Ever have negative thoughts? Some people can manage this better, while others have a hard time but eventually learn how to handle it. If you’re someone who struggles with your thoughts, know that you’re not alone. Although it’s difficult, it’s definitely possible to overcome this problem.
Negative thoughts and irritability on a daily basis could be a sign of depression, but with cognitive behavioral therapy, this can be treated. I’m still being treated, but I’m fortunate that I received the opportunity to seek help. If you’re unable to receive professional therapy for some reason, the following tips may help you fight depression effectively.
Keep in mind that we can manage our negative thoughts in order to overcome them and get on with our lives, but we must remember that there’s no such thing as having no negative thoughts at all. We might think that being perfect is what makes us mentally strong, but what actually makes us resilient is being able to take on certain challenges in life. With a more positive attitude, we can be happier and own our lives without letting our brains control us.
You have so much worth and you’re so much more than your thoughts. With that being said, here are six strategies you can use to overcome your negative thoughts when they start to bring you down.
Know your values
What we think is what we become, but our thoughts and our ways of thinking are actually two different things. On that note, I often remind myself that I don’t have to agree with everything that comes up in my head. What I believe in is what counts.
Our values are really important to us, as they make us who we are. When I know what I believe in, my other loud thoughts begin to become smaller. I remind myself what the truth is, and this makes me more aware that my intentions are good and strong.
I look into my heart to determine what’s real and what’s not. Eventually, the more I take care of myself, the more my true self is revealed. I have important people in my life who remind me of my true self as well. Surrounding myself with people who share the values that I believe in allows me to flourish, because that’s what makes me me.
A therapist has suggested to me that I write down all the values I’d like to implement in my life. Whether those include kindness, humility, honesty, forgiveness, gratitude or something else, it feels nice to be carrying those values with you. You’ll soon find out which ones are strongest and which ones you need to focus on developing. Through practice, those values will become a part of you.
Whenever you feel annoying thoughts popping up, think about your values. Read your list and repeat each value out loud. If you think you’re going to have the worst day ever, it could also be helpful to start the day with a positive thought, such as “Today’s going to be great.” In this case, gratitude could be a value for you to focus on. You could set an intention to make your day the best day you could possibly have, and hopefully end the day with thinking, “Wow, that was a great day.” To practice gratitude at the end of the day, you could also write down five things you’re thankful for. Once you’ve got five, don’t be surprised if the list grows!
You don’t have to put pressure on yourself to be a human with the highest of intentions all the time. As long as you have good intentions in your heart, they should be your focus, not your thoughts. That’s what our values remind us. We’re the good things we do and say—regardless of whether anyone is looking—and those things, as opposed to our thoughts, make up who we are.
Change negatives to positives
This may take some time because life can put pressure on our brains and trigger them to think negatively, but practicing positive thinking can reinforce new and healthier thoughts. Learning to think positively may not be a smooth ride, though, especially if we’ve self-sabotaged ourselves in the past. Mental health is a journey, and everyone’s journey is different.
If you feel like practicing positive thinking isn’t working, you may just be over-analyzing the process. Racing thoughts will sometimes be there, especially if you’re often anxious, but what matters is that inner voice inside you that’s telling you change is possible.
Each day, I tell myself what I’m going to do, such as finishing my schoolwork, doing chores, cooking a meal, writing a poem, reading a book, spending time with loved ones and so on. While I’m telling myself these things, I’ll have many thoughts race into my brain, but these thoughts don’t define me. It’s what I tell myself that reveals who I really am.
Mental illness is hard, and our brains can trick us. For people who have depression like I do, thoughts can be a bother. However, if we tell ourselves certain things, such as what we’re going to do and say and how we’re going to listen, we’ll see that there’s more to life than depressing thoughts. That’s what positivity is, and telling ourselves better things is how we can change those negative thoughts into positive thoughts. Another way to think more positively is by repeating positive affirmations, such as “I’m kind. I’m worthy. I can do this.”
Gradually, we’ll become so used to telling ourselves what we want or need to do that our negative thoughts will begin to lose power and disappear. Instead, positive thoughts will start to pop in while we’re busy chasing our dreams, taking care of ourselves and others, being responsible and doing what we love.
My depression tends to motivate me because it makes me work twice as hard than is usually necessary to stay healthy. I’ve learned how important self-care and positive self-talk is when it comes to moving forward in a better and healthier direction in life. Remember, we can heal, and illnesses can be treated.
If we can find out what has caused our depression, and what we need to minimize it, we can create a plan to work towards that goal. If we’re still figuring it out, that’s OK, because mental health is a work in progress. Having depression doesn’t define you and it doesn’t mean that you can’t be happy. It doesn’t make you a miserable individual—only a human who’s been inspired to learn more about mental health.
Often, as I’ve learned from my doctors and therapists, those who have depression have a chemical imbalance in their brains. This is what triggers negative thoughts and irritability. These things don’t represent who we really are, but if we have depression, we do have to make an effort to get back in shape mentally. If doing physical workouts help with that, then go for it! But keep in mind, just like the body needs exercise, so does the brain. The more the brain practices positivity, the easier it will be to remain positive.
