Stress Thinking: Breaking Negativity with Positive Shifts

Do you ever react irrationally to a situation? No? Do you ever put a negative spin on an occurrence? ‘What a bummer! Why does this always have to happen?’ Sure, most of us do something like this sometimes. However, did you know that these little knee-jerk negatives have a sneaky side to them? Negatives can get out of hand. Easily! They often become convenient, automatic, and habit-forming! They become stressful thinking habits. Many people have a habit of negative stress thinking.

Stress thinking refers to a pattern of unfounded stress-causing thoughts — thoughts based on inconclusive or nonexistent evidence. There are many different patterns of stress thinking. But they all have this in common: Stress thinking goes hand in hand with negativity.

Stress Thinking and Negativity

The tendency to think on the sour side of situations relates to an underlying sense of uneasiness and dissatisfaction. Yet, how many people associate a pervasive feeling of stress with a penchant for negativity? Routine negative stress thinking causes misinterpretations (such as, ‘They don’t like my work’) and false beliefs (such as, ‘The world is against me’). It can soon brand a personality and trigger foolish reactions to relationships and situations. It can contribute to low self-esteem and misguided perspectives on life itself. If this sounds extreme, brace yourself and read on! Cumulative negative stress thinking, day in and day out, leads to chronic stress, which is damaging to mental, emotional, and physical health.

Mayo Clinic corroborates the evidence that negative thinking raises stress levels. Are You Being Negative?

The tricky part:

You may not be aware of yourself being negative. ‘I’m just realistic,’ you may say. Whether you engage in negative thinking consciously or unconsciously, routinely or occasionally, you are not alone. Nearly everyone falls into the trap of nodding to a false negative. Even ‘optimists’ unknowingly express negative thinking. Comic exaggerations nudge us to look at ourselves. Stress thinking was the basic theme of the hilarious Seinfeld series. For example, the self-deprecating remarks of George Costanza routinely exploded into the quintessential patterns of stress thinking.

The Fix:

To find out if you engage in stress thinking and to learn what to do about it, start here.

Understand:

The occurrence of negative thinking is a stressor. The regular recurrence of negative thinking is a stress-causing habit. The good news is that you have control over your thoughts and your habits. You can change them.

The fastest way to start undoing negative stress thinking:

Recognition and Replacement

1. Recognize the occurrence of your negative thoughts.
2. Replace your negative thought with a more reasonable thought.

The key to your success is the replacement. If you do not plant seeds, then weeds will grow. The negative thought is a stressor; the replacement is a stress buffer. In your Stress Thinking Habits Self-Check, you will find Ten of the most common and elusive negative thinking stressors, Examples of each stressor, and healthy stress-buffing replacements. Check each Habit. Does it describe you? Read each example. Does it sound like you? Then, read the stress-buffing positive perspective that follows. As you acclimate yourself to positive perspectives, you’ll be able to develop and maintain the habit of more balanced thinking. Your automatic thoughts will be neither unfounded negatives nor thoughtless positives. Your mind will shift to a more balanced, less stressful state. Now, Just click/tap each Habit screen. Then, slide the screen over for the description and examples.

Final Word

Now that you’ve reflected on the Stress Thinking Habits Self-Check, you may have a slightly different perspective on your habits. Perhaps you discovered some potential for reducing stress. If you can ‘step outside of yourself’ and observe your reactions, you can reverse a ‘trip down the rabbit hole’ of negativity. Just as negative tendencies spur more negatives, so do positive reactions reinforce themselves and flourish. As you practice putting a positive spin on your negative thoughts, positive reactions become more natural. That’s not to say you tip the balance to blind-sighted positivity. When you are aware and recognize your tendencies, you are better equipped to objectify your thinking. Remember this: What counts is not what happens but how you react to it. Alter your inner dialogue, and where you once saw limitations, you now see opportunities.

References

1. Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Springer Publishing Company.
2. Beck, A.T. (1979). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. International Universities Press.
3. Ellis, A. (2001). Overcoming Destructive Beliefs, Feelings, and Behaviors: New Directions for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Prometheus Books.
4. Seligman, M.E.P. (1991). Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. Knopf.