How to Identify and Combat Negative Thinking Patterns

Enjoy the following guest post by Julia Morrissey about the importance of training your brain by identifying and combating negative thinking patterns.

Julia Morrissey is a content creator who enjoys writing on a variety of topics ranging from mental health to animal welfare. When she’s not writing you can find her running in Central Park in New York City or playing tennis.

Our thoughts have a profound impact on the way we feel. It can be especially challenging to remain positive during challenge times, but even in “normal” times it can be difficult to combat negative self-talk. Fleeting or occasional negative thoughts are common, but regular negative self-talk or negative thinking patterns can have devastating impacts on your overall well-being.
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Fortunately, with practice and patience, it’s possible to retrain your brain to think more positively. This post outlines six common thinking patterns to be aware of and offers ways you can retrain your brain.

6 common thinking patterns

Negative thinking patterns, also known as cognitive distortions, can lead you to believe something that isn’t true and form inaccurate conclusions about yourself or a situation.

Cognitive distortions can lead to or wosen negative emotions, anxiety, and depression. It’s critical to be able to recognize these negative thinking patterns so that you can stop them in their tracks.

Below are six common cognitive distortions:

1. Personalization: You take things personally and often compare yourself to others. E.g., My friend canceled our dinner plans because they found someone more interesting to hang out with.
2. Blaming: You constantly blame yourself and feel responsible for everything, even when you have no control over the potential outcome. E.g., My son had a terrible first semester at college because I’m a bad parent.
3. Always Being Right: You think you’re always right and are argumentative with people who disagree with your claims. E.g., I will win this argument no matter what.
4. Emotional Reasoning: You conclude that something is true based only on the way you’re feeling. E.g., I feel unattractive, so I must be unattractive.
5. Overgeneralization: You apply the result of a single negative experience to all other related experiences. E.g., I wasn’t promoted at my last job, so my new manager will probably never promote me.
6. Polarized Thinking: You see situations as either bad or good and with absolutely middle ground. E.g., The job offer is awful because it’s not exactly what I wanted.

Ways to retrain your brain

There are many ways you can combat negative thinking patterns and learn to engage in more positive self-talk. From learning to become more aware of your thoughts to prioritizing self-care, taking an active role in your mental health can help you feel more positive and confident.

Here are some of the ways you can retrain your brain for success and positivity:

1. Be cognizant of your thoughts: Learning to identify negative thoughts is a crucial first step in being able to combat them. Engaging in self-care practices, such as journaling or mindfulness, can help you develop a greater awareness of your thoughts and feelings.
   
2. Turn negatives into positives: Challenging your inner critic is a powerful act that can help you take back control. Countering negative thoughts with positive ones can improve your psychological well being.
   
3. Under your triggers: Recognizing what triggers you can help you better adapt to situations and control your emotional response. 
   
4. Create a personal mantra: A personal mantra or positive affirmation, such as “I can do this” or “I am enough,” can help you power through challenging thoughts and situations. 
   

Check out more tips for retraining your brain from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences below.

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David B. Younger, Ph.D. is the creator of Love After Kids, for couples that have grown apart since having children. He is a clinical psychologist and couples therapist with a web-based private practice and lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, 15-year-old son, 6-year-old daughter and 8-year-old toy poodle.