Notice negative thoughts as they come into your head: As a negative thought comes into your head, treat it with curiosity. Ask, “Why am I having this thought now?” Look for the why and you may find it is linked to an expectation or a belief. It is these little acts that can start to rewire your brain.
Negative thinking has many different causes. Intrusive negative thoughts can be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or another mental health condition. Negative thinking is also symptomatic of depression ("Negative Thinking and Depression: How One Fuels the Other").
It's natural to feel more pessimistic when things aren't going so well in our lives. Regular or even constant negative thinking can also be a sign of anxiety, depression, stress or low self-esteem. This sounds a bit strange, but negativity can also be contagious.
Center Founder Richard Davidson shares nine ways to stop being negative, whether it's noticing the good in ourselves and others or noticing our environment and emotions.
When intrusive thoughts or obsessions become uncontrollable to the point that they are affecting daily function, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be the explanation. OCD-intrusive thoughts that occur repeatedly throughout the day are unhealthy and interfere with quality of life.
One of the basic parts of a treatment plan involving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is cognitive restructuring. This process helps you to identify and change negative thoughts into more helpful and adaptive responses.
Whilst everyone experiences negative thoughts now and again, negative thinking that seriously affects the way you think about yourself and the world and even interferes with work/study and everyday functioning could be a symptom of a mental illness, such as depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders and ...
Can you replace negative thoughts with positive ones?
You can work on changing your negative thoughts to positive ones by: Replacing the negative thought with the positive one every time you realize you are thinking the negative thought.
Meditation calms your mind and trains your brain to focus. You can use that to help steer yourself away from negative thoughts or feelings. Researchers have even found that meditation physically changes your brain in areas linked to depression. Activities like yoga and tai chi may help in a similar way.
How long does it take to reverse negative thinking?
The brain may have been wired to think negative thoughts. That means it can be rewired to think positive thoughts. A habit takes about 21 days to be ingrained, so doing some of the following tasks may have you on your way to positive thinking in three weeks.