Find healthy distractions
Distractions are necessary because you don’t want to catch your brain manipulating you. You want to be the one in control. You have to choose the right kind of distraction, though—one that will serve as a positive influence on you and your mind. If you feed yourself positivity and knowledge, you’ll receive wisdom as a reward.
I don’t recommend overworking yourself as a distraction, because that will only bring more negative thoughts into your mind in the long run. I used to distract myself and run away from my thoughts by overworking, but I ended up making my brain even more overactive and triggering more unwanted thoughts. Instead, you should keep yourself moderately busy as a healthy distraction, and you’ll notice those unwanted thoughts fading away.
Overworking ourselves is similar to overthinking because we’re keeping our brains more occupied than necessary. Although moderation takes time, it’s vital in life, because it helps us gain energy and momentum. Life isn’t always luxurious, and it can be a mountain to climb, but we can become more relaxed if we moderate everything we do. Balance is the key, as it’ll prevent burnout from occurring in the future.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and reconnect with yourself by doing something you enjoy as a healthy distraction. Purposely trying to escape negative thoughts will prevent you from relaxing, but putting your focus on a healthy distraction will allow you to relax without intentionally trying to escape your mind.
Read books about self-growth
There are people out there who can manage certain things way better than me or you, and it’s interesting to learn from these people and hear their stories. Reading their stories reminds me that if they can do it, I can, too.
A self-growth book can help us find better ways to manage things in our lives based on someone else’s experience. For example, a self-growth book may help you learn how to handle negativity, manage your emotions, be your best self, reach your goals, live with good intentions and make a difference in your community. Learning about these things from different people can be a never-ending process because everyone has their own wisdom to share after going through life’s challenges. When we give ourselves time to heal and find our authentic selves, we’ll be able to give back to the world by creating and sharing our own stories with others.
Why do I like self-growth books? Well, I didn’t start reading them until it was recommended by my therapists, but they made me realize that change is possible and that it starts with myself and others. Learning from others by reading self-growth books makes me more optimistic.
If you need help finding a good self-growth book, you can ask your therapist (if you have one), your teachers, your co-workers, your close friends or your family members for recommendations. You may also find one that interests you in the Críticas de Livros section of this site.
Practice meditation
When you’re having an abundance of racing thoughts, meditation will allow you to let those thoughts come and go. Meditation teaches us to recognize these thoughts, and instead of suppressing them, to understand why we’re having them. The practice will allow you to introspect and find deep answers to things you didn’t know the answers to.
There are times when we have certain experiences that trigger us because we don’t give ourselves the self-care we need to overcome a triggering experience. Meditation allows us to understand ourselves and what we need to do to improve. The quiet silence we find in meditation brings us into a state of self-discovery and knowledge.
Being calm is helpful, but meditation shouldn’t be practiced just as a way to calm down. It should be used to allow your thoughts and emotions to come and go until you’re able to peacefully notice them while still focusing on your own breath. This will help you learn to stay grounded in the present instead of reacting to your triggers and/or negative thoughts.
Learning not to react to our thoughts takes time, and there’s no need to rush the process. This makes up a big part of learning to manage our emotions, because often our thoughts are what influence our emotions. Even if you only have 20 minutes a day to devote to your practice, it’s worthwhile to give meditation some room in your life, as it can be refreshing and revitalizing for your mind and your heart.
Write your negative thoughts down
Writing down your negative thoughts may bring relief if the other strategies above don’t seem to be working, as this could help you come up with solutions to the problems that are troubling you. You may be able to determine the reasons you’re having certain thoughts and how to prevent those triggers from arising.
Ask yourself whether what you’re thinking about could really happen, and what’s the worst that could happen if it did. What could you do to solve the problem? What can you do now to help prevent it from happening? You may also want to rate each worry with a number between one and 10 before you’ve found a solution, and then do the same thing after, to see if you feel significantly different.
Sometimes our worries are unrealistic. Most of the time, what we’re worrying about doesn’t even happen, but our brains like to worry to protect us. Writing our worries down can allow us to find out if there’s any evidence to support our thoughts or not. It helps us think about what kind of cognitive distortions we’re undergoing in our minds, such as predicting the future, attempting to mind-read, overgeneralizing or catastrophizing. At times, I have intrusive thoughts, but I write down each intrusive thought and then write down something positive and comforting that can help me out next to it.
If you can’t immediately come up with a solution to a negative thought, the best course of action could be to set it aside and get back to it later. In time, you may be able to find an answer, but in the meantime, do something productive or creative as a healthy distraction. You might even forget about the negative thought completely, but if not, the fact that you wrote it down may make you feel more confident that you’ll eventually find a solution. Every problem has a positive solution, even though it could take some time and hard work to find it and carry it out.
Let’s fight depression with strength
When we use our strengths, we feel happier, but when we work on our weaknesses, we feel stronger. I hope you find the above suggestions useful and that they leave you feeling more positive if you’re someone who struggles with your mental health.
Isenção de responsabilidade médica: Esta página é apenas para fins educacionais e informativos e não deve ser interpretada como conselho médico. A informação não se destina a substituir o aconselhamento médico oferecido por profissionais de saúde. Consulte o texto completo do nosso termo de isenção de responsabilidade médica.
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