How to control negative thoughts: 7 Strategies that deactivate negative thoughts

How to control negative thoughts: 7 Strategies that deactivate negative thoughts
It is easy to fall prey to a dynamic of negative thoughts, especially when we have accumulated several and have generated an inertia that affects especially the filters we use to process information.

The thoughts we talk about can be linked in the same way that it makes a small snowball grow we let it roll downhill.

Thus, a small and innocent thought, released without consciousness or intention, can end up becoming a great colossus that contaminates all our emotions, behaviors and other thoughts.

Like the force of the ball that falls without control, bigger and bigger, faster and faster, negative thoughts drains us of energy and takes away our strength.

In addition, the more you give yourself to those negative thoughts, the stronger they become. Moreover, in the same way that it is more difficult to stop that small snowball when it has already rolled several meters over the valley and has gained in size, so is stopping a ball of negative thoughts that has already begun to roll.

"Thus, intervening in time to stop the rolling of the sphere can be a great strategy and then not have to make a great effort to achieve the same goal."

What to do with negative thoughts?

Life presents challenges, often without giving us a truce and without taking into account the resources, we have.

Having negative or defeatist thoughts before this scenario is normal. However, feeding them, retaining them or even pursuing them diminishes the quality of life and poisons the image we have of ourselves.

What need do we have to attack our self-esteem in this way?

"Negative thoughts form the walls of your own prison, a prison that you create for yourself. Freeing yourself from your prison is as simple as changing your way of thinking."

Negative thinking sometimes hurts and in many others conditions our behaviors.

It can make us act in a desperate way when there is no need or even encourage the possibility of throwing in the towel when for resources and skills we would still have a lot to say.

In short, negative thoughts often condition our decisions and not precisely for the better.

Know how to stop them in time

So, why do we feed negative thinking when we know it hurts us? The problem begins when we miss the first negative thoughts and do not treat them well.

In short, when the ball is small and has not contaminated everything it touches. For example, there are people who treat negative thoughts, or rather, the anxiety they produce by "mugging" the refrigerator.

A strategy that usually generates even more negative thoughts, in this case regarding our capacity for self-control and our body. With this type of thoughts another curious phenomenon occurs: even if you are aware that you have to forget that thought, it is very difficult to deactivate it.

The more you think about forgetting it, the more present you have it. Moreover, there you stay, ruminating an idea that not only makes you have a hard time, but can lead you to severely compromise your mental health.

How to control negative thoughts

Seven Strategies that deactivate negative thoughts

So, how do we eliminate this negative thought? Actually, you cannot avoid negative thinking altogether. Sometimes, negative thoughts are just a spark in our mind. When this happens, we must be aware, so that we can immediately recognize them and thereby know when we are thinking negatively.

"Only by being aware of our negative thoughts can we take measures to deactivate them."

The following strategies will allow you to deactivate negative thinking and facilitate the task of thinking positive.

1. - Observe your thought

Negative thoughts are usually the product of cognitive distortions, or irrational thought patterns. Observe them as if you were a spectator. If you do not let them take over your mind, they will simply dissipate.

Visualize them as if they were trunks that travel downstream. Eventually you will lose sight of them. Accept your negative thoughts and let them go.

You can also think that they are like clouds. You observe them but you do not judge them, in this way, you do not involve yourself emotionally and do not activate yourself physiologically.

You establish a distance between you and the thought and you realize that you are not your thought. For this, the mindfulness technique would be very beneficial.

2. - Rethink any question that you are ruminating

The ruminations are patterns of excessive thinking. When we ruminate an idea, we do it convinced that we can solve something just by thinking more about it. Something that, in general, is useless.

You must clear what is true in your thoughts and discard what you have created in your mind before you start looking for a solution. Do not be surprised if after eliminating fantasy you find that there is no problem, beyond what you have created yourself.

For this, the ideal is to observe the thought without judging it. Why? By judging it we get involved, we give it a judgment of subjective value. If we observe it without prejudice, we will see reality as it is. In this way, we will not go around thinking about one thing or another or making different movies in our minds that only lead us to states of sadness.

3. - Move and act physically on your thinking

When you find yourself caught in a negative thought, get moving. Changing the chip to awaken positive thoughts is not so easy when your mind is busy looking for the way to suffer. It is a great time to go for a walk, go for a run, dance or practice yoga. Do not stop to think-you have a very busy mind-just let your body take the reins and take your mind elsewhere.

Exercise increases serotonin levels and reduces cortisol, that is, increases happiness and reduces anxiety. Therefore, to get moving when negative thoughts invade us is a great idea that will undoubtedly bring us good results.

4. - Avoid triggers of negative thoughts

A song, an image, a reading, what you see on television, the company of certain people ... When you discover what stimuli trigger your negative thoughts, avoid them. In addition, to the extent that you can, replace them with others that awaken pleasant sensations in you. Do not torment yourself or make it harder.

5. Surround yourself with positive people and pleasant experiences

If what you see, what you hear and what you read is positive, if the people around you are positive, it will be easier to keep negative thinking away. Any negative thought trigger will be easier to deactivate if optimism surrounds you. The stimuli that accompany us in our day to day are very important at the time of general a good atmosphere. Therefore, the best thing is to try to look for that which brings us well-being.

6. - Repeat positive affirmations where before you thought in negative

Negative thinking is usually a learned habit. So, instead of letting yourself be invaded by any habitual negative thought, get into the habit of thinking positive in those circumstances. To remember or reinforce it, you can keep it in mind, written on paper, on your clothes, on the wallpaper of your computer or mobile phone, or even on your own skin.

7. - Remember that nobody is perfect and keep going

It is easy to stop in your mistakes. But the only thing you can do is learn from them and move on. Nothing is going to change no matter how much you ruminate. And if what awakens your negative thoughts is a weakness or a limitation, focus on your strengths and your virtues. If you cannot change what is there, make the most of what you have. We have the potential to learn from any situation no matter how bad it may seem. So if we make a mistake, instead of scourging us, we had better learn from it.

Thoughts will not last forever

Negative thoughts are fleeting and temporary, unless we do otherwise. They have no real power of their own, but they can do a lot of damage if we give them the opportunity to grow.

A thought has no other power than what you give it. Negative thoughts gain momentum when activated. Deactivating them later is a difficult task: it is no longer a thought; we are talking about a dynamic.

Each one is responsible for the way he has to manage his own thoughts. It does not matter why that thought arose: the important thing is that you can turn it off and that you can generate an adequate environment for that time of thoughts to be reduced. The key is to detect those negative thoughts before they have time to entrench themselves in your head and conquer allies.