Your negative thoughts can be overwhelming and can spiral into a loop of self-doubt, anxiety, and depression. The constant repetition of negative thoughts can have a significant impact on our mental health and wellbeing. The good news is that it’s possible to break out of this cycle and overcome negative thought patterns. By understanding why our minds tend to loop negative thoughts and learning effective strategies to manage them, we can take control of our thoughts and improve our mental wellbeing.

This blog post tells you: How you can get rid of your negative thoughts, how you can replace them with positive ones, and how you can live a better life altogether.

Why Does Your Mind Tend to Loop Negative Thoughts?

Our minds tend to loop negative thoughts because of a phenomenon called negativity bias. Negativity bias is the tendency for our brains to give greater attention and weight to negative experiences and thoughts compared to positive ones. 

This bias may have evolved as a survival mechanism, as it would have been more beneficial for our ancestors to be highly attuned to potential threats in their environment.

This means that when we experience negative thoughts or emotions, our brains tend to give them more attention and importance, causing them to loop and repeat. Additionally, negative thoughts and emotions can activate the amygdala, which is a part of the brain that plays a key role in processing emotions and survival responses. 

Once the amygdala is activated, it can cause a cycle of negative thinking that is difficult to break out of.

Understanding Negative Thinking

Negative thinking and emotions can be deeply ingrained in the subconscious mind, making it difficult for individuals to change their behavior through conscious effort alone.

Negative thinking is a thought pattern where you focus on the negative aspects of a situation, person, or event. It can lead to feelings of sadness, anxiety, and stress. Negative thinking affects your self-esteem and confidence. So, you may not be able to complete your goals.

There are several types of negative thoughts that you may experience. Some of the most common include:

1. Automatic Negative Thoughts: These are thoughts that come to mind automatically, without any conscious effort on your part. They are often negative and can be difficult to control.
2. Intrusive Thoughts: These are thoughts that come to mind even though you don’t want them to. They can be disturbing and may cause anxiety or stress.
3. Negative Self-Talk: This is when you talk to yourself in a negative way, such as telling yourself that you are not good enough, or that you will never succeed.

4 Steps to Overcome Negative Thinking

It can be hard to shift from thinking negative to positive right away. However, there are ways to overcome negative thinking and gain control over your thoughts. Here are the 4 steps:

1. Be Mindful of Your Thoughts: The first step in overcoming negative thinking is to be mindful that you are having negative thoughts. This will help you to become more aware of your thought patterns and allow you to take steps to change them.
2. Challenge Negative Self-Talk: Remember that you are in control of your thoughts. If you notice negative self-talk, challenge it with “What if it is not true?” question. It involves questioning the validity of negative thoughts by asking yourself, “what if the opposite were true?” 

For example, if you have the thought, “I can’t do it,” you could ask yourself, “what if it’s not true? What if I can do it?”  This can help you consider alternative perspectives and challenge the negative thought pattern.

1. Consider the evidence: As above, give evidence for the “what if” statement. Let your mind come up with evidence that supports this idea.
2. Broaden your POV: This can help you shut out your negative thoughts. It means that you must think of a positive thought every time toxic thoughts overwhelm you.  

You can ask yourself open-ended questions like “Why is this thought correct? Or, why is it incorrect?” This can help you consider a wider range of possibilities and challenge negative thoughts more effectively.

If you are struggling to overcome negative thoughts, consider seeking help from a professional therapist. A blend of Hypnotherapy, Psychotherapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be very effective to help you gain control over your thoughts and emotions.

Hypnotherapy: Powerful Tool for Change

Hypnotherapy can be highly effective in addressing negative thoughts. Hypnotherapy is a form of therapy that uses hypnosis to help individuals access their unconscious mind and make positive changes to their behaviours, thoughts, and emotions. Hypnotherapy has many benefits and it can be used to help people rewire their brain by reprogramming the subconscious. 

You may wonder why making changes at the subconscious level can be easier? Because the subconscious mind is responsible for many of our automatic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. These automatic processes are often deeply ingrained, and they can be difficult to change through conscious effort alone.

The subconscious mind is also less influenced by rational thought and logic, and it is more receptive to suggestion and visualization. This is why hypnotherapy can be particularly effective in making changes at the subconscious level, as it allows individuals to bypass their conscious mind and access their subconscious mind more directly.

When changes are made at the subconscious level, they can also be more long-lasting. This is because the changes are integrated into the individual’s automatic thought processes, making them more natural and effortless. 

As a result, individuals are more likely to continue to behave and think in ways that are consistent with their new beliefs and attitudes

Hypnotherapy in Conjunction with CBT for Positivity

CBT helps you recognise and resolve your negative thoughts and behaviours. Your therapist can help you understand exactly why you think like that. As a result, you can replace them with positive behaviours easily.

When Hypnotherapy and CBT are combined, they can be even more effective in helping individuals overcome negative thoughts. Hypnotherapy can help individuals make changes at the subconscious level. 

For example, hypnotherapists can use mental rehearsal, facilitating the individual to imagine positive outcomes and visualize oneself successfully handling difficult situations.

You can become more positive if you keep practicing replacing your thoughts. Mental rehearsal is useful if you have anxiety. It can help you prepare for challenging situations and reduce their feelings of anxiety.

In a Nutshell

Overcoming negative thinking is a process that takes time and effort. It is important to remember that it’s not about just acknowledging your thoughts, your feelings, but you are in control of your thoughts and emotions. 

Also, making rapid changes at the subconscious level requires the help of a trained professional. A skilled therapist can help you identify and challenge negative thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors and replace them with more positive ones, leading to significant improvements in their mental health and overall well-being.

If you are ready for change and be more positive, book a FREE Strategy Call with us and learn more.