What are Negative thoughts
A famous psychological institute defines negative thinking as, ‘’Negative thoughts are cognitions about the self, others, or the world in general characterized by negative perceptions, expectations, and attributions and are associated with unpleasant emotions and adverse behavioural, physiological, and health outcomes.”
If you undergo a pattern of thinking negatively about yourself and your surroundings, it means you are experiencing negative thoughts. While it is normal to experience negative thoughts repeatedly, continuous negative thinking would seriously affect the way you think about yourself and the world and could even be a symptom of mental illnesses like depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia.
What causes Negative thoughts
The following are the common causes of negative thinking.
- Fearing about the future
- Regretting over the past
- Apprehension about the present
- Overthinking about everything
- Absence of faith in oneself and others
- Worried too much about the result
Dangers of harbouring negative thoughts
Negative thoughts have to be addressed early; once you realize that negative thoughts are affecting you beyond your control, start dealing with them seriously as it is easy to weed out negative thoughts in the initial stages.
If you leave your pessimistic thinking problem unattended, it might cause the following issues.
- Change in sleep pattern: negative thoughts affect your sleep cycle; you will feel tired and worn out due to a lack of proper sleep.
- Damage in relationship with others: negative thoughts might damage your family and friendship. You will grow suspicious of your family members and friends and would face difficulty in facing them.
- Lack of concentration: you will find it difficult to concentrate on any task or work, leading to problems at your workplace or place of business.
- Low self-esteem: negative thoughts will lower your self-esteem. You will face self-doubt and will lose self-confidence.
- Procrastination: negative thoughts will lead to procrastination. You will find it hard to arrive at a decision and would indulge in unwanted delays and postponements.
- Harm to your brain: if not attended, negative thinking can harm your brain and cause ailments like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease over a while.
Signs that reveal you are suffering from intense negative thoughts
It is usual for a human to undergo both negative and positive thoughts. However, if there is an alarming increase in negative thoughts, you will have to take steps to fix it. But how will you know when to act? In the following scenarios, you should become cautious about your negative thoughts.
- Sleeping cycle changes drastically.
- You feel lonely and irritated.
- Experience nervous breakdown and perspiration.
- Breaking down frequently
- Get suicidal thoughts and lose interest to live.
Ways to get rid of Negative Thoughts
Negative thinking is curable. You can improve your thought process in the following ways.
- Believe in a higher power: Believing in the divine is an excellent way to ward off negative thoughts, trust in its power and offer the results of your actions to that higher power. This way, even if any outcome is not as per your expectations, you won’t feel terrible.
- Open up with someone you trust: if you face some severe issues, don’t keep it with yourself; open up with someone you trust, a family member, or a friend.
- See a doctor: if required, please consult a doctor who specializes in mental health. They can prescribe you medications and might suggest specific changes in your lifestyle.
- Go for a vacation: going on vacation is a perfect way to unwind yourself. Choose your favourite destination or some new holiday spot and go for a trip and recharge yourselves.
- Read books that cultivate optimism: books can be your best friends, develop the reading habit and read inspirational stories, biographies, or novels.
- Raise a pet: pets are great stress busters. Raising a pet will help you relax and find new meaning in your life. They are selfless and can be a great companion to you.
- Practice gardening: indulging in gardening is an excellent way to free yourself from negative thoughts. The colourful flowers will lighten your heart and reduce your tension. Grow as many plants as you can and spend your free time viewing the greenery and flowers.
- Develop a hobby: it is never late to develop a hobby. Developing a hobby will make you happy and make your brain alert.
- Be pragmatic: stop expecting everything to be perfect. Understand that ups and downs are part of life, and everything can’t go as planned always.
- Stay fit physically: start your morning by doing some exercises. Go for a walk and if you wish you can even try swimming and gym. You can also practice yoga and meditation to keep your stress levels in check.
Put the above suggestions to the test, and you will be able to free yourself from negative thoughts.
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