How to overcome negative thoughts in your day to day life.

Tips on how to overcome recurring negative thoughts.

In most cases, negative thoughts are not in themselves a psychological problem; they are just a reflection of a world in which things often don't work out the way we would like them to, or even what is in our heads.

Just as the world in general is not designed to fit our interests and preferences, mental processes, which are largely beyond our control, embody this diversity of good and bad experiences, and they do not have to correspond to each other.and do not necessarily correspond to our tastes.

However, there are cases in which negative and discomfort-generating thoughts become part of the problem. This happens particularly when we "get into a loop" and they become intrusive thoughts, which come to our minds again and again despite (or precisely because of) how bad they make us feel.

However, when faced with this kind of problem there are several things we can do. Here you will find some of these proposals in the form of tips to know how to overcome the negative thoughts that are repeated too much.

5 tips to learn how to overcome negative thoughts

The first thing you should know is that the most effective way to deal with problematic negative thoughts (ie those that generate a very intense discomfort and that are repeated too often) is to go to a psychologist.

It is not necessary to have developed a psychological disorder to benefit from professional support of this type: if you have significant difficulties in managing your emotions and the thoughts associated with them, turning to professionals is the best option. In this way you will have an expert who will supervise your particular case and design a psychological "training" program adapted to your characteristics and needs.

However, if you consider that the discomfort caused by negative thoughts does not constitute a problem that deserves psychological assistance, you can choose to introduce some changes in your daily life. Here you will find a summary of the most important and simple to apply, although you must keep in mind that achieving absolute control of your thoughts is impossible, for better or worse.

1. Do not try to keep your conscience clean of negative thoughts.

As I mentioned earlier, it is unrealistic to set out to block negative thoughts completely. But not only is it impossible, but trying to do so is counterproductive, because it leads us to put ourselves in a state of alarm in an attempt to police our own conscience. This leads us to predispose ourselves to attract to it those thoughts to which we give more importance, among them those we want to eliminate.among them those we want to eliminate.

2. Understand what gives you anxiety

You have been experiencing thoughts that produce stress or anguish in you for some time, but that does not mean that you understand. But if you come to understand the logic of appearance of those intrusive thoughts, you will subtract them power.

To do this, limit yourself to observing the content of the intrusive thoughts, just observe the content of those thoughts as if you were a third person taking note of what is going through your mind. taking note of what is going through your mind. In this way you will detect themes and generalities in the contents of those thoughts, and you will begin to see them not so much as an element of life that you cannot avoid, but as a construction of your mind, with its own stereotypes, narrative resources, simplifications, etc.

3. Keep a clear sleep schedule

One of the moments in which recurrent negative thoughts cause more havoc is when we are trying to fall asleep, with hardly any sensory stimuli to distract us from our thoughts and the predisposition to worry if we notice that there is something keeping us awake..

To minimize the chances of having problems in this regard, it is important to have a clear sleep schedule and, if we notice that it is difficult to fall asleep, get out of bed for 15 or 20 minutes and do some relaxing activity that is not physically or intellectually demanding before trying to sleep again.

4. Learn to "reset".

When you notice that you are in an anxious state that makes you ready to "go into a loop", do a simple activity that allows you to focus on what you are doing, do a simple activity that allows you to focus your attention on short term goals: go for a run, read, meditate, or do something else.Go for a run, read, meditate, etc. Think that it is not wasted time, but its beneficial psychological effects will allow you to focus and perform better when it comes to performing the tasks and responsibilities that you must fulfill.

5. Adopt a healthy lifestyle

People in good physical condition are less prone to suffer problems with the management of their emotions.. Eat well (without obsessing about diet), exercise regularly and take care of yourself in general.

Would you like the help of a psychologist?

If you notice that recurring negative thoughts significantly affect your quality of life, I suggest you contact me. I am an expert psychologist in cognitive-behavioral psychology and I attend online by video call or in person at my office in Madrid.