If you poll 100 people and ask them what they think their greatest enemy to their success is, most of them would say that it’s their mind. Negative thinking and thought patterns can stop our progress before we even begin moving towards our goals. When the little voice in your head constantly tells you that you can’t do something or accomplish a particular task, it can be challenging to shut out the noise and focus on your goal.
When we become our most prominent critics, finding ways to eliminate negative thinking becomes one of the most important things we can prioritize. By learning to combat these thoughts with positivity and affirmations, we can achieve the big, overarching goals we have set for ourselves. Alas, figuring out how to shut down the internal negativity on your own can feel like a self-defeating prophecy. If you find the right mental health treatment center, however, you can begin to see the right path forward.
Why It’s Less About Positive Thoughts & More About the Process
We can try to think about all the positive outcomes of a particular situation, but if we don’t change how we process scenarios and the source of the negativity, it remains an uphill battle. Our mind and corresponding mental state represent a complex system of brain chemistry, external circumstances, and learned, flawed coping mechanisms. If our negative thought processes remain intact, we’ll focus on those outcomes and fall back into the bad — and potentially destructive — habits.
If you’re trying to recover from long-term substance abuse or alcohol addiction, the negative thought patterns developed during your condition can prove challenging to break. Breaking down how to eliminate negative thoughts begins with a small change.
Gradual Mental Shifts
Banishing these negative thoughts doesn’t happen overnight or with sweeping changes to your daily routine. Trying to make drastic changes stick only sets you up for failure and leads to you relapsing into bad habits. It all starts with one gradual mental shift to stop negative thoughts for good.
Changing how you approach banishing negative thoughts and behaviors means starting small and unlearning one action at a time. You want to recognize how you would have approached this situation in the past, identify where negative thoughts take over, and make a conscious effort to change how you handle it. These conscious mental shifts can help combat the anxiety and stress associated with these situations and help move you in a more positive direction.
Change How You Talk to Yourself
Word choice can significantly impact how we view specific situations and our outlook on potential positive outcomes. Something seemingly innocuous like “I should eat healthier” or “I should stop drinking” can trigger negative thoughts like guilt or shame that set you up for failure. Reframing the internal conversation around “I can eat healthier by” or “I will try my best to get to the gym” can help put you into a better headspace regarding your goals.
This shift in the conversation can help alleviate some of the pressure you may feel, which can lead to procrastination or avoidance of responsibilities. You can have a gentler conversation with yourself and avoid a negative thought spiral that can disrupt your current mental state.
Recognize Different Patterns of Automatic Negative Thinking
Automatic negative thought patterns can quickly trigger as soon as you encounter a specific situation. Instead of having a free thought that allows you to look at it critically, it becomes a reflex where you exclusively focus on the negative thoughts and outcomes. By taking a moment to recognize these thought patterns for what they are and how they affect your feelings, you can begin to change your response.
These may have been long-held and learned behaviors, but the right residential treatment program can set you up for sustained success at stopping these negative thoughts.
Lifeskills South Florida Can Help
Whether you want to help treat your anxiety about making decisions or seek a more complete mental health treatment plan, Lifeskills South Florida is here to help. Our personalized treatment plans help you identify the underlying causes of your negative thoughts and the triggers that prompt them, and teach you the coping strategies you can use to shift your internal narrative. We help our patients learn how even the smallest step can be the first one on their long-term road to recovery.
If you or someone you love needs mental health counseling and treatment, please don’t hesitate to contact our team today or complete our contact form.
