Managing your negative thought processes is no simple feat, especially when they are a result of depression, anxiety, or other mental conditions. However, treating them is extremely crucial, or else they will start taking a toll not only on your health but also on your relationships with those you love and the people you see every day while at work or anywhere else.
Although psychotherapy is helpful to get rid of negative thoughts, everyone requires a different approach depending on their condition and triggers. If therapy doesn’t help, try these ways to manage your negative thoughts and prevent them from taking control of your life:
Martin Polanco on the different methods to keep the negative thoughts at bay
Identify thought distortions
Our minds have cognitive distortions to convince us of something that isn’t true. These distortions often lead to negative thoughts. If you can identify them, you can try to challenge them. Here are the most common distortions:
● Polarized thinking: Viewing things as all or nothing, with no in-between. This thinking is often called black and white thinking and leaves no grey area.
● Personalization: Blaming yourself for anything that goes wrong without evidence or logic.
● Filter thinking: Filtering out the positives and looking only at the negatives.
● Catastrophizing: Assuming the worst-case scenarios, no matter what.
Challenging negative thoughts
Whenever you have cognitive distortions, stop and analyze whether they are correct. Consider how you would react if a friend similarly says about himself. You would most probably correct him and provide a good base for the correction. Apply the same logic for yourself and ask if there are other possible outcomes for the distortions. According to Martin Polanco, this could be the best way to distract your mind and keep those negative thoughts away.
Take a break from negative thoughts
While it’s not easy to separate yourself from negative thoughts when they stem from anxiety or depression, you should try your best to take a break from them. If you have a negative thought, spend some time alone with the thought and then stop thinking about it. Try watching a good movie or read a book or enjoy your favorite activities. You can also indulge in the passion that you were planning to do for a long time. This could be the best remedy for stopping those negative thoughts from your mind.
Final Note
Breaking negative thought patterns can be hard; however, with conscious effort, you can stop them from taking a toll on your life and the people around you.
If you are having negative thoughts, whether they are caused by depression or anxiety, the experts can help you. They help people move forward in life as long as they have the desire to do so with psychotherapy, including effective anxiety therapy and for many other mental conditions. Get in touch with the best expert available near you today. You can easily look for a doctor or psychiatrist online and also know about them whether they are good enough or not.