Everyone goes through times of sadness, anger, or fear. However, sometimes the negative thoughts associated with these times stay in your head indefinitely. It can feel impossible to shake them.
You can clear your mind of negative thoughts with a bit of effort by using these five ideas. Generally, the best way to get rid of negative thoughts involves refocusing your mind and body on positive thoughts and activities.
Ready to think more positive? Keep reading to discover the top five ways to clear your mind of negative thoughts.
1. Move Your Body
Often, the negative thoughts in your head get stuck and prevent you from taking action. Therefore, you must counter this stagnation by forcing yourself to move. Get up, get outside, go for a walk, or simply enjoy a quiet stretching exercise.
Getting your body flowing will also improve circulation to your brain, which will help clear your mind of negative thoughts. Think about all the times you’ve been severely weighed down by negative thoughts. Typically, these thoughts act as iron chains, trapping you in bed or on the couch.
When you physically rise up and get active, you’re telling your mind and body that you’re ready for a positive change. Even taking a brisk walk can help you clear your head and gain a new perspective on your thoughts. Pick your favorite activity, and soon you’ll find the negative thoughts fading into the background.
2. Practice Deep Breathing
You can ground yourself with a single, intentional breath at any moment. You don’t have to go into a full hour-long deep breathing session to reap rewards from this practice. When you feel yourself drowning in a whirlpool of negative thoughts, sit tall and breathe in for four seconds.
Then, hold your breath for four seconds. And release that breath slowly and deliberately. You’ll find that the chaos in your mind quiets down a bit.
Repeat these deep breaths as needed to relax and reset your mind. Controlling your breathing is a powerful method to show your body and mind that you are in control. It draws your focus from those negative thoughts to your breath.
3. Name Your Thoughts and Feelings
To clear your mind of negative thoughts, you must understand what those negative thoughts are. Begin by mindfully asking yourself what your repetitive negative thoughts are. Face them with a curious and kind approach.
Usually, your negative thoughts are triggered by specific feelings. Focus on what you feel when those hurtful voices begin chattering in your head. Is it sadness, anger, or loneliness?
Name the feeling, and even say it out loud to solidify your experience. Doing so helps you own your feelings and identify how they trigger negative thoughts. Then, listen to the negative thoughts with an open mind.
There may be some truth to the negative thoughts, but in many cases, they are baseless. So, recognize the thoughts for what they are. Now, with an understanding of why these thoughts are infiltrating your mind, you can clear them away.
4. Meditate
Mindfulness meditation is a scientifically backed way to help you break those negative thought patterns. Setting aside quiet time to meditate each day can have profound impacts over time. Not only will you clear your mind of negative thoughts, you’ll find yourself more focused and less stressed.
If you’re a beginner at meditation, start with just 3-5 minutes per day. As you meditate, notice each thought but watch it from a distance, as if you’re watching clouds float by in the sky. This practice will help you realize your negative thoughts are just passing thoughts that you don’t need to react or respond to.
Meditating may not completely clear your mind of negative thoughts. They may still come and go. However, when you practice meditation, you’ll learn to remain calm and focused when you hear those negative thoughts in your mind.
Over time, you’ll find that you’re less affected by the negative thoughts that used to cause so much pain.
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5. List Things You’re Grateful For
Gratitude is a powerful feeling. For instance, if you begin naming three things you’re grateful for every day, over time you’ll rewire your brain to be more optimistic. Instead of drowning in negative thoughts, you’ll predominately focus on the positive ones.
Feeling grateful repels negative thoughts and feelings. So, when you hear negative thoughts start echoing in your mind, pick one thing you’re grateful for and focus on it. Then, pick another, and another.
By redirecting your thoughts, you will clear your mind of negative thoughts. When you make this a daily practice, it will get easier to refocus on the positive in your moments of despair.
Conclusion: Clear Your Mind of Negative Thoughts
To sum it up, you can get rid of negative thoughts by refocusing your body and mind on positive actions. Importantly, clearing your mind of negative thoughts may not be immediately cured with these methods. However, over time, with practice, those negative thoughts will fade to the background.
With these methods, you’ll learn to recognize negative thoughts and let them pass you by.
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