Due to negative thoughts or emotions, a person can develop not only mental problems, but also health problems. In the modern world, where there is often no time to really relax and rest, negativity accumulates inside and gradually destroys a person's life. It is important to learn how to get rid of it.
Remove negativity from thoughts
It is worth recalling right away that negativity does not dominate a person until you react to it. That is, negative situations can occur around, strangers or familiar people can say nasty things or do nasty things, but until all this “takes root” inside a person, negative thoughts do not fill the mind. As soon as a person reacted: answered, put another in place, or showed a different reaction in response to an external influence, the thought settles in his head, and it will be necessary to work with it in order to eliminate it.
When working with negative thoughts, it is important to recognize in time when these very thoughts are settling in the head. One technique for dealing with such thoughts is cutting. It does not imply their elaboration and analysis; in this technique, you just need to cut off the thought, replacing it with something else, completely unrelated to it.
In another technique, the thought should not be cut off, but viewed from the side. At the same time, you do not need to live it, you just need to consider it, like, for example, a shop window. In this situation, you can ask yourself: “What am I thinking about now?”, While the thought will be perceived as someone else's, and not your own, which means that it will not be able to settle inside.
Another method that involves getting rid of negativity is exaggeration, bringing it to the point of absurdity. When a negative thought appears, you need to start working towards exaggerating it. So, the idea that the boss will now swear can be safely developed further: he will put the late employee on peas in the corner of his office, and then, with shame, along with the rest of the employees, they will walk and laugh ominously at him, then everyone will start scratching and biting etc. After another absurd thought, a smile will surely appear on your face, which means that the negative will go away.
Another effective method of dealing with negative thoughts is opposition. When a thought like “I will not succeed” appears, it should be immediately replaced by another, opposite one - “I will succeed”.
Dealing with emotions
Dealing with emotions is more difficult than with thoughts, because it is not always possible to track down what causes them. But in no case should you leave the negative in yourself: it needs to be thrown out. However, this does not mean that you need to vent anger, resentment, sadness, anger or other negative emotions on others. There are special techniques on how not to harm anyone and at the same time help yourself.
One such technique is the "empty chair". You need to put an empty chair in the middle of the room and put a soft toy or pillow on it, imagining it to be the offender. The offender here may not be a person, but a thing, for example, a broken washing machine. And then you can knock on the "offender", ask questions, stomp with your feet, or just shout so that all the negativity comes out. Similarly to this technique, you can tear paper, unpleasant photographs, break dishes - if only it is useful.
There is also a technique that involves writing a letter to someone who has once offended. This letter does not need to be sent, which means that you can feel free to use expressions and write what you want. Then you can write a response letter, imagine yourself in the place of that person, apologize on his behalf, make excuses. It is advisable to write what you would like to hear from the offender personally. After completing such exercises, you can cry, you should not be afraid - this is how the negative comes out.
To share or not to share
You always need to remember that you cannot throw out negativity on your family and friends. Just by telling people about his difficult situation, part of the worries also falls on them, and the person himself still does not solve his problem. You need to keep loved ones away from your problems or start a conversation that does not end with just a statement of the situation. It is better to ask for advice, understanding, just support, i.e. get some kind of feedback, and not leave the other person alone with their problem.
If you cannot deal with the problem of negative perception of life on your own, you can turn to a psychologist. You can already discuss everything with him without embellishment, without trying to spare his feelings. Good psychologists know how to deal with other people's negativity.
