is that this type of attitude can
affect the quality of your life.
Why does my head think things I
don't want to think?
These bad thoughts can
come from different causes. This type of uncontrollable negative thoughts
according to psychology have the following causes.
●
Fear of the future: In the vast majority of
cases, people end up fearing the unknown and especially the uncertainty that
can prevent the future. That is why to change negative thoughts, you must leave
behind these types of fears that come from events that we cannot control.
●
Anxiety about the present: Negative thoughts
and anxiety are closely related. In this way, many people are continually
concerned about what they think of them or the events that may happen in their
environment. This type of fear and recurring negative thoughts stem from the
fear of losing control in life.
● Shame for the past: On
many occasions recurring negative thoughts are preceded by certain situations
in the past. So much so that there are people who live in the past because of
these negative automatic thoughts. Therefore, in order to change negative
thoughts into positive ones, you must let go of all past mistakes.
These may be some of
the main causes why the change of thinking in people is important. Each of the
negative phrases that we put in our minds can slow us down in our development.
Effects of
uncontrollable negative thoughts
Negative thinking has
a link to brain activity. So much so that according to various investigations
from the National Institute of Mental Health it was found that there were many
differences between a brain of a person with positive thoughts and another with
negative thoughts. In this way, it was mainly observed that these thoughts had
the following effects on people.
●
Reconfiguration of neural networks: One of the
main effects of negative thoughts is the reconfiguration of the structure of
our brain. In this way, the recurring negative messages end up reinforcing more
and more that we are more and more pessimistic. Therefore, the longer you wait
to change, the more difficult it will be to restore this type of attitude.
●
Increases the probability of making bad
decisions: Negative thinking makes us feel bad. In these cases, it has been
proven that activity in the area related to self-control, judgment and planning
is reduced in the brain. Therefore, recurring negative thoughts end up
increasing the chances of making bad decisions.
● More likely to have a
mental illness: It is obvious that one of the main reasons why people want to
change negative thoughts is precisely because of the link they have with mental
illness. The more negative thought phrases you have in mind, the chances of
having more mental problems such as depression, anxiety, or stress will
increase.
These may be some of
the main effects bad thoughts have on your brain. In reality we could say that
there are many more consequences of these recurring negative thoughts.
Negative thoughts and anxiety
In many cases negative
thoughts and anxiety are related. In fact, anxiety can and can be caused by
recurring thoughts with negative content. On the one hand, people with anxiety
tend to worry about what will happen in their future. Instead, there is also
rumination, which consists of having negative thoughts about something that
happened in the past.
These two forms of
negative thoughts are characteristic of anxiety. For this reason, people who
often have these types of recurring thoughts may end up developing an anxiety
disorder or suffering from it.
How to eliminate negative thoughts?
Changing these types
of attitudes in us can be very difficult at first. The reason is precisely that
we have created a habit in our brain and it is very difficult to get out of the
way we are. Despite this, there are certain strategies to eliminate negative
thoughts that will help you change them into positive and encouraging messages.
According to psychologists, to know how to avoid negative thoughts or change
negative thoughts, you can do the following.
●
Recognize the pattern: The thoughts that
generate negativity in ourselves are usually linked to patterns or repetitions
of involuntary acts that generate depression, stress, shame, etc. In order not
to fall into these emotions, it is necessary to analyze what patterns generate
them for us, how and when they occur and why they tend to attract us. Once we
have identified them, it is time to go back. Listen to your real thoughts and
don't allow yourself to act automatically like you're used to. You have the
option to choose and think about how you want to feel in that situation. It is
not the same to answer the question "What day is today?" with a
“Horrible, it's raining!, then to say “Okay, it's just raining”. Negative
thoughts are normal, the problem is when we believe it and magnify it.
Therefore, in order to know how to remove negative thoughts, it is essential to
recognize the pattern that leads us to them.
●
Focus on your senses: Negative thoughts do not
appear out of nowhere. Most of them are given by two factors that we must take
into account: 1) By factors that come from the past; and 2) Due to factors that
worry us about our future. These two aspects are usually two of the most
frequent causes of stress in individuals, generating anguish and discomfort.
When we are absorbed in our negative thoughts we stop seeing reality. It's like
when we put a carrot in front of a donkey, it will only see the carrot, which
is what it wants to get, but it will be letting everything around because it
only cares about the food. The same happens with negative thoughts. Are you so
worried about it raining? You can have a great day despite the rain with many positive vibes but you are missing
out because you are only focusing on the fact that it rains. To avoid falling
into these recurring negative thoughts, it is recommended to focus on our
senses. Focusing on the things we see, hear, hear and even what we touch. Being
one hundred percent in everything that happens will allow us to put negativity
aside and have full attention in the present that we are living.
●
Practice mindfulness: As we grow older and
older, our lives become more complicated, with which our fears, anxieties, and
hopes are magnified. Therefore, negative thinking is much easier for it to reach
us and settle in our minds for a long time. Practicing full attention or
mindfulness can help us a lot, managing to strengthen our consciousness and
taming our mind. In fact, it has been shown that meditation on a regular basis
allows us to reduce our stress on a daily basis and allows us to know how to
eliminate the negative thoughts that affect us so much.
●
Rationalize your negative thoughts: Sometimes
the best way to realize that we are being or thinking negatively is to ask
ourselves the right questions to help us discover what is happening to us: Is
it true? Is this thought helping me? What do I really want? How can I get out
of the situation to my advantage? How could I make this thought more positive?
As a result of these questions we will be able to make constructive decisions
about what we want and move forward on the right path. Thanks to this process
of rationalizing uncontrollable negative thoughts, we will be able to avoid
their most destructive consequences for our lives.
●
Keep a thought journal: Although it requires a
lot of effort, keeping a thought journal can be a very effective way to kill
each of these automatic thoughts that come to mind. To do this, you must write
down each day how you have felt and what have been the bad thoughts or positive
messages that have dominated the actions of your day. In this way you will be
able to better identify and understand each of the thoughts that come to your
mind.
●
Do not try to eliminate your negative
thoughts: One of the main mistakes we make when facing these bad thoughts is
precisely to try to interrupt them completely. The problem with trying to do
this is precisely that the more you try to eliminate them, the stronger they
will become. Therefore, it is vital to change these negative thoughts to try to
rationalize or understand them.
● Talk about them:
Although it is much better to share positive messages than negative thoughts,
the reality is that telling your concerns to others will make you better in
many ways. In this way, talking about them with another person will allow you
to keep each of the negative automatic thoughts at bay. You can share them both
with your friends or even with a professional psychologist with whom you can
learn many more techniques or strategies to eliminate negative thoughts.