How to stop worrying and negative thoughts in 4 simple steps.

How to stop worrying and negative thoughts in 4 simple steps.

We all have negative thoughts and anxiety fuelled things that fill our heads, because that is the function of the mind: it thinks up stuff.

The mind churns up/creates stuff for us to worry/stress/be anxious about. A “healthy” (VERY LIMITED) dose of this type of “stress” can be good for us as a motivator or instigator for change or action.

However, most of us just allow the mind to completely take over in a kind of overactive-washing-machine-spin cycle – the mind just goes round and round and round and round in a never-ending sploshing of negative thoughts and worry. Before we know it – we are trapped in the Washing-Machine-of-Worry.

THIS is NOT useful for us, at all.

This is a 4 step process for you to stop your negative and worrying thoughts and get OUT of the washing machine of worry.

STEP ONE: NOTICING

The first step begins with NOTICING the negative/worrying thoughts that are cycling through your head. This is often quite a difficult step because negative thoughts can be so all-consuming that we are often too far IN the thoughts to be able to realise that we are actually thinking those those.

NOTICE that you are in a washing machine of negative thoughts is the first step. Congratulate yourself when you get to this step!

STEP TWO: LET GO OF THE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

Step two is like hitting STOP on your washing machine cycle of negative thoughts (and actually, if you’ve managed step one effectively – you will be halfway there!) Stopping the thoughts will bring a very momentary feeling of calm – like all the sploshing water has suddenly come to a standstill.

The next part of step two involves CLIMBING OUT of the washing machine – which is in essence – creating a little bit of space between you and your wild-sploshing-worrysome thoughts.

This step is also really difficult because there is a big part of the ego that is really attached to being in the washing machine –

Especially if you’ve been worrying for half your life (most of us), the ego/mind feels a lot safer when it’s in the soapy-warm-bubbly zone of the washing-machine-of-worry – EVEN if it is basically drowning you.

To begin to detach yourself or “let go” of the negative thoughts you can say to yourself, “those are my thoughts, they are not me.”

You may find yourself slipping back into the soapy-warm washing machine of worry here – that’s ok. With compassion for yourself, begin the process again from step one.

If you manage to stay out of the washing machine of worry – CONGRATULATE yourself and move onto step three.

STEP THREE: MOVE TOWARD SOMETHING THAT IS MORE POSITIVE

This involves actually walking away from the washing machine and walking over to the delicious cup of coffee that is waiting for you on the other side of the kitchen.

Practically – moving your mind over to something that is more positive could be:

• Focusing on your breath
• Focusing on something you are grateful for today
• Focusing on a feeling of love
• It could be physically moving your body
• It could be removing yourself physically from the situation
• It could be doing something with your hands like a craft/journaling

STEP FOUR: COMMIT TO STAYING WITH THE NEW POSITIVE FEELINGS FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN

This step is also surprisingly tricky, because as the mind likes to do, it will quickly try and remind you of how delicious it feels to wallow in it’s own self-pity/anxiety/stress.

It’s your job to remain as focused as you can on staying within the new feeling of positive emotion/gratitude/presence or breath. Any of those will work at maintaining you at that new place of feeling good.

The more we train ourselves in the ability and SKILL to keep feeling good, the easier it is, over time for us to keep ourselves in the new positive place (aka near the delicious coffee).

This is a continuous work in progress for all of us, but the more we train the skill – the easier it is for us to develop the habit of staying in a really positive place for longer and longer periods of time at a stretch.

And who wants to be stuck in a washing-machine of worry when you could be enjoying a delicious cup of coffee? Am I right?!

Every month on movebreathecreate.com we share yoga and movement practices, meditations, guided journal prompts and creativity enhancing courses all centred on a theme.
You can find a journaling and yoga course on the site at the moment that will help you practically get out of worrying thoughts and negativity.

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