You’re looking to extinguish your negative thoughts, but they just won’t go away and it’s making you anxious, nearly sending you into a panic attack. Either you don’t have time or don’t want to go to therapy or counseling, but need the negative thoughts to leave now. What options do you really have?
Stop Negative Thoughts Immediately and stop doubting yourself with an extremely simple CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) Journaling exercise from therapy, that actually works. Control your negative thoughts by flipping the script on them by stating the direct opposite of the negative thought in a positive statement. Then turn that into a positive affirmation or mantra to send your thoughts off onto a positive track. Next time they come back, combat your negative thoughts with your unique positive affirmation.
Right now, I’m in the process of fixing my mental health. This article is a how-to guide to stop negative thoughts in their tracks, to share the things that I’ve learned in therapy that actually work.
It’s time to talk about mental health struggles in our daily life:
- How to stop negative thought loops.
- How to get rid of negative thoughts and fear.
- The issues that are affecting us.
- How to seek help in whatever way that will support us.
If you’re reading this, your mind is probably full of negative thoughts or has been recently and you’re wondering how long they will last before the positive or at least normal day to day thoughts come back. Sadly for some of us, those negative thoughts never leave. I was one of those people. But I finally found a journaling exercise that helped. At first I was amazed that I found something from therapy that actually worked immediately and relieved my panic and anxiety being brought on by the never ending barrage of negative thoughts in my brain.
Jump To:
- Flipping The Script To Combat Anxiety & Negative Thoughts
- The Power Of Flipping The Script On Your Depression & Stopping Negative Thoughts
- Negative Thoughts & The Brain
- Why Negative Thoughts Come Into The Mind
- How Positive Thoughts Help Shape Our Perspective
- How To Stop Negative Thinking & Let Go Of Negative Thoughts
- Journaling Exercises To Stop Negative Thinking
- Related Topics & Information
For the longest time, I couldn’t silence the negative voice and inner critic in my head and keep negative thoughts away. It was just too loud and I couldn’t scream loud enough in my own positive voice to squash out the negative self-talk. I just couldn’t stop thinking negative thoughts. There really was just no controlling the bad thoughts. In the past I used meditation to get rid of negative thoughts, but this particular day there was no way I was going to get rid of negative thinking, anxiety and depression. I needed to understand how to stop thinking depressing thoughts and how to deal with anxiety and negative thoughts on my own.
Recently I had a depression episode that led to a relapse. I thought that I had the tools to pick myself up and crawl out of the dark hole of depression that I experience. We all have our own personal brand of hell, and this day was a particularly dark one for me.
In my relapse, my anxiety was starting to build and build. Eventually when my anxiety peaked, I wasn’t able to combat the negative thoughts that were in my head, with positive ones. Not being able to drown out the negative voice in my head led me to a point where I tipped over into a full-blown depression episode.
My depression in this episode looked like something that I haven’t seen since the beginning of my journey, two or three years ago. I found myself on the floor crying, sobbing, hyperventilating and having a full blown panic attack complete with internal negative self talk and very scary thoughts that come along with my depression.
But something was different this time. I had found a tool to combat my depression and anxiety, stop the self sabotage, and get rid of negative thoughts. Using a technique called “flipping the script” I was able to stop negative thinking in its tracks.
Finally Quiet The Negative Voice In Your Mind With:
STOP NEGATIVE THINKING JOURNAL PAGES
Flipping The Script To Combat Anxiety & Negative Thoughts
I’ve learned how to control my negative thoughts, why I am getting negative thoughts, and how to defeat negative thoughts. You can learn how to get rid of negative thoughts too. This simple technique will give you a road map on how to overcome negative thoughts and how to remove negative thinking from the mind.
I’m sure you can think of examples of negative thoughts, lists and lists of negative thoughts and see the negative thought patterns that can seep into your day. It’s incredibly hard to be dealing with constant negative thoughts all day. There was a point for me where I felt like all I have are negative thoughts. But I knew that there had to be a way to stop negative thinking. I had to find out how to combat negative thinking.
So I asked myself:
- Why do I always get negative thoughts?
- How do I stop negative thought patterns?
- And how do I get rid of negative thoughts?
A.K.A.
Why do I get this, how can I stop it, and how do I get rid of what is still there?
Getting back to this particularly bad day… Even though I was in the deep throws of a very bad episode of depression and anxiety, I was able to find a way out and break the cycle of negativity. I flipped the script on my depression and was able to stop negative thoughts.
The Power Of Flipping The Script On Your Depression & Stopping Negative Thoughts.
The power of flipping the script on your depression and stopping negative thoughts comes from the will to keep living, and the want and hunger for change in our lives. None of us want to wallow in our sorrow, and if you do, then you need to take a good look at what is going on behind the scenes and understand what it is you are really aching for that the attention of your pity party fulfills.
Negative Thoughts & The Brain
Negative thoughts about yourself are difficult to combat at different seasons in our lives. We can find ourselves in stretches of time, weeks, months, even years of no negative thoughts, and suddenly find ourselves at the bottom of a dark well of sadness. Negative thoughts affect our emotions, physiology and cause our mental health to crumble. This is a recipe for disaster and can even lead to poor physical health that can shorten our lives without us realizing it.
Negative thoughts and self sabotaging talk amplifies our sorrow and punches up our fear based thinking making it skyrocket. When we find ourselves in a loop of negative thoughts that we can’t stop, like those of us with depression and anxiety, it can lead to our brains rewiring and solidifying negative connections making it almost impossible for us to get rid of negative thinking. It all becomes unbearable and we crumble under its weight as we wander into the dark corners of our mental health.
