Words to stop negative lines of thought

[Cogs Of My Cranium]

Whenever I have a negative or upsetting line of thought it often repeats over and over to the point where it's like a spinning razor blade in the centre of my mind. This gets particularly bad if the line of repeating thought brings up negative emotions or memories. I recognise that I need to stop these lines of thought but it's obviously difficult. One of the things I do these days is I will shout in private or whisper loudly a sharp, fast word like a swear word or KILL, DEATH, END, STOP, ERADICATE, DESTROY etc. Saying words like this helps stop the line of thought for a while until it comes again.

Does anyone else do this? What words or mental images do you use to curb negative, repetitive thought?

 

[Spiller]

Whenever I have a negative or upsetting line of thought it often repeats over and over to the point where it's like a spinning razor blade in the centre of my mind. This gets particularly bad if the line of repeating thought brings up negative emotions or memories. I recognise that I need to stop these lines of thought but it's obviously difficult. One of the things I do these days is I will shout in private or whisper loudly a sharp, fast word like a swear word or KILL, DEATH, END, STOP, ERADICATE, DESTROY etc. Saying words like this helps stop the line of thought for a while until it comes again.

Does anyone else do this? What words or mental images do you use to curb negative, repetitive thought?

I read a workbook called 'Thrive' by Rob Kelly, it's on Amazon, it's a combination of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Neurolinguistic Programming. Very explanatory and easy to work through, it's enabled me to spot these negative and destructive thoughts and replace them with positive ones.
It was a lot of work at first, constant effort to get into the habit, but over the ten months I've been practicing, my depression and anxiety have lessened considerably; I was almost completely isolated, suicidal and virtually unable to leave the house.
I still have a long way to go, but have begun to develop friendships, here and in the real world, the beginnings of a social life and maybe even a romantic interest (very early days there though).
Sometimes I slip backward, after a meltdown, but go through it again and pull myself back up.
I have no specific words I use, I just spot those old thought patterns for what they are and let them go.
Yep, good book!

Edit note: The words you use.. sounds to me like you're being a little hard on yourself. I'm a big believer in loving your inner child; I know mine's been abused more than enough in his little lifetime.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I do it. I was just saying in another thread about how I go about it. I've been using it a lot with the past 3 months because of all the crap happening to me. If I'm thinking negative about something, I make a list (in my head) of all the positives about "said thing" and when a negative thought enters my mind, I start pulling things from my "positive list" and run that instead. It actually works too! Negative thoughts breed negative happenings. What you think about most will get drawn to you. It's the Law of Attraction.

 

[Warmheart]

When I recognize myself getting hung up on negative thoughts, I instead invite a different feeling to replace the bad. I invite the energy (memories, warm feelings ) of my pets, and my heart soon feels happy, calmer, warmer inside. My body starts to relax. I can also mentally put myself on a sunny mountain meadow among wildflowers. The pleasant sunshine, warmth, fresh scents all bring me some peace and joy, thus replacing the negative with positive.

 

[Who am I]

Who am I? Non verbally ask yourself to whom the thoughts come for? "Soon" you will realize that there is no I, there is only the existing negative I-thought which will subside when you persistently face it. When you can separate and see thoughts only as thoughts (not "truths), you will get stronger and they will loose their strength over you.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Sometimes when I'm going through a really rough patch, it's like the echoes of past bad conversations just keep bouncing around in my head to the point they're almost a physical presence and actually attacking me. When I get fed up with how abusive they are, we argue. Heatedly. Not out loud, it's more of a telepathic fist fight. Tends to make things worse, those damn echoes always weasel around and turn everything back on me so that anything and everything that's ever happened is my fault, no matter how irrational or ridiculous. Just like the people they originate from. I don't remember how I get out of it... Either they exhaust themselves or I get distracted by something else. It's been a long time since that happened.

The lighter things that vividly flash through my mind, like say imagining a car suddenly popping up and running over me, I usually blink, shake my head, hyperfocus on a visual something nearby, and ease away from the road or parking lot that caused the flash. Same tactic for quick words and phrases that unwelcomely come to mind, I switch gears quickly to something else. But I try not to use the same distraction more than once, if I do I start tying that negative thought to the positive image, and then every time I'm around that thing those bad thoughts run constantly through my head. I've turned myself off of some favorite games many times doing that.

 

[wyverary]

One of the things I do these days is I will shout in private or whisper loudly a sharp, fast word like a swear word or KILL, DEATH, END, STOP, ERADICATE, DESTROY etc.

When I am emotionally stressed I do this constantly. I think I have some form of echolalia to begin with, but it really flares up when things get bad. If it helps, then keep doing it!

Have you tried writing out your thoughts and fears and shames? I've started doing it recently, and while it doesn't solve the problem, it mitigates it a little bit.

There are some books I have wanted to read on the subject but haven't yet got round to - Healing the Shame That Binds and Emotional First Aid.

