Everyone has a small voice in the back of their head; normally, we treat it as a mentor or confidant as we go about our day. What happens when the voice in your head stops guiding you, but rather brings you down?
I’ve struggled with negative thoughts since I was a teenager. My mom used to refer to the negative thoughts in my head as ‘Peggy,’ a cruel voice that always seemed to criticize me or lower my self-confidence.
In recent years, I’ve started to realize the importance of maintaining and stopping negative thoughts. These are my personal methods of coping with my negative thoughts.
Questioning the negativity
Someone in my life once told me it’s important to question the negative thoughts that I’d been having. After hearing this advice from a close adult, I began to do exactly that.
For example, If the voice in my head told me that none of my friends liked me, I asked myself what evidence I had to support that thought. If I had no logical reason for feeling that way, I knew the thought wasn’t true.
From there, I learned that the negative thoughts I was hearing weren’t facts and knew I couldn’t be quick to trust any negative thoughts because they’re most likely false.
Reframing my mindset
Along with this, I’ve learned to reframe my negative thoughts.
Instead of criticizing myself for something like being bad at math, I need to ask myself how I can improve in math.
Thinking positively does not mean that I need to ignore negative feelings, it just demonstrates how to cope with the negative things. I can applaud myself for achievements while still looking for ways I want to improve.
Physical and mental health
I am a firm believer that our mental and physical health is connected, so it’s important to focus on our physical health to improve our mental health. This means eating well, getting a good night’s sleep, and exercising.
Honestly, I still struggle to take care of myself, but when I do, my mental health and thoughts are less negative and overwhelming.
By taking care of our bodies physically, we can also take care of ourselves mentally. I find that meditation or simply taking a walk greatly helps restructure my outlook on life and how I see things.
Stop ignoring emotions
This tip may contradict itself, but sometimes it is better to sit with negative emotions or thoughts instead of ignoring them. Toxic positivity culture has convinced us that we are not allowed to fail or feel sad.
Instead, we should be preaching the idea that it is okay to be sad. Sadness is a normal human emotion that we all feel. It is okay to have sad or negative thoughts sometimes, because they are normal.
I understand that no one deserves to be controlled by the voice in their head, so I don’t let any negative thoughts control me, and it’s greatly improved my life and well-being.