7 ways to trick your brain and deal with negative thoughts

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Positive attitudes and a heavy blanket will help you become an optimist.

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“Try to think positively” - you've heard this advice a million times. There is nothing wrong with it, of course, but not everyone succeeds in following it.

It's easier for people to think about the bad than the good. Once faced with danger, like cavemen, we begin to look for other things that can harm us.

Pamela Gail Johnson Founder of the Secret Society of Happy People

Therefore, you need to make an effort to learn to think that nothing bad will happen, and then look for something positive. Here are some tricks to help you do this.

1. Find a way to incorporate positive attitudes into your daily routine

Positive attitudes, or affirmations, that we repeat on a daily basis can help boost our self-esteem if we truly believe what we are saying. This is confirmed by scientific research.

Until affirmations become a habit, you will likely forget about them throughout the day. To fix this, try this life hack:

I have created passwords for all online services, consisting of the first letters of the words in a sentence. For example, one of the passwords was a short version of the phrase "Every day I get better and better." And I repeat this setup every day by logging in.

Greg Shepard health expert

2. Imagine that negative thoughts are the passengers of the bus you are driving

My favorite trick is this: I imagine negative thoughts are unsolicited advice that I will never follow. I say, "Thank you," and ignore him.

Joe Eclair is a licensed psychologist

This cognitive strategy can teach you to control your train of thought and not attach much importance to it.

You just imagine yourself as a bus driver with negative thoughts. You can even give each passenger a personality and voice. They come with you and annoy you with their incessant pessimistic conversations. And the main thing here is to remember that you are the bus driver. And only in your power to expel them from the salon.

This is a good strategy for realizing that thoughts are not controlling you, but exactly the opposite.

3. Turn negative thoughts into neutral ones

If we are haunted by negative thoughts, it’s easiest to turn them into neutral thoughts first.

Sasha Heinz is a specialist in developmental psychology and a certified personal growth instructor

It is difficult to switch from anxiety on the fly to a happy one only thanks to attitudes. For example, if you have been worried for a very long time that you still have not met your love, affirmations are unlikely to help you join positive-minded people. It’s not easy. Therefore, first it is better to neutralize the negative and only then practice positive attitudes.

It is much easier to move from “I will never meet my love” to “I just haven't met the right person yet” than to immediately shout: “My half is already halfway to me!” Your brain will more easily accept these changes.

4. Try the Emotional Freedom Technique

Use your fingertips to explore the meridians of the body, such as the crown of the head, tap them and repeat the affirmations. Thanks to this, emotional blocks can be removed.

Remember, technique requires complete understanding between body and mind. Someone may think that this is too much. But if the technique has aroused genuine interest, you can try. However, there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness.

5. Cover yourself with a heavy blanket

Negative thoughts are disturbing not only during the day but also at night. And then a blanket will come to the rescue. It turns out that sleeping under a heavy blanket (from two to 13 kg) will help to cope with anxiety. As the experts explain, it puts tangible pressure on your body, which helps you relax and helps you fall asleep faster.

This may be due to the body's grounding effect, which reduces stress and pain levels and improves sleep quality.

6. Try aromatherapy

Although aromatherapy is not well researched, there is some evidence of its effectiveness. It helps to cope with feelings of anxiety and improves the quality of sleep.

When you inhale the scent of oils, it affects the limbic system of the brain, which is also responsible for our emotions.

Lindsay Elmore Pharmacist and Health Expert

You can use a diffuser or just take a bath with a couple of drops of oil.

7. Stop fighting

Couples who believe from the start that their relationship is doomed end up falling apart. This is the Pygmalion effect in action: you unknowingly do what leads to the expected result. You will either be too smart and go on the offensive, hoping to change the situation, or you will just go with the flow, because the problem does not deserve attention.

It works the same with negative thoughts. You completely immerse yourself in the problem, think over all possible solutions and thereby only increase its significance. Instead, just be aware of, accept, and embrace your negative thoughts.

You will go into a "I'm not going to fight them" mode, free of pressure and resistance. And moving towards a positive life is easier when you are in harmony with your negative thoughts.

Jacqueline Peartle Trainer for Happiness and Mindfulness

Life is cruel, and you can't turn from a pessimist to an optimist at the click of a button. But you have to start. Taking a small step towards your goal every day, you will definitely achieve it.