Too much of Negative thinking almost uncontrollable

[kingkong]

Dear all,

I have been known for my negative thinking both in the family and in the workplace.
My colleagues have commented about it in the past.
Nowadays its getting really really out of control.
I cant seem to enjoy life, as I always concentrate on the negatives.
The thoughts come all of a sudden.
For example, today morning I had some really negative thoughts spring up all of a sudden. It kinds left me in a foul mood and I am feeling withdrawn and depressed.
I used to have negative thoughts about health, money etc..but now its about myself, my family members etc.

Dont know how to stop them from springing up in the first place.
Once the thought comes, it goes on and on and on, and I cant stop them.

I bought some hypnosis CDs to think positively, but when I listen to the CD, I kinda go into a trance and once the suggestions start, my body shakes violently, my heart races fast, my mind gets uncomfortable ( as though its not willing to change), and I take the headphones off as I cant stand it any longer.

What should I do?
Please help.
Please advice.
Please share your experiences.
Let me know if any books help.

Sorry all.

[keta]

Hi

I think you should tell your GP because you could probably benefit from counselling 100% with this. Sorry that's the only advice i can give, i m prone to negative thinking myself but mainly when i feel down about something or my situation hence on medication.

[valleybear]

I agree with Keta on this. Counselling helped me with this years ago as I was becoming obsessed with negative thoughts on my family's health and it was taking up every minute of the day,taking over my life in fact. I have had some episodes since when the Dr prescribed stronger meds just to get me through the worst. You will get the appropriate help from the Doc and sometimes we all need help. Take care.

[theharvestmouse]

Negative thinking is a bad thing, you need to train your mind to think positively, hard work though. I am a pretty negative person but I have managed to change a bit.

[JoJoR]

I think its part of anxiety disorder. I have always been a very negative thinker. Always believed that the worst will happen and that nothing good will come of anything. I always think that the minute something good happens something bad always happens to ruin it. I tend to live my life with many questions ....usually what ifs....I see a counsellor once a week and feel like we're making some progress. I agree with the others that counselling will help you and CBT is a good way of training your brain into thinking more positively... Good Luck!

[kingkong]

Thanks to everybody for replying.
I have fixed up a session next week to start with.

I forced myself to listen to the hypnosis CD yesterday and ended up shaking all over again. but this time I made it a point to listen to it fully.
Still feeling depressed.

It affects my concentration, my ability to think and hence my work.

Thanks again.

[inCOGnito]

I've always had a problem with negative thinking too. Because your negative thoughts are automatic and highly frequent doesn't mean that can't change. I really believe that negative thinking can be improved.

Some of the things I have tried that work are;

1. Saying "stop". If a negative thought pattern comes into my head I will simply say stop so I don't expand on it or continue with it.

2. Acknowledging the thought. This is a slight extenuation of mindfulness practice so if I am having a negative thought I will simply give it a label to acknowledge it. For example I might say "negative thought", "obsessive thought", "catastrophizing", "future thought", "past thought", etc. Basically I acknowledge the thoughts existence rather than try and repress it or to try and not think about it.

3. Particularly for those "what if" moments I will put a positive spin on it and say "what if...I suceed", or "what if...I just accept things". It initiates a proceeding positive thought and reaction.

4. Re-address the negative thought with a positive spin. For instance if I thought "That meeting was terrible, I didn't say the right thing, I looked like a fool." I would change it to something like "Despite not saying the best things I handled the meeting ok. I was able to interact and contribute to the meeting." With this you are not trying to mask or ignore the negatives but discover the positive aspects of every situation.


Trying to ignore or repress negative thoughts simply doesn't work in my opinion. You have to change your style of thinking. Over time I believe these techniques WILL change those automatic negative thoughts in to automatic positive ones! It may help to write things down (especially point 4) to practice and get the hang of it.

[Stormsky]

Dont know how to stop them from springing up in the first place.
Once the thought comes, it goes on and on and on, and I cant stop them.


you cant stop random thoughts, we all have them all day long, .... but you can choose to ignore them.. or choose to think about something else to distract from them... your belief and attention you give to negative thoughts, keeps them popping back.....
You need to try and have some positive statements to hand, and as soon as you catch a negative thought, quickly reply to it with a positive....
the more you can do this, the less the negative thoughts will come...

[kingkong]

Thanks incognito and thanks Stormsky.