The battle with negative thoughts and how to overcome them

Having a constant battle with disturbing thoughts can be a living nightmare. They can lead to anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and low mood.

As with mastering any skill and exercising the muscles, training our minds to focus on positivity and happiness requires practise, but when you start taking charge of how you feel, you will see your life-changing in the blink of an eye.

Life can be compared to a constant interplay of positive and negative energy. The art of inner balance is always choosing to move towards the positive; finding the right quality to re-dress the balance.

Five tips to help you banish negative thoughts

1. Gratitude

A few months ago, I was preparing myself to go on holiday, and guess what? The minute I arrived at the airport, my mind started to go out of control with catastrophic thoughts. I had constant images in my mind presenting unpleasant and scary events which were making me very scared and anxious. I felt sick and dizzy. I wanted to run away.

I decided to go for a coffee, and then I reminded myself of an exercise which I have learned from one of my tutors. It was an exercise of writing down the things you are grateful for so that you can shift your focus to the positive rather than staying in the negative state of mind. So that’s exactly what I did. I started writing down the things I am grateful for. The result was miraculous for me, because instantly after expressing my gratitude on the piece of paper and then reading it back to myself, the negative images and thoughts disappeared.

So, whenever you are experiencing negative thoughts with intense images, grab a piece of paper and a pen, then start writing down the things you are grateful for. Don’t underestimate the simplicity of this exercise - the results are powerful. What we focus on will expand.

Being thankful and expressing gratitude is not a new idea. It has been a part of our lives since the time we became humans; being thankful is what makes us human. Nowadays, we see that this very important trend is disappearing at an alarming rate.

2. Nature

Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I go to the park for a walk. Spending time in nature will help you to connect with your true essence, feeling harmony and unity. Nature will recharge your mental batteries. As you go for a walk, admire the trees, flowers, grass, birds, and sky. Thank Mother Nature for giving us the trees which, in exchange, provide us with oxygen.

Have you ever noticed how joyful it can be to watch or feed a squirrel or the ducks, or hear the birds singing? Many artists became inspired and created something spectacular whilst spending their time in nature.

Open yourself to receive the beauty of creation. If an uncomfortable situation appears in your life, learn from it, accept it, and trust the universe.

3. NLP

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is about the ability to discover and change the way you communicate with yourself, internally or externally, in order to achieve a specific result. Try this exercise to reduce the feeling and strength of negative emotions and thoughts:

• Think of the unwanted thought that bothers you.
• Notice it or sense it in the form of a bright picture in front of you, and become aware of how it makes you feel.
• Now, in your mind’s eye, make this image black and white, shrink it to the size of a dot, and push it far away into the distance, so far that you can barely see it.
• Repeat two or three times. Notice what changed.

4. Laughter

At times, when a negative thought enters my mind, I act as an observer and laugh at it, saying to myself, "what a ridiculous thought!". Using humour to decrease stress, diminish pain, improve quality of life, and even attempt to improve immune functioning, has recently become a popular topic in the lay and professional literature.

The more you laugh, the healthier you become. The heather you become, the more you laugh.

5. Essential oils

Whenever I feel negative or low, I have my sweet orange essential oil with me. It is beautiful, refreshing, and very effective oil to boost your mood and uplift you when you feel down. Whether you feel a lack of energy or your mood is low, put a few drops of the oil onto your hands, rub them together, and inhale the essence through your nose. You will be pleasantly surprised with the result.

Life is a great mystery, and humans are beautiful and incredible miracles. You are one of these miracles, and you deserve to be happy.