How to Neutralize Negative Thoughts and Annihilate Anxiety

Most of us have negative thoughts and anxiety, which can put a real damper on the day. Finding ways to neutralize these thoughts and deal with your anxiety can help you get back on track to enjoying life. We created this guide to help you reframe your way of thinking and find ways to cope with your anxiety. Keep on reading to discover helpful tactics for managing stress and anxiety.

How To Neutralize Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts can flourish if you don't catch and deal with them. Letting these thoughts get the better of you allows them to grow and fester and can leave you feeling upset, while also affecting your mental well-being. Thankfully, there are a few methods you can use to catch, reframe, and challenge these thoughts to transform your mindset. Here are two ways you can neutralize this type of thinking:

Catching Your Negative Thoughts

The first step in neutralizing your negative thoughts is recognizing them. Writing these thoughts down can help you identify them in the future and find trends in your thinking. This also gives you the time and mindfulness moment to reflect on these thoughts. Some examples of negative thoughts you might have include assuming the worst in a given situation, only focusing on the negative aspects, and always blaming yourself when something doesn't go as expected.

Reframing Negative Thoughts

Recognizing your negative thoughts in the first place is beneficial when it comes to reframing them. Sure, acknowledging these thoughts might not be fun, but it's important to see them for what they are so you can work on moving past them.

For example, if all you're able to focus on is the sheer number of people who are going to be present at your friend's birthday bash, that anxiety can prevent you from actually enjoying yourself. Take a moment to acknowledge that concern, but then refocus on the fact that you're all there to celebrate your friend and have a fun time. This helps you move past the anxiety.

Also, remembering that you're in control of the situation and have the ability to engage with your friends on your terms, take a moment for yourself, and leave if needed, can help you gain back control of your thoughts.

Challenging Negative Thoughts

Challenging negative thoughts focus more on the logic of your feelings, which can help you overcome them. It's essential to not accept your first thought about something as fact. You can still have the thought and then take the time to analyze it before accepting or rejecting that as your truth. Some easy ways to challenge your thoughts include asking yourself:

• Is the outcome I expect going to happen?
• Why do I think that this outcome will happen?
• What am I worried about?
• Are there other outcomes that might occur?
• What would I say to a friend or loved one if they voiced these thoughts to me?

Asking yourself “why?” is a great way to get to the root of your negative thinking, which can help you then reframe or negate these thoughts completely. Like, "Why do I think that no one is going to like the side dish I made for the party?" Applying logic could make you realize where your feelings stem from. Maybe one time an ex-boyfriend said that the dish you made for his family potluck "wasn't his favorite," and now you're worried your friends will feel the same even though they always rave about your cooking.

Ways To Annihilate Anxiety

Negative thoughts and anxiety, unfortunately, go hand in hand in a vicious cycle. Finding ways to help your mind and body calm down can break this endless cycle and get you back to the things that matter — enjoying life and living in the moment.

Dealing With Anxiety

When you're feeling overly anxious, there are a few steps you can take to keep your emotions from turning into a cyclone. First, narrowing your focus on the immediate moment can help you experience each feeling as it's happening, which can help you feel less overwhelmed. 

Next, focus on your natural breathing or try the 4-7-8 breathing technique — breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and breathe out for eight seconds. Because anxiety can cause fast, uncontrolled breathing, following a focused breathing pattern can help you regulate your feelings and avoid going haywire. Close your eyes and focus on taking deep breaths you feel all the way in your belly. You might surprise yourself with just how effective it can be.

Once you've become aware of your breathing, focus on the rest of your body. Feel the different sensations each part is experiencing. This lets you calmly bring awareness to yourself and settle back into the present moment instead of your racing thoughts. Once you've reached a calmer place, then you can move forward with handling the situation that brought about your initial feelings.

Guided Meditation for Anxiety

Meditation can help you calm your thoughts and manage your feelings. It allows you to be in the moment and not focus on tomorrow's to-do list or next week's corporate meeting. This helps you realize things you were unable to do before and discover the solution to your anxiety. Joining a guided meditation session, such as one with our intuitive Psychic Advisors, can help you effectively navigate your meditation session and manage your anxiety.

Other Ways To Overcome Negative Thinking and Anxiety

There are countless ways to tackle these thoughts and feelings, and different methods work for different people. Mindfulness is key to whatever methods you use to help navigate these emotions and ways of thinking. Some other methods to use along with mindfulness include:

• Talking about your thoughts and feelings with someone you trust.
• Introducing regular exercise to your daily routine.
• Finding ways to give back to your community.
• Writing down things you are grateful for each day.

Negative thoughts and anxiety are a part of life; sometimes it can be easy for these thoughts and feelings to take over. Getting help from a life coach and emotional healer can provide you with the support and guidance to effectively deal with these feelings, enhancing your mental and emotional well-being. It can also help you connect with your spiritual self and get back to enjoying each joy-filled moment.