Tiny Leaps, Big Changes 561 - How to Analyze Your Negative Thoughts
In this episode, we look at our negative thoughts.
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How Negative Thoughts Happen
"Our overall mind state has a certain tone or flavor based largely on the types of thoughts we think. When the deep limbic system is overactive, it sets the mind’s filter on “negative.” If you could look into the thoughts of people who are depressed, you would find one dispiriting thought following another. When they look at the past, there is regret. When they look at the future there is anxiety and pessimism. In the present moment, something is most often unsatisfactory. The lens through which they see themselves, others, and the world has a dim grayness to it. They are suffering from Automatic Negative Thoughts, or ANTs. ANTs are cynical, gloomy, and complaining thoughts that just seem to keep coming all by themselves."
Takeaways:
- Often the negative thoughts we are having aren't conscious. They just happen.
- They come out of no where
- This is called Automatic Negative Thoughts
How to Deal With ANT's
- Use language as a tool to process your thoughts
- Describe what you are feeling either out loud to yourself, to someone else, or in a written format
- Describing what you are feeling forces you to analyze it.
- There's a difference between language inside your own mind and language used to communicate an idea.
This is why you sometimes have such a clear idea of something in your head but can't find the words to describe it - The process of turning your thoughts into language is called encoding.
"In order to convey meaning, the sender must begin encoding, which means translating information into a message in the form of symbols that represent ideas or concepts. This process translates the ideas or concepts into the coded message that will be communicated. The symbols can take on numerous forms such as, languages, words, or gestures. These symbols are used to encode ideas into messages that others can understand."
- While encoding a message your mind needs to analyze the information and find the right "symbols" or language to communicate it with.
- That process of analyzing can sometimes help you see things more clearly
- Think about when you say a word over and over again or read it over and over again and it starts to look weird. You start to question if it's spelled correct or if you're saying it right.
- This happens because you are seeing the word as it's individual parts. you are analyzing it. Rather than reaching for the word as a whole
- The same thing happens with our Anxiety or negative feelings
Takeaways:
- The next time you find yourself having automatic negative thoughts try saying the thoughts outloud to yourself. It just might help you realize how silly those thoughts are.
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