Okay, so I lied yesterday....this can be Googled.
How to overcome negative thoughts.
Negative thoughts are the enemies of a happy life. Negative thoughts will distract your focus from the important and drain your energy. Knowing how to overcome negative thoughts may make the difference between victory and defeat.
Some of what I found is advise for/from those who completely don't understand where I am coming from. Some say, "just focus on the good" or "don't pay attention to them." Are you kidding me, have you not been listening to what I say? I don't seem to have control over these thoughts. I can minimize them by sharing them with the right people, but I can't seem to control them. Estimates place the number of thoughts we have each day at 40 to 60 thousand, and we don’t have more than the most basic control over them.
Maybe here would be a good place for a little background information on me. I have been diagnosed with/suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for over half of my life now. One of the major characteristics of this disorder is flashbacks. So, basically, I suffer with a disorder that has the power to make my mind run away with me. So, now, what I want to know....how do I overcome these negative thoughts?
If you look closely, you’ll see that negative thoughts stem from negative emotions. They feed off each other. Negative thoughts cause negative emotions, and negative emotions cause more negative thoughts. They feed off each other in a vicious cycle. I often get trapped in this cycle.
One suggestion that I found says to change one part of the cycle – the emotions – and the thoughts will slowly change with it. Basically, put yourself in a good mood. Surround yourself with good thoughts and emotions, read your Bible, pray for the Holy Spirit to move, listen to praise music, or do whatever it is that makes you happy or puts you on an "even keel."
With that thought in mind...I enjoy blogging, yes...but, there are other things I could be doing right now to put my mind at ease. So, I am off to give it a try and put myself in a better mood.
Don't worry, I will come back and post more on this after I am on an "even keel."
How to overcome negative thoughts.
Negative thoughts are the enemies of a happy life. Negative thoughts will distract your focus from the important and drain your energy. Knowing how to overcome negative thoughts may make the difference between victory and defeat.
Some of what I found is advise for/from those who completely don't understand where I am coming from. Some say, "just focus on the good" or "don't pay attention to them." Are you kidding me, have you not been listening to what I say? I don't seem to have control over these thoughts. I can minimize them by sharing them with the right people, but I can't seem to control them. Estimates place the number of thoughts we have each day at 40 to 60 thousand, and we don’t have more than the most basic control over them.
Maybe here would be a good place for a little background information on me. I have been diagnosed with/suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for over half of my life now. One of the major characteristics of this disorder is flashbacks. So, basically, I suffer with a disorder that has the power to make my mind run away with me. So, now, what I want to know....how do I overcome these negative thoughts?If you look closely, you’ll see that negative thoughts stem from negative emotions. They feed off each other. Negative thoughts cause negative emotions, and negative emotions cause more negative thoughts. They feed off each other in a vicious cycle. I often get trapped in this cycle.
One suggestion that I found says to change one part of the cycle – the emotions – and the thoughts will slowly change with it. Basically, put yourself in a good mood. Surround yourself with good thoughts and emotions, read your Bible, pray for the Holy Spirit to move, listen to praise music, or do whatever it is that makes you happy or puts you on an "even keel."
With that thought in mind...I enjoy blogging, yes...but, there are other things I could be doing right now to put my mind at ease. So, I am off to give it a try and put myself in a better mood.
Don't worry, I will come back and post more on this after I am on an "even keel."
I've been told that people have cyclical thought patterns. There is a name for them, but I forget what they are called. But I bet you can identify them in yourself without too much thought. After I learned about them I immediately could. People who suffer from depression (not saying you do), but they have a harder time getting out of those patterns. I guess because it becomes habit and because it takes a lot of energy and emotional and mental strength, which people who are depressed don't have. Breaking those thought patterns can be done. It takes a lot of mental re-training, or in people with clinical depression, medication helps. (Again... not suggesting, just blabbing.) I found all this out after I had Jordan and she had colic and I had some serious post-partem going on. I also read an article somewhere about those cyclical thought patterns, which might be a really good thing for you to google. If nothing else, it's really interesting!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I am terrible about reading the comments. But I really appreciate you suggestions. I definitely suffer depression a lot and I do take meds, I thought you knew that. Anyways, keep an eye out for a post on clinical thought patterns.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Carla. Depression is genetic in my family, especially seasonal depression, so I totally get what she said. It is SO difficult to break out of a toxic thought cycle. How people do it is based off of the individual in my opinion. I usually just have to convince myself, make up my mind, and stay determined to change it. That doesn't always work for everyone else. I think you have to find what works for you and run with it!
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Don't worry, I'll be posting more. This is something I have been struggling with for more than half my life now. Some days are better than others, but I hope to help others out there somewhere.
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