Why Negative Thoughts Come Into The Mind
Negative thoughts come into our minds when we are at our most vulnerable. Negative thoughts and anxiety can lead to debilitating episodes of depression like it does for me. Constantly having negative thoughts can leave a person feeling worn out, worthless, and like there isn’t a point to it at all anymore. This is dangerous territory. To get out we must learn the best ways of dealing with negative thoughts.
How Positive Thoughts Help Shape Our Perspective
We actually have control over our perspective of the world. We can change the lens through which we see the world and try to make it a brighter one. Think of rose colored glasses, when you put them on, all is right in the world. Unlike rose-colored glasses, flipping the script, is about actively shifting our perspective and staying grounded.
How To Stop Negative Thinking & Let Go Of Negative Thoughts
Flipping the script on your depression helps you to stop negative thinking and self sabotaging internal dialogue. It helps you get out of your head and forces you to look at a negative situation positively.
Make sure to download this free printable for your journal below to help you flip the script on your depression and replace those negative thoughts with positive thinking. This download will guide you as you flip your own script and conquer negativity.
Journaling Exercises To Stop Negative Thinking
Here’s how it works: Before you begin, download the free printable above so you can follow along with me and discover how you can take control of your mind and get negative thoughts out of your head.
- Write down your negative thoughts.
What are negative thoughts? Negative thoughts are those beliefs or feelings you have that put yourself down, and in the end lead you spiraling down into a dark abyss. Negative thoughts are also intrusive and mainly fear and apprehension based.
In other words, the big dark and scary fear of the unknown. This can also be anything you fear that can trigger negative thought patterns in your head that lead you spiraling down into your own particular brand of hell.
Example of Negative Thought: “I am a worthless, stupid idiot, which is why everyone hates me.“
Examples of Negative Self Talk:
- There’s no way it will work.
- I’m worthless.
- What’s the point?
- I wish I was __.
- It will never get better.
- No one wants me.
- Write the direct opposite of that thought in a positive statement.
Look at the negative thought you wrote down and flip it. Say the exact opposite.
Example of The Direct Opposite Positive Statement: I am full of worth, smart and have amazing things to contribute to the world, which is why people like me.
In my video below I talk about a really bad episode of depression that left me wishing that I didn’t exist. I had to learn to let go of this negative thought and tell my depression “I wish to live” instead of listening to it shouting the opposite at me. Through mindfulness, I consciously decided to take my depression head-on and say, “I am excited to wake up tomorrow.”
Then I refined that statement even further to say, “I am excited to wake up tomorrow to do X Y & Z.”
Examples of Positive Self Talk: “I am excited to wake up tomorrow to see the Sun Rise, read my book, and see my kids’ smiling faces.” Or to pet my cats or to walk my dog or whatever it is that you really find joy in doing and experiencing.
Flip the script on the negative self-talk your depression is saying to you, and say the opposite. Say that you are excited to live, you are excited to get up in the morning, and you are excited to get out of bed.
- Write Your Affirmation Or Mantra
The affirmation or mantra contains the supporting evidence and reasons why the positive thought is true. The affirmation or mantra, as you say it over and over to yourself, is what shifts your perspective to a positive one. This is the tool that helps you uncover the evidence and sends you off on the positive track.
Try writing your affirmation or mantras with the beginning:
“I am __”
Example of Positive Affirmation Mantra To Combat Negative Thoughts: I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me! – Stuart Smalley
Comment down below if you know who Stuart Smalley is!
Whatever that negative thing your negative thoughts or depression is telling you, flip it and say the positive opposite. Practicing positive thinking every day can feel silly at first, but trust me, it’s worth it, and you deserve a bright sunny happy mindset everyday.
Tell your Negative Thoughts and depression NO.
Tell your Negative Thoughts that you are doing the positive opposite of what it’s telling you to do.
It is time to talk about de-stigmatizing mental health so we can finally find our way back to being ourselves again and be who we are really meant to be. To be our inner, most true selves and help us become happier, healthier human beings, and productive members of society.
If you find yourself asking, “why do I have negative thoughts?” Try to remove negative thoughts by changing negative thoughts into positive ones that are the direct opposite. You can get rid of overthinking and negative thoughts. It’s not easy to stop repetitive negative thoughts, but I know you can do it. I’m here for you. Remember to practice positive thinking every day.
You are not alone. Even though we are separated by miles and miles we are all connected. That is why I write these articles and make videos, so that we can find each other, because no one who is hurting has to go through it alone.
Finally Quiet The Negative Voice In Your Mind With:
STOP NEGATIVE THINKING JOURNAL PAGES
Related Topics & Information
Ruminating thoughts has always been a tricky subject for me. There were times in the past that I thought I was crazy because I wasn’t able to get the negative thoughts in my head to stop. I thought I was losing my mind and was afraid to tell anyone because I was convinced that I would be sent away to a mental ward. Through therapy I’ve discovered so many techniques to stop ruminating thoughts, banish negative intrusive thoughts, quell my anxiety, and make me feel like a normal human again.
As a person with Anxiety and Depression, I know first hand that motivational quotes that mean well can sometimes have the opposite effect. For me they made things worse and sent me further down into a deep dark hole. These quotes are curated by me, someone with anxiety and depression who understands; to you on whatever day you are having, be it good, bad, ugly, or meh.
When I was a child, I was a terror, because I didn’t understand what was going on around me or how to cope with my confusion and angry feelings. I didn’t know how to ask for help, all I knew how to do was lash out. Here is some of the advice I wish I could have given my childhood self, and some things to keep in mind for kids who act out. What would you tell yourself if you could turn back time?