 

[clg114]

I am a happy, upbeat sort of a person. When something bad happens in my life, it bothers me, but I get over it very fast. As far as I know, I do not do anything to cause this. It is just the way that I am. I do not worry about much of anything. Nothing bothers me very much. I really wish I knew why I am like this so I could tell others, but I don't know why. I do know that I'm glad that I'm this way.

 

[inabox]

I do sometimes talk to objects in an angry way, ones that are really aggravating my frustration, but this does not help as such, it just prevents the frustration from getting worse.
Recently I have realised I can do something, which I never knew I could do, (I did it and then found that I felt better afterwards) maybe I never tried after what people have said about aspies. Maybe it would be worth you trying?
What I do is I imagine I am somewhere i remember being, somewhere i liked, with someone I liked being with. It's somewhere I felt comfortable and happy. I close my eyes and try to convince myself I am there. It actually works. Sometimes it takes persistence, I have to keep focusing on it. I only stop imagining this when I am ready to face reality. It makes me more able to face the frequently harshness of reality.
Apparently aspies don't have an imagination. But not everyone is the same. Some aspies do have trouble with imagination, but not all, so I thought it might be worth you trying. It may work or it may not.
Of course I understand that sometimes people cannot think of anything good to focus on, ive been there, but if you have anything positive pop into your head, you could write it down for later reading so you can prove to yourself that there are good things. That is what I had to do when things got hard. It worked too.
Good luck

 

[Spiller]

I think the big problem with negative thoughts and feelings of depression is that you believe them.. they are your thoughts, after all, right?
The trick is recognising that they are only thoughts and when you feel happy, you think differently..
Personal example: "I'm alone.. I'll always be alone.. no-one loves me.. I'm ugly.. therefore I'm alone.. I'll always be alone.." vicious negative circle leading me toward self harm and suicidal ideations! Spotted it! Hah!
I keep a list on my phone of the positive experiences that happen to me every day (honestly, they happen for you too, if you look), a woman smiled at me in the street.. I had a laugh with my kids.. watched some Star Trek.. I spend 20 seconds remembering each of the most recent five or so and..

imagining a car suddenly popping up and running over me, I usually blink, shake my head, hyperfocus on a visual something nearby, and ease away from the road or parking lot that caused the flash.

AsheSkyler, if I understand aright, have you heard of 'Intrusive Thoughts'? everyone apparently has them occasionally, but they occur more frequently in people with mental health problems, such as OCD (I believe I have mild OCD (I'm not a hypochondriac, honest ) and have to keep shaking images out of my mind quite frequently.. I was driving past a group of cyclists today and had to force away an image of just plowing through them all! Terrible, right?.. and I'm a lifelong pacifist!
Most people can just ignore them, but we who worry about our state of mind are more prone to worrying that we might actually act on these thoughts.. though, of course, we won't, it's just an unfounded worry. (Unless you really hate cyclists, of course )
Sorry about the mini lecture there, your comment just made me think of it

 

[AsheSkyler]

If I understand aright, have you heard of 'Intrusive Thoughts'? everyone apparently has them occasionally, but they occur more frequently in people with mental health problems, such as OCD (I believe I have mild OCD (I'm not a hypochondriac, honest ) and have to keep shaking images out of my mind quite frequently.. I was driving past a group of cyclists today and had to force away an image of just plowing through them all! Terrible, right?.. and I'm a lifelong pacifist!
Most people can just ignore them, but we who worry about our state of mind are more prone to worrying that we might actually act on these thoughts.. though, of course, we won't, it's just an unfounded worry. (Unless you really hate cyclists, of course )
Sorry about the mini lecture there, your comment just made me think of it

Well, if those were the cyclists with all the stickers and shorty shorts that hog the entire road to "experience nature" instead of using a bike trail or using a bicycle as their official mode of transportation, no complaints here! There was a migratory flock that would come around pretty often in my rural home and they made everybody late for work. Ahem, er, yes, a strange notion...

"Intrusive" sounds appropriate, and I think I might have read that word somewhere once before... Very possibly read it not long after my son came to live with us. I'd be holding this tiny little infant, admiring him and all the quirky little movements, and then have a sudden image of chunking him off the roof! Or worse things. Scared the heck out of me. I read somewhere that was a manifestation of a mother's fears of something happening to their kid and was quite normal, so I clung onto that fiercely. And stayed fair away from high places, hid the pointy objects, kept the kid near barricades where he could neither fall off nor be stepped on or other accidents, and didn't breathe a word of it to anybody. I was highly unstable at the time since life events had finally gone from "brewing/building" to full blown PTSD. (On top of knowing now I was also autistic and the Aspie Quiz suggests I have some OCD too.) I was afraid all those jerks who did that to me would turn right around and use it as an excuse to take him away from me, and if that'd happened, I'd have made the news in the end. On the bright side, I became very familiar with the difference between fleeting fears and outright fantasies.

