Managing Negative Thoughts

Negative thinking can contribute to many problems. Some of these problems include social anxiety, depression, stress, and low self-esteem. Although we all have unhelpful thinking from time to time, it’s important to not allow these thoughts to consume us in a way that leads to negative actions, emotions and behavior.

The key to changing your negative thoughts is to understand how you think now (and the problems that result), then use strategies to change these thoughts or make them have less of an effect. Therapy can often be helpful for changing negative thoughts, but you can also learn how to change your thought patterns. Below are some steps you can take to change your negative thoughts.

Identify Negative Thought Patterns

One of the first steps in managing negative thoughts is to identify when they occur. Below are common types of negative thinking patterns.

Jumping to conclusions-This distortion involves making assumptions about what others are thinking or making negative assumptions about how events will turn out.

Black and white thinking- This involves viewing yourself as a complete failure or success in every situation.

Catastrophizing- This pattern is characterized by always assuming the worst in every situation without considering more likely and realistic outcomes.

Overgeneralization- This negative pattern applies what happened in one situation to all future situations. This can make negative experiences seem unavoidable and contribute to feelings of anxiety.

Personalization and blame- This thought pattern involves taking things personally, even when they are not. It often leads people to blame themselves for things they have no control over.

Replace Negative Thoughts

Once you have identified and labeled your negative thoughts, it’s important to find evidence that either helps to replace or contradict these thoughts. Doing this can help you challenge negative thinking and explore alternatives that are more helpful and realistic.

Here are some things to consider when trying to replace or contradict your negative thoughts.

Ask yourself, is this useful or useless? Is it helpful or hurting you to think about yourself in this way?

Take a minute and think about where this thought is coming from- Is this how you’ve been described by others? Is this something you were told about yourself?

Actively challenge the thought and look for alternative explanations- Think of what you'd gain versus what you'd lose by continuing to believe the thought.

Notice when you label other people in similar ways- As humans, we have a tendency to be hard on others if we are also hard on ourselves. Pay attention to your thoughts and how you react when others makes mistakes.

Journal Your Thoughts

Writing down your negative thoughts and feelings is a great way to understand them more clearly. When you have a problem and you're stressed, keeping a journal can help you identify what’s causing that negative thought or stress. Once you’ve identified them, you can work on a plan to resolve the problems and reduce your stress. Look at your writing time as personal relaxation time. It's a time when you can de-stress and wind down. Write in a place that's relaxing and soothing, maybe with a cup of tea. Look forward to your journaling time. And know that you're doing something good for your mind and body.