Negative thoughts have plagued us since the beginning of time. If you are in recovery, there’s no doubt you have had negative thoughts that have tried to derail your success. It’s impossible to stop every single negative thought you have, but you can clear the space for more positive thoughts. Working on your self-talk takes hard work and commitment. If you want to embrace positivity, you’re in the right place. Read on to learn more.
Self-Talk
Your self-talk is extremely important. If you don’t pay much attention to it, it probably isn’t serving you. Self-talk is something that you have to work on for it to get better. Self-talk is that chatter you hear between your ears, the one that helps fuel you
into your decisions and tells you how you feel about yourself. These thoughts can often be unconscious, especially if we aren’t used to working on how we talk to ourselves. Most often, these unconscious thoughts are negative. It’s time you focus on your self-talk and how you can make in kinder. It’s going to be difficult because these thoughts have probably been holding you for years. Just like any other bad habit, like biting your nails, you can’t just decide to stop and you’re magically done with the habit. It doesn’t work that way. It takes days, weeks even, for you to make a dent in that self-talk. So, buckle up and get started. You’ve got a long way to go.
What Flows Through You?
Think of yourself as a water filter. The water filter cleans water by keeping the debris away from the water. The more you filter the water, the cleaner it gets. This is just like your thoughts. In your recovery, your thoughts might be quite negative. If you stop one thought in its tracks, you’re filtering your thoughts. Next time, stop another thought. As you go on, your thoughts get cleaner and you’re breaking those bad habits of negative self-talk. This takes practice, remember. You aren’t going to be a pro on the first day. Stick with it.
How Can I Filter My Thoughts?
Keep a thought journal. A thought journal holds all of those negative and automatic thoughts. The simple act of grabbing your journal to write down the thought can be enough to deter you from thinking that negative thought. Once the thought has entered your mind, write down what the thought is. Why are you having this thought? What feelings is this thought causing you to have? Once you figure out these questions, it’s time to filter and reframe.
To filter the thought, you’re going to have to reframe it. Reframing a thought is basically rewriting it in a healthier, more positive way. Reframing takes into account the fact that your negative thought is probably irrational. Reframing rationalizes the thought. That way, you can repeat the healthy, positive thought back to yourself. This thought journal is a great idea for anyone struggling with filtering their thoughts.
How Can I Clear My Head?
Clearing your head takes time, just like filtering your thoughts. To clear your head, first, use your thought journal. Figure out whose voice you are hearing this thought in and where it originally came from. Ask yourself if the thought is rational. Now, let’s step away from the negatives for a little bit.
Find the positives in your thought. How would you reframe this thought if you were talking to a friend? Surely you wouldn’t be as hard on a friend as you are on yourself. Think about what encouraging words you’d say to them. Next, reframe the thought. Taking a negative thought and putting a healthier, more positive thought in its place can work wonders.
Use some of the tools in your toolbox to dig deep and reframe your thought. Lastly, identifying when you have this negative chatter in your head is the key to releasing the thoughts. You cannot possibly clear your head if you aren’t able to identify it. Once you have identified it, replace it with the reframed thought every single time. This helps foster a kinder way of thinking and creates that newer, healthier habit.
Remember that there really isn’t such a thing as “out of sight, out of mind” when it comes to our thoughts. We retain those thoughts and subconsciously act upon them. Just because you de-clutter your mind once doesn’t mean it will be de-cluttered forever. Every so often, you’re going to have to go through the habit of clearing your mind. It may seem annoying at first, but it will soon become as automatic as those unhealthy thoughts once were!
The Guest House is here to help you with all of your trauma, mental illness, substance use, and other hardships. Call us today at 855-483-7800. We can’t wait to speak with you and help get you started today on one of our programs. Call us now to speak with one of our positive and enthusiastic team members. You won’t be disappointed with what we have to offer. We can help you get over your negative self-talk and replace it with positive self-talk. We know the importance of this. Call us now.