Saed News: Throughout the day, thousands of thoughts occupy our minds, and many of them are negative thoughts. You are probably also looking for solutions to free yourself from negative thoughts. So, read this article till the end.
According to the Family Magazine Service of Saed News, getting rid of negative thoughts in the early stages can be a bit difficult for individuals who are not familiar with mental control processes. However, with a little practice, you can identify incorrect thought patterns and turn negative thoughts into positive ones, inviting beautiful and pleasant events into your life.
Many people think their thoughts are positive, when in fact, they are not. Therefore, the most important thing you need to learn is to identify your negative thoughts. Once you become familiar with mind control, you can easily catch yourself in the act and control your thoughts. So, how can we get rid of negative thoughts? Below, we introduce ways to free yourself from negative thoughts:
Mindfulness is one of the ways to control the mind, and it can be achieved through meditation. In meditation, try to focus on the present moment and avoid creating stories about future events. Use deep and calm breathing to direct your attention to the inner world of your body and refrain from thinking about the outside world and its events. Start with just 5 minutes a day, play calming music, light incense, and either lie down or sit with your eyes closed. Focus on your gentle breaths, inhale positive energies, and exhale negative energies. Try not to think about anything—just let go.
There are many negative thought patterns that need to be recognized in different situations to prevent their repetition. Here are a few common negative thought patterns:
One negative thought pattern is seeing everything in black and white. This means you either experience success or failure. Focus on being your best self, rather than thinking you must succeed at all costs. Success means being a better version of yourself than before.
Another mistake is jumping to conclusions. People often make assumptions about others' words and behaviors or imagine negative outcomes before events even happen.
Catastrophizing is when a person imagines the worst possible scenario without considering more realistic alternatives.
Another negative thought pattern is when someone has one bad experience and then generalizes it to all future experiences.
Labeling is the most common negative thinking pattern, where a person gives themselves a negative label, such as "I'm terrible at math" or "I'm unlucky."
This process can be done either with the help of a therapist or on your own. The idea is to identify your negative thoughts, logically challenge them, and replace them with positive ones. Although thinking in this new style may be difficult at first, with time and practice, you will naturally start having positive and logical thoughts.
Ask yourself:
Is this thought realistic?
What do I gain or lose if I continue thinking this way?
What negative thought pattern does this idea stem from?
Also, keep in mind that you should replace negative thoughts with more realistic positive thoughts, because overly positive thoughts may be hard for your mind to accept. For example, if you're thinking "I'm a failure" or "I'm going to fail," don't replace it with something like "I know I'll succeed." Instead, try saying, "I don't know if I can do this, but I’ll try my best."
There are many ways to free yourself from negative thoughts, as found in books and online, but still, many people ask, "How can we get rid of negative thoughts?" Here's a practical solution that has worked for many.
Throughout the day, we have many thoughts in our minds, some of which are negative. To quickly clear these thoughts, the best method is to write them down.
Whenever a bad thought enters your mind and you can’t seem to get rid of it, take a pen and paper and write down the thought. Ask yourself why you're thinking it, what consequences it could have if you continue thinking this way, and what benefits you'd get if you stopped it. Write everything that comes to mind, and at the end, ask God to guide you to the best path. When you "talk" to God through writing, it helps you feel at peace, as if you've taken those thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
After writing, immediately engage in an activity so that the bad thought doesn’t come back. Go for a walk, cook, read a book, take a shower, call family or friends, listen to upbeat music, and use positive words and phrases throughout your day. These may seem like small things, but when combined, they lead to positive results. Try this method, and share in the comments how you get rid of negative thoughts.
Our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are all interconnected. In the real world, many wrong beliefs we developed in childhood are the root cause of negative thinking. So, what are negative thoughts? For any issue in our surroundings, there are two perspectives: a positive or optimistic view, and a negative or pessimistic view. When a person focuses on the negative aspect of something, their mind fills with negative thoughts.
For example, if you're a mother and your child is late coming home from school, a movie, or sports, and you're a negative thinker, you'll likely create various negative scenarios in your mind, such as "What if something happened? What if they got into an accident? What if someone harmed them?" Instead of focusing on positive thoughts, such a mother would focus on the worst-case scenario, even though she could have viewed the situation differently.
Negative thoughts can arise about ourselves, others, and the events around us, and are often accompanied by unpleasant emotions, behavioral consequences, physiological responses, and health problems.
When a person is unable to control their negative thoughts and it disrupts their life, they should seek help from a psychologist or therapist. Most methods of treatment and control of negative thoughts boil down to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where unhealthy thoughts and behaviors are identified and changed.
If you've become negative due to being fired from a job, losing a loved one, etc., it's completely natural, and you can return to normal by seeking help from a counselor.
You might ask, "How can we stop negative thoughts?" The truth is, you can't completely stop negative thoughts, and no one can control their thoughts 100% of the time. However, with practice, you can reduce the frequency of negative thoughts. Reducing your moments of distress requires regular and consistent practice. Focus on the beauty, positivity, and good things in your life. Give thanks every day for the beautiful blessings you have so your mind is focused on the positive.
For quick relief from negative thoughts, imagine a "Stop" sign in your mind. As soon as negative thoughts come to you, visualize a red "Stop" sign and replace them with positive thoughts.
As mentioned earlier, the root of negative thoughts starts at a young age. This could be from being ignored, encountering the first bully, being labeled as a bad or lazy student, being told you’d never succeed, etc. Negative thinking is often subtly planted in families, friendships, work, and schools.
Negative thinking can also stem from several mental health disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), depression, or other psychological conditions.
Three main causes of negative thinking are:
Fear of the future: Some people fear the unknown and are anxious about the future, causing them to catastrophize by predicting failure and bad events.
Anxiety about the present: Anxiety about current situations is common, such as worrying about how others perceive you, whether you are performing well, or what to do if you're late due to traffic.
Shame from the past: Negative thinkers often focus on past mistakes and failures, constantly revisiting those memories and blaming themselves.
We know that sometimes it's very difficult to get rid of negative thoughts, no matter how hard we try. So, what works in these situations?
One of the best solutions is to talk to yourself. It may sound funny, but it really works. Start by counteracting your negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Recall times when you had these negative thoughts, but no bad event happened. Reflect on the good events in your life, the wonderful people around you, your savings, the food you have, etc., and thank God for them. In just a few minutes, you'll realize that you've defeated your negative thoughts, and your mood will improve.
Use this technique whenever you need it because it truly works. When negative thoughts are overwhelming, remind yourself of the good things, beautiful moments, and your blessings.
