Bad thoughts

[Nridley25]

Can anyone help me on how to get rid of negative thoughts that are overpowering ?

[blue1764]

I struggle with the same thing. Do things to distract yourself is the main thing. Go for a run, watch a movie, hangout with friends. Do stuff that makes you happy. Also focus on your breathing to lessen your anxiety. Meds also might help if your not already taking some. hope this helps!

[Beevee in reply to blue1764]

Hi. I learnt that distraction is similar to avoiding or doing something to not feel the anxiety. At best, this is a temporary fix. The way to recover is not by running away from the "tiger" but by drawing its bite. In other words, let yourself think and feel everything anxiety can throw at you (it's completely harmless just excessive adrenalin I.e. Fear flight response) and do absolutely nothing about it. The more you do this by practicing acceptance and rolling with the punches, less scary it becomes until the symptoms of anxiety which bother you will no longer matter and will fade away.

[Nridley25 in reply to blue1764]

Thankyou

[Beevee]

Let the thoughts come. Give them the space they crave and learn to observe them instead of getting involved. You can't stop them coming so there is no point in trying to force them out. The less you respect them, the sooner they will disappear. Bad thoughts are just an offshoot of anxiety and a release of excessive energy. Scary but perfectly normal under the circumstances. I often found that after exercising, those scary thoughts just weren't there which made me realise that it was anxiety producing these thoughts and I learnt to accept them and let them scare me. Over time, they lost their ability to grab my attention and melted away. The important thing to remember is that those thoughts won't be there when you recover so learn to pay them less attention by not fighting them as you are just fighting with yourself which is why they hang around and gain traction.

Hope this helps.

[Nridley25 in reply to Beevee]

Thankyou this means a lot

[Shelley24]

I suffer with the thoughts also so your not alone and start CBT on Thursday so maybe look into that to help you x

[Nridley25 in reply to Shelley24]

Thankyou x

[Shelley24 in reply to Nridley25]

Always been told to let the thoughts come and don’t engage in them and don’t fight the anxiety just go with the flow and once our brain catches on it will fade x

[Nridley25 in reply to Shelley24]

I will try this thankyou!! Xx

[Shelley24 in reply to Nridley25]

Therapy may also help you too!xx

[Nridley25 in reply to Shelley24]

Good! Xx

[Shelley24 in reply to Nridley25]

😊 xx

[Beevee in reply to Shelley24]

That is absolutely right. Anxiety is a paradox. The more you engage, the more it hangs around. The less you engage, the quicker those troublesome thoughts will fade although it can take time to develop your new attitude to inviting those thoughts to do their worst and not reacting them. Like I say, the irrational thoughts are a by product of anxiety, a figment of an overactive mind and only there because you have anxiety! I had all sorts of scary thoughts and made the mistake in believing them to be true so I spent all day battling them, trying to reason with them but that just made things worse. You may experience moments of clarity where you see the fears created by your anxiety are a complete lie. Use those moments to help you accept the thoughts when anxiety spikes and don't argue with them, no matter how loud they may scream. Practising acceptance or going with the flow will bring about cure of all anxiety related symptoms which will simply disappear.

[Nridley25 in reply to Beevee]

Thanks so much

[Shelley24 in reply to Beevee]

Definitely right! What I learnt in therapy today 😊

[Nridley25 in reply to Shelley24]

Aw good! Hope your getting better !

[Shelley24 in reply to Nridley25]

Today has been good! Been relaxed 😊 your good days will come 😊 x

[Nridley25 in reply to Shelley24]

Happy to hear that, thankyou x

[Shelley24 in reply to Nridley25]

No worries my inbox is always open too ❤️

[Nridley25 in reply to Shelley24]

Thankyou, do is mine. Means loads❤️

[Shelley24 in reply to Nridley25]

No worries 😊

[Beasel]

You cannot stop negative thoughts but if you learn to accept them and do meditation, this will help you. I have been on a Mindfulness course and now use an app called Head Space which I am finding very helpful in dealing with my stress and anxiety.

[Nridley25 in reply to Beasel]

Thankyou

[hnna]

Yes I actually started picturing my so-called "worst case scenarios" so much so that I made them my friends. It's funny how we think we're not capable to handle most of the things, but the truth is we are. So you miss someone or something? Let yourself. You messed up? Regret it and then let it go. You're afraid of something? What is it exactly that frightens you about it? Some feelings (and thoughts) have to come in order for us to grow and learn from them. So to be more poetic, ask them why they came.

I would also recommend mindful meditation. The whole idea is not to fight with your thoughts, but instead accepting that your mind wanders and then you can learn noting it and calmly coming back from "the bad thoughts". It works. Try apps like Headspace or Calm. Good luck!

[Nridley25 in reply to hnna]

Thankyou, you too