STOP the "what if..."

[marheart]

Challenge negative thoughts

Validate positive thoughts

[Xena13]

I would love to hear more about what negative thoughts are being challenged and how people are doing this.

[marheart in reply to Xena13]

Distracting to other thoughts is what my Therapist says. Breathing, tapping, doing something so the mind goes to the project instead of the negativity.

The project can be getting dressed or cleaning the sink, etc.

As the depression increases in me lately, the negative thoughts take hold. That's when I do what I can to re write the mental script with a positive spin on it instead of thinking the worst. Easy to discuss, takes lots of energy to make it work with lots of practice.

You are on the right track asking others how they deal with challenging the negative. That's why this site is so helpful.

Let's keep asking and sharing.

[Absmister in reply to Xena13]

My therapist taught me to process negative thoughts properly and then create a new outlook. Turning them into a positive one. Like grief, first you are sad but over time you start to focus more on the good memories rather than just focusing on the negative ones. Worked wonders for my view on life! Aware of the negative, but I pay more attention to the positive side. Or in bad cases, try to keep the thought neutral.

[marheart in reply to Absmister]

Right on! Thank you for a concise explanation.

[Xena13 in reply to Absmister]

Good advice!!! How do you process negative thoughts properly?

[Absmister in reply to Xena13]

I've really thought about this question and I think, unfortunately, there is no simple answer. I imagine it differs from each individual and also depends on the type of negative thought. Different thoughts require different processes. When I had an anxiety disorder, recognising unwarranted negative thoughts was key to stopping them. For example, I'm worrying about silly things because maybe I had too much coffee, not much sleep and that takeaway from last night has upset my stomach. So that negative thought is not worth thinking about. Another example is when my family member passed away, I shut it away and started drinking. In later years this cam back to me, so I took the time to remember what happened. Went to his grave to speak with him and created some drawings to put my feelings on paper. After I was much calmer in general. Another type of thought was a person who had deeply hurt me in the past and had effected the way I approach people in the present. I again focused on what had happened and forgave that person. I figured out how there past had made him treat me badly and understood it wasn't about me at all. I become much more positive when meeting new people after that. I also once witnessed a brutal stabbing and struggled with the thoughts/nightmares. There was no way to see this as positive and so distracted myself with positive things when those thoughts came in. After time I found that I could just talk about it without panicking or getting emotional. But it would be naive for me to say this would be the same for everybody. So I guess it's about understanding yourself. It's never black and white with the brain! But life would be boring if it was

[marheart in reply to Absmister]

Important to see the bright side of life.

I'm striving to express gratitude at least once a day for an accomplishment. Nothing is too small.

[Janco]

Arrest and catch negative thoughts. Make them less

Confirm positive thoughts. Make them more.

[marheart in reply to Janco]

Right on!

[Kat63]

Have you ever read a book called “Feeling Good” by David Burns? That book really helps with this.