Lower Stress With Positive Self Talk

You Can Lower Stress By Talking To Yourself!

The voice you listen to most is your own! If you don’t believe this, notice today how many thoughts go through your head each day that have either a positive or negative angle. You really can lower stress by switching your negative self-talk to positive self-talk.

You have been hearing your own voice all of your life and it makes sense that your own opinion carries more weight than any other person’s opinion on any given situation. This is the reason that having negative thoughts going through your mind at will about you or your life can create higher levels of stress before you even realize it is happening.

Higher levels of stress that continue are not what we are created to manage and create increased cortisol levels that bring health problems along too. By taking stock of your thoughts and choosing positive self-talk instead of negative you can lower your stress levels and cortisol levels as well.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life’s less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.

Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you’re likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking…

…Identifying negative thinking

Not sure if your self-talk is positive or negative? Some common forms of negative self-talk include:

Filtering.

You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive ones. For example, you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. That evening, you focus only on your plan to do even more tasks and forget about the compliments you received.

Personalizing.

When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.

Catastrophizing.

You automatically anticipate the worst. The drive-through coffee shop gets your order wrong and you automatically think that the rest of your day will be a disaster.

Polarizing.

You see things only as either good or bad. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or you’re a total failure…

…Focusing on positive thinking

You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it does take time and practice — you’re creating a new habit, after all. – Drugs.com

Techniques To Change Your Thoughts From Negative To Positive

It takes time and effort to change your self-talk from negative to positive but it will be worth the effort. Be patient with yourself. Anytime we learn a new skill it takes time to get it right and time for it to become automatic. With consistent effort to identify and reframe your thinking you will be able to change your habits so that your automatic thinking will become more positive over time.

With consistent effort to identify and reframe your thinking you will be able to change your habits so that your automatic thinking will become more positive over time.

A note about reality: Staying rooted in reality is absolutely imperative for good mental health and a balanced life. This conversation about positive self-talk is encouraging you to reframe the true situation in a positive light. The idea is not to ignore facts about a situation or create a fictitious positive reality. Simply look at the situation with an objective eye and then state it to yourself in the best way possible that agrees with

The idea is not to ignore facts about a situation or create a fictitious positive reality. Simply look at the situation with an objective eye and then state it to yourself in the best way possible that agrees with the facts.

Here are some techniques to help you create helpful positive self-talk.

Replace Negative Statements:

A good way to stop a bad habit is to replace it with something better. Once you’re aware of your internal dialogue, here are some ways to change it:

 Milder Wording:

Have you ever been to a hospital and noticed how the nurses talk about ‘discomfort’ instead of ‘pain’? This is generally done because ‘pain’ is a much more powerful word, and discussing your ‘pain’ level can actually make your experience of it more intense than if you’re discussing your ‘discomfort’ level. You can try this strategy in your daily life. In your self-talk, turning more powerful negative words to more neutral ones can actually help neutralize your experience. Instead of using words like ‘hate’ and ‘angry’ (as in, “I hate traffic! It makes me so angry!”), you can use words like ‘don’t like’ and ‘annoyed’ (“I don’t like traffic; it makes me annoyed,” sounds much milder, doesn’t it?)

In your self-talk, turning more powerful negative words to more neutral ones can actually help neutralize your experience. Instead of using words like ‘hate’ and ‘angry’ (as in, “I hate traffic! It makes me so angry!”), you can use words like ‘don’t like’ and ‘annoyed’ (“I don’t like traffic; it makes me annoyed,” sounds much milder, doesn’t it?)

Change Negative to Neutral or Positive:

As you find yourself mentally complaining about something, rethink your assumptions. Are you assuming something is a negative event when it isn’t, necessarily? (For example, having your plans canceled at the last minute can be seen as a negative, but what you do with your newly-freed schedule can be what you make of it.)

The next time you find yourself stressing about something or deciding you’re not up to a challenge, stop and rethink, and see if you can come up with a neutral or positive replacement. – Life Vessel

Do your thoughts lean to the positive or negative direction?


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