How to Deal With Negative Thoughts

Step 1

1

Understand that negative thoughts have a purpose. Even though negative thoughts may be disruptive and cause you to feel inadequate, they are meant to be beneficial. Some psychologists even believe that a dose of pessimism can be healthy because it forces us to be more resourceful and reflect when things are not going well for us.

If you’ve been having negative thoughts, know that you’re not alone. Negative thinking makes up a large portion of our thoughts. Negative thinking might even be inherent in the psychological makeup of human beings. Like our ancestors, we’re constantly taking in our environment and trying to make it better. This process becomes a problem when we start to think that these negative thoughts are true.

Step 2

2

Know when negative thoughts are a problem. If your negative thoughts are affecting your behavior or interfering with your daily life, then they are causing a problem and you may need to seek the help of a mental health professional. Too much negativity may lead to an intensification of your problems because you expect things to go wrong. One way to describe this phenomenon is the self-fulfilling prophecy which refers to the cycle of having an expectation or thought of a situation that creates a new behavior that makes the expectation of the situation true.

For example: You think you will fail the test in English tomorrow. Because you think you will fail no matter what, your behaviors or action is not to study for the test. And then you fail the test. The long term consequences of this are starting to think that you are stupid or a bad test taker, which leads to more problems with test taking.

Step 3

3

Be aware of the different types of negative thoughts. Negative thinking comes in many different forms. Being aware of these forms may help you to know when you are having a negative thought and work to counteract that thought. Not all negative thoughts will fit into a category, but there are some common types of negative thoughts that you may be dealing with.

Filtering is when you ignore any positive aspects of a situation. For example, if you passed a very difficult course with a C+, you were hoping for an A, you might think to yourself “I am a mediocre student.”

Black and white thinking is when you refuse to see gray areas and make all or nothing judgments. For example, if you get a B- on a test when you were expecting an A, you might think to yourself, “I am a failure.”

Overgeneralization is when you assume that because something happens once it will always happen again. For example, if you get a B- on a test when you were hoping for an A, you might think to yourself, “I will always get B minuses on my tests.”

Jumping to Conclusions is when you assume you know how someone else thinks or feels. For example, if you get a B- on a test when you were hoping for an A, you might think to yourself, “The teacher thinks I am dumb.”

Catastrophizing is when you think the worst is going to happen all the time. For example, you might be catastrophizing if you think to yourself before each test you take, “I am going to get the lowest grade in the class!”

Personalization is when you believe you have had an effect on situations or events you have no control over. For example, if your boss yells at you all of the time, you might think to yourself, “It’s my fault that my boss yells at me all of the time.”

Control Fallacy is when you feel that you have no control or you have all the control. For example, you may think to yourself, “Nothing I do will help me to get an A on my math test.”

Fallacy of Fairness is believing things happen because life is not fair. For example, you might think to yourself, “I got a B- on my math test because life is not fair.”

Blaming is believing other people are responsible for your emotions. For example, you might think to yourself, “Susie is the reason why I am sad all of time.”

Emotional Reasoning is when you assume an initial feeling is true just because you had that feeling. For example, you might think to yourself, “I feel like I am a failure, therefore, I am a failure.”

Fallacy of Change is when you believe that other people need to change for you to be happy. For example, you might think to yourself, “I will never be happy until Susie changes her attitude.”

Global Labeling is when you attach an unhealthy label to yourself or others because of one event or action. For example, if you forget to study for a test, you might think to yourself, “I am unreliable.”

Step 4

4

Keep a thought record to better understand what motivates your negative thoughts. Journaling about your negative thoughts may help you start to understand them and deal with them. Start by writing down an event that you wish had gone differently or that you think you could have handled better. When possible track your feelings about the event as well.

For example, you might record something like, “I did poorly on the English test. I felt anxious before the test because it reminded me of another time that I failed a test.”

Step 5

5

Identify your automatic thoughts. In addition to recording your situational negative thoughts, you should also keep a record of your automatic thoughts. These are the thoughts that pop into your head all of the time. They may seem to occur without warning or reason.

For example, your automatic thoughts might be something like, “I am stupid,” “I am a disappointment,” or “I will never succeed in life.”

Step 6

6

Determine what type of negative thoughts you are having. Reconsider the most common types of negative thoughts to help you determine what category your thoughts fall into. Identify the type(s) of thoughts that you are having and label them as such in your thought record.

For example, if you often think to yourself “I am stupid,” then you might label this thought as “Black and White Thinking” because you are ignoring things that you do well.

Step 7

7

Identify your underlying concerns. In order to deal with negative thoughts, you will need to become more aware of those thoughts and what assumptions and beliefs are associated with them. Choose a negative thought and think about the concerns that might be driving that thought. This process may make you feel uncomfortable, but it is important to understand the motivation for your negative thoughts.

For example, a negative thought might be something like, “I am stupid.” The motivation for this thought might be related to concerns about your intelligence and natural abilities.

Step 8

8

Examine the root cause of your negative thoughts. Remember that your negative thoughts are related to a belief or assumption that you hold. It is important to try to find the root of that belief or assumption and begin to break it down.

For example, if you often have the thoughts about failing tests, consider the role of your parents and teachers in developing that belief in you. Do your teachers or parents say that you will not be successful in life if you keep failing tests?