The Off-Switch for Your Mind: A Psychologist Reveals 4 Simple Steps to Halt Intrusive Thoughts
Using these tips, you won’t notice how well you handle everyday stress.
We’re all living in a digital world where upsetting or even shocking information can easily reach you even if you never wanted it to. As a result, people start feeling stressed by the intrusive thoughts about what the future holds, diverting their attention from something actually helpful and important.
If now you aren’t able to cope with this level of anxiety, it’s extremely important you realize that it’s you who should control your own thoughts and not vice versa. For a better result, use the tips below to keep track of your emotional state.
Choose What Your Thoughts Will Be About
Though it might sound a bit weird since anxiety doesn’t really let us choose better thoughts over worse ones, psychologists say the first step you should take is to define what you will allow yourself to think about.
Remember that you’re the master of your own life and your thoughts have a direct impact on this life’s quality. As a means to cope with it, try imagining a garbage bin where you will throw any negative thought as soon as it emerges.
Create a Stop Word for Negative Thoughts
If you know for sure that a single negative thought will lead to a whole hour of overthinking, make some sort of stop word that you’ll use when things go too far; this will mean you’re adamant to not think about worst case scenarios anymore.
Find New Hobbies and Do What You Like
Switching your attention to something more pleasant and interesting will guarantee you some free time from negative thoughts, so consider taking up a new activity like dancing, drawing or whatever else you’ve always wanted to try.
This will also help you concentrate on something you really like among all sorts of things that the modern media offers, as well as understand yourself and lower the stress level.
Set Limits on Social Media
If you feel like you’re being triggered by the news feed or becoming addicted to scrolling social media, make sure you spend certain amount of time with your phone per day.
That said, set limits in your phone’s settings or filter the sources of information that you use, depending on which source you’re most likely to get negative emotions from.
