I want to stop imagining things. Negative things keep popping up in my mind. It is really frustrating. I do not want to think about things all the time.

I think about all the things that can happen to me. Negative things are always on my mind. I wish I could stop thinking about things.

I need to find a way to stop imagining things. Negative things are not good, for me. I want to think about things instead of negative things.

You may have wondered, “What keeps my mind going towards the negative thoughts ? you are not broken the human brain is designed to protect us and thus is designed to give us negative scenarios, You are not hurt, you are not wrong or damaged.

You’re a human. All of us have bad thoughts, especially when they are overburdened, emotionally strained, stressed, or tired. “The good news?” It is not necessary to fight your thoughts in order to feel better. You just need to establish a new mental relationship.

1. Start by acknowledging the thought

You cannot work with something that you do not understand. So the first thing you need to do is notice when negative thoughts happen. You just need to watch them without arguing about them or saying they are bad.

Example how to do it –

Close your eyes if that feels comfortable, for you or you can soften your gaze. This will help you relax and focus on the meditation of your body and your mind so just close your eyes or soften your gaze and let yourself unwind.

Bring your attention to your breath — just noticing the natural rhythm of breathing in and out do it least 10 times

As you are sitting there you might start thinking about things. This is totally normal when you are thinking deeply about something and thoughts may arise in your mind so it is fine.

When a thought comes into your mind. For example “I am going to fail this exam”. You should gently acknowledge the thought by saying to yourself:

I notice that I have this thought that I am going to fail. The thought of failure is what I am thinking about. I think about the possibility that I will not succeed and this is what is, on my mind. The fear of failure is the thought that I am dealing with the thought that I am going to fail.

When you have a thought do not try to push the thought or get caught up in the thought. Instead imagine you put the thought on a cloud. Then you let the thought drift away far as possible. You just watch the thought move at its pace but it is far away from you. You keep watching the thought until it is gone. The thought is gone when you can not see it anymore. You let the thought go. It does not bother you because the thought is, on the cloud and it is very far away.

You do not need to follow it.

You do not need to stop it.

When a new thought comes up do the thing. Notice the thought give it a name let it be and then go back, to what you were doing with the thoughts. Repeat this with each thought that arises. Notice the thought name the thought allow the thought and return.

This is the practice of mindfulness: being present with your thoughts without judging them or letting them take control over you.

Try add this mild shift as you practice or sit with thoughts – the idea that these are thoughts not me not my present not my fate.

Try stating, “I’m thinking that I’m a failure,” rather than, “I’m a failure.”

Even though it might not seem like much, it gives you enough space to remember that this is a thought and not facts; and result is based on action and facts.

2. Ask Questions, Not Criticise

Though thoughts are usually assumptions rather than facts, as its comes from our fear brain; most negative notions appear plausible. When an idea / thought feels heavy or distressing

PAUSE  and reflect on it; talk to it not run away

• What specific proof do I have on this?
• Is there any ather explanation?
• If it was my younger brother or a close friend thinking this, how would I react or what would I say to them ?

As we are usually kind and more open to others experiences but critical when it comes to us. thus thinking from a 3rd person perspective holding and questioning the thought usually makes it better and rational.

3. Let go of the “Musts” and “Should.”

We often get stuck in a cycle of thinking that we have to do things. For instance I have to be good I must do my best I should be praised by others. Everyone has to like me. We also think that we have to do everything. This kind of thinking can really cause us a lot of stress. It can also make us feel unhappy and disappointed with our lives. The thing is we have to be good we must do our best and we should be praised but when we do not get what we want it can be really tough. Everyone has to like me this is what we think. It is not always possible. We have to do everything this is a lot of pressure.

4. When you follow these stringent rules, kindly ask:

Who decided that this was the specific way things had to be?

Think of replacing them with softer, more realistic statements: “I want to perform well, but I’m okay if I don’t.”  making them softer is not about decreasing your standards, this modification makes them more compassionate and give you more scope and increases ability to solve the issue or think of solution rather than fixed onto strict rumination.

5. Sometimes it feels really weird.

You should still be kind to yourself and practice self-compassion. Remember that self-compassion is important. It helps you to be nicer to yourself. That is what self-compassion is all, about being kind and understanding when things get tough and that is a big part of self-compassion.

When I am too hard, on myself it does not help me to change. It just makes things worse. So every time I have a thought I try to do something different. I put my hand on my chest. I say, “This is hard.” But even if it is hard I can work on self-criticism I can let self-criticism be. I will try all ways to deal with self-criticism. Saying mean things to myself like “oh my god I did it why am I not getting better why am I always sick” does not work. Self-criticism will never help me it just makes me feel worse.

Change the narrative, change to voice, change how you speak to self it will go a long way

When we talk to each other we should be kind. Kindness is something that we must have it is not something that we can just decide to do. We have to be kind all the time because that is what loved ones do for each other. Kindness is not something that we can choose to do or not do it is something that we have to do. We should always be kind to the people we care about, like our family and friends.

6. Easy Daily Habits That Make a Big Difference

You do not have to change your life. Some simple things you do every day can make a difference:

• Victories at the end of the day: Write it in your diary or sit with your eyes close in a composed state and notice three things that went well today, no matter how small. To find the positive, your brain requires help.
• Scheduled worry time: Give your worries fifteen minutes of your time, which means create a special time or a box to postpone all worry to that space and in the moment say, quietly, “Not now—I’ll think about this later” when they first show up.

• Take slow breaths: Hold your breaths for a count of 4, then let them out for eight. Your body is informed that it is safe by this.
• Change what you are doing now: Get up and move around talk to someone or focus only on one thing at a time.

7. When Should I Seek Professional Assistance?

If your negative thoughts start to interfere with your relationships, employment, or sleep, or if you’re thinking about harming yourself, please seek therapy.

Seeking therapy is not a sign of weakness, therapy doesn’t always mean that you are broken it can just be a choice to take care to self. It shows that you are serious about yourself. Effective strategies for tackling negative thought patterns have been well studied.

So important to remember is – No matter how loud, compelling, and persistent your thoughts are, they are not facts. They are sporadic mental occurrences.