 

[Spiller]

Well, if those were the cyclists with all the stickers and shorty shorts that hog the entire road to "experience nature" instead of using a bike trail or using a bicycle as their official mode of transportation, no complaints here! There was a migratory flock that would come around pretty often in my rural home and they made everybody late for work. Ahem, er, yes, a strange notion...

"Intrusive" sounds appropriate, and I think I might have read that word somewhere once before... Very possibly read it not long after my son came to live with us. I'd be holding this tiny little infant, admiring him and all the quirky little movements, and then have a sudden image of chunking him off the roof! Or worse things. Scared the heck out of me. I read somewhere that was a manifestation of a mother's fears of something happening to their kid and was quite normal, so I clung onto that fiercely. And stayed fair away from high places, hid the pointy objects, kept the kid near barricades where he could neither fall off nor be stepped on or other accidents, and didn't breathe a word of it to anybody. I was highly unstable at the time since life events had finally gone from "brewing/building" to full blown PTSD. (On top of knowing now I was also autistic and the Aspie Quiz suggests I have some OCD too.) I was afraid all those jerks who did that to me would turn right around and use it as an excuse to take him away from me, and if that'd happened, I'd have made the news in the end. On the bright side, I became very familiar with the difference between fleeting fears and outright fantasies.

Yep, Intrusive Thoughts! I watched a documentary on OCD a while ago as my ex-GF suffers badly with it and I wanted to understand her problems better. It's a recognised psychological issue, a fear that can develop into a phobia.. of course, understanding this is the help/cure. Just because we have these thoughts does not mean we'll act on them.. we're not psycho's, after all. And yes, I've had similar thoughts with both my kids and it's terrifying!
Now you know what it is, just let that thought go and don't worry
We have migratory flocks of lycra-clad, road hogging, abusive cyclists in the UK too.. I think it must be a disease of some sort, or a kind of spreading alien invasion.. I'm intruigued to know what sound 30 cyclists would make bouncing off the car.. like a really bad hail storm? No! Go away you intrusive thought, you!

 

[AsheSkyler]

Yep, Intrusive Thoughts! I watched a documentary on OCD a while ago as my ex-GF suffers badly with it and I wanted to understand her problems better. It's a recognised psychological issue, a fear that can develop into a phobia.. of course, understanding this is the help/cure. Just because we have these thoughts does not mean we'll act on them.. we're not psycho's, after all. And yes, I've had similar thoughts with both my kids and it's terrifying!
Now you know what it is, just let that thought go and don't worry

We have migratory flocks of lycra-clad, road hogging, abusive cyclists in the UK too.. I think it must be a disease of some sort, or a kind of spreading alien invasion.. I'm intruigued to know what sound 30 cyclists would make bouncing off the car.. like a really bad hail storm? No! Go away you intrusive thought, you!

Thankie! I try not to these days since they've pretty much all gone away. When it's a stray thought here and there, it's not an issue. But when it's triggers make it kick in, dang, are they annoying! Like those evil bicyclists with all their stickers. I wonder if we can rename them from "intrusive thoughts" to "intrusive bicyclists"? Same general premise!

 

[Aspergirl4hire]

I think the big problem with negative thoughts and feelings of depression is that you believe them.. they are your thoughts, after all, right?
The trick is recognising that they are only thoughts and when you feel happy, you think differently..
Personal example: "I'm alone.. I'll always be alone.. no-one loves me.. I'm ugly.. therefore I'm alone.. I'll always be alone.." vicious negative circle leading me toward self harm and suicidal ideations! Spotted it! Hah!
I keep a list on my phone of the positive experiences that happen to me every day (honestly, they happen for you too, if you look), a woman smiled at me in the street.. I had a laugh with my kids.. watched some Star Trek.. I spend 20 seconds remembering each of the most recent five or so and..



AsheSkyler, if I understand aright, have you heard of 'Intrusive Thoughts'? everyone apparently has them occasionally, but they occur more frequently in people with mental health problems, such as OCD (I believe I have mild OCD

I thought this exchange was absolutely awesome, and Spiller's first line took my breath away.

The mindfulness class I took teaches that an intrusive thought is the product of a gifting mind, and the response we were asked to use was, "Thank you for the thought." Gratitude does so much to dispel negativity. It does leave me with the conundrum of what's talking to my mind that's thanking it? If this is "talking to myself," it's really meta.

 

[Esben]

Hi there

I have experienced similar things to what you're describing. I also had to say things to "cancel" the thoughts. In my case this was OCD (im officially diagnosed with it).
I would recommend taking a look at OCD, you might have a lot of "Hey, that's me!" Moments waiting for you

Also, remember that THOUGHTS ARE JUST THOUGHTS. They flow in your mind, but they aren't you, you are you. They will come, but don't try to "remove" them, you will most likely end up thinking even more about them. It's like: don't think of pink elephants. You're thinking of pink elephants right?

That's my two cents

Esben