How do you overcome negative thoughts that seem to come out of the blue, and then make you feel upsset?

Question

I want to try techniques to dispel negative thoughts, and to control my thoughts, as I tend to obsess about them, until I'm miserable, this worst case senario junk fills my head when I am totally thinking of something different, its time for me to learn to control or stop it. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Use a small notebook. Draw 2 columns, in the first column write down everytime you have a negative thought, in the other column next to it, write down an alternative [positive] thought for that negative one.

Eventually you'll be able to do it automatically, without having to write it down. It's called "cognitive restructuring" and it works.

Answer 2

Since you gave me an honest question, I'll give you an honest answer. You suggest using cognitive and behavioral techniques and have said nothing of psychiatric help. I also see way too many answers that I believe could lead you astray by saying that you should pray and that it'll make everything better.

Medication and spirituality aside, there are several techniques that I learned in therapy with a psychologist that help(ed) me a great deal and I will share some of those things with you. My first step was to recognize that I have (had) a problem such as you have done. That's the first step in healing your mind of the wreckage of your past. The other things I do are very specific and I put verbs in my sentences.

I control my mindset from the beginning of the morning until I go to sleep and every hour in between. I make it a point when I wake up to say right away, "Thank you LORD for the chance at another day." Then I put on some coffee to drink and am grateful that I even have coffee to drink. I turn to my soul mate and tell her just how much I love her. I go into the computer room, cup of coffee in hand, and I load up Yahoo! Launchcast Plus and listen to and thoroughly enjoy the first of many songs throughout the day. I eat breakfast of Macaroni and Cheese with ground turkey and thank GOD with every fiber of my being for have about one month of food at any given time.

In other words, by having an attitude of gratitude and putting it in writing, I color my world in a positive way from the very beginning. There are many other things that I do to change my thoughts and/or keep them in a positive frame but it would take up way too much space. My personal advice as I see it to stopping and/or controlling negative thoughts is through a combination of medication and therapy. Best of luck and GOD bless! We Gone!!!

Answer 3

Try to learn some Affirmations which you can repeat to yourself daily. There is a book of affirmations from the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series of books that are really good. There are several other sources, also. There is also a website that gives you a daily affirmation every day. Look up Affirmations. One way to dispel bad thoughts is replace them with good thoughts like affirmations. Relaxation techniques and deep breathing can also help and serve as an adjunct to treatment. Good luck.

Answer 4

Don't give it too much attention. When you realize that you're obsessing about some negative thought, just tell yourself that it's nothing you really need to be concerned with at that time. Don't try to block it out of your mind, because then you're still giving it your attention; just move on to something else. Try to pay attention to what's in your mind, so you can catch these things as soon as you can. Don't beat yourself up about it if you have some setbacks with this, just keep it up, and it will get easier.

Remember that you're capable of making any necessary decisions when negative events pop up, so there's no need to worry about them beforehand. Just think about what you're doing right now. This is called being in the moment. All decisions are made in the present, so that's what you should concern yourself with. The future is unknowable.

Answer 5

Hmm, never had it happen. But still, an interesting question.

What are some examples of these thoughts?

I'd ask yourself these things about your thoughts when they come up.

Is there something you can do about it?
If so, what is it? When will you do it?

If not, then is there someone who can?

If still no, then it's time to move on. Be aware of things you can't control, but there's no need to stress over them.

Ever heard the saying - Don't worry yourself to death.

Well that's pretty much it. You'll need take each thought and make a decision on it then move on. Otherwise you'll just worry yourself to death.

I'm sure there's much more I could say with some details - I think it's a thought to thought basis, no win all strategy available.

Answer 6

Get up Early in the morning, see the rising sun. It is the biggest source of positive energy. When you are watching it, think that you are going to be happy throughtout the day and you are going to make at least one soul happy that day. I bet a happy soul do not attract negative thoughts. Keep smiling always, dont worry, negative thoughts will vanish automatically.

Answer 7

It happens sometimes to us all, and if too many negative thoughts enter my mind, I just stop breath and think about something else, anything else. It doesn't matter where I am, sometime I just have to stop and say a quick prayer and ask the Lord to remove these horrible thoughts from my mind. It works the majority of the time too. If you are not religious then let your mind go to something or someone that you love. I think of my son and imagine his smiling face or him saying he loves me and everything feels better after that. So you just have to kind of remind yourself that there are better things that can occupy your thoughts than those negative things. Also you might want to try to keep your mind busy, reading, writing, painting, singing, dancing or doing whatever it is that you love to do. They say an idle mind is the devil's playground, and where do you thing evil and negativity got there start, just something to think about. All the best.

Answer 8

First of all, avoid negative thoughts. Don't be aloof, mingle with your friends and be happy. Read good books, watch cartoons & comedy shows in the TV and so on. Play indoor games like carom board, cards etc. Such activities will divert your miserable mind to a healthy one. And be sportive.

Answer 9

When im feeling like that the things i do to make feel better involve the following activities,

Watching favorite/funny movies
playing video games/GTA-i get to kill the characters and it lets out my stress)
talk on the phone with my friend and discuss the situation
listen to my mp3 or the house radio and dance around
dress up in different ways, do crazy things with my hair and pretend im a model..lol

no matter how upset iam, in time i heal in a matter of time.

Answer 10

That happens to me all the time. I am a Christian, and I believe that is satanic spirits doing all of that. I am in my 50s and I have had enough troubles in life to give the devil's boyz plenty to work with. The bible tells me that there are ministering angels that are assigned to me to help me make it through life with out falling flat on my face.
Whenever I get these negative thoughts coming at me, I figure it's the devil doing it and I rebuke him in the name of Jesus. That works for a couple of minutes sometimes, but then they start coming at me again. Then I rebuke them again and start calling on my ministering angels to get to work on my problem....and that works. And there have been times that the bad thoughts don't seem to stop, then I really tear into my angels and chew them out for not doing their jobs. That might sound silly, but it works for me. After that, I don't get bothered for a few hours. Then I tell my angels;"Nice work guys!".
And so, Patrica, that's what works for me. We Christians do battle everyday with the devil and his forces. And a great portion of those battles takes place in the mind.
Best wishes and God bless.