Change your mindset

Do you worry about the thoughts that go through your head?

Have you ever wondered how some people always see the positive?

Most people experience negative thoughts at some point. They may be just fleeting thoughts or they may be repetitive and debilitating. The impact they have on your mental health and wellbeing all depends on how well equipped you are at dealing with them.

As with most things in life there are no easy or quick fixes. If you want something to work you have to persevere and commit to making a change. This is also true when it comes to our mental health. If we want to change our mindset it takes work, commitment and perseverance before the new mindset becomes our norm.

For me, personally, a significant part of my mental health issues stemmed from automatic negative thoughts. They filled me with self doubt and I believed their message that I wasn’t worth it, that I couldn’t do it.

These deflating, negative thoughts feel as though they just pop into our heads and we have no control over them.

However, there is hope! There are many tools that you can use to help. The key is to find what works for you. I have found that when I am dealing with automatic negative thoughts a 4 pronged approach worked best for me.

This involves the following:

1. Find some daily affirmations that are personally meaningful and repeat them regularly throughout the day. This is one of my favourites:

2. Practice mindfulness. Be present, in the here and now and appreciate the little things.

3. Write down all the automatic negative thoughts as they occur. This will take practice and time to form the habit. If you are struggling try writing all of your thoughts to get in to the habit. Eventually narrow it down to just recording the negative.

4. Create a “YOU ROCK” achievements list. Items on this list do not have to be earth shattering but they do need to be positive. For instance, if I’m having a bad day, my achievements include getting out of bed, having a shower, getting dressed, making the bed.

After time you may see a pattern start to develop around your automatic negative thoughts and you can then tailor your affirmations and achievements list to combat specific thoughts. This of course will take time and perseverance. I have found that although not all of my negative automatic thoughts have disappeared, it is much easier for me to dismiss them as I now automatically challenge them with my mental “YOU ROCK” list.