Meditation and Its Role in Identifying and Treating Negative Thoughts
How to get rid of mistrust and excessive negative thinking? This is a question that many people ask themselves. According to Tawazon, the answer lies in practicing meditation and mindfulness. Sit in a quiet place, relax, and manage your emotional reactions by controlling a part of your mind to help curb mistrust and negative thoughts. Try to separate your thoughts and emotions from yourself—imagine them in front of you as if they are detached from your soul and mind. Observe and judge them by asking: Are these thoughts helpful? Do they have a basis? Then, start categorizing your thoughts according to the following negative thinking patterns:
- Black-and-white thinking: Thinking, for example, that you’re either a complete success or a total failure.
- Jumping to conclusions: Making negative assumptions or mistrusting others’ intentions.
- Catastrophizing: Expecting the worst possible outcome without considering more realistic or likely possibilities.
- Overgeneralization: Taking one experience and applying it to all future situations, reinforcing negativity and mistrust.
- Labeling: When a person labels themselves—for example, calling oneself a failure in a certain subject—which hinders enjoyment and blocks positive thinking.
- The word “should”: Focusing only on what must be done, making the self feel defeated and incapable of thinking positively or optimistically.
- Blame: Taking things too seriously and personally, and blaming oneself.
There are many other patterns of negative thinking. Once a person identifies which one they are using, they can begin to understand that it’s unrealistic and irrational, just a passing thought—not a fact. Thoughts are not truths.
How to Get Rid of Mistrust and Excessive Negative Thinking
Here are some ways to get rid of mistrust and excessive negative thinking:
- Erase the word “should” from your mental vocabulary—it can create excessive anxiety about things you may not actually want to do at the moment.
- Start with small steps instead of dwelling on negative thoughts as if you’re forced to act. For example, if you succeed at one step, the next ones will become easier.
- Stop trying to suppress negative thoughts—this often makes them more persistent (a phenomenon known as thought rebound). Instead, learn how to confront and manage them directly.
- Practice handling criticism to improve your ability to manage various pressures. Learn how to respond to criticism and benefit from it.
- Write a daily journal. This helps identify negative thought patterns, gain deeper insight into surrounding negative thoughts, and eventually treat them.
How to Change Negative Thinking and Excessive Mistrust
Once you’ve learned how to eliminate excessive negative thinking and mistrust, it’s time to challenge your thoughts by looking for evidence that supports or disproves them. If your evidence is based on the past, ask yourself whether it applies to the current experience. Be sure to rely on objective and trustworthy evidence, not just feelings or assumptions. Then, reflect on any counter-evidence to your negative thinking. For example:
- Evidence supporting negative thinking and mistrust: I can’t complete this task—I made a mistake in the past and delayed the project for weeks. I don’t have the necessary skills to present it publicly.
- Evidence supporting positive thinking and trust: I’ve been practicing this presentation for weeks, presented it to my colleagues who gave me valuable feedback, which I’ll consider.
Then judge both pieces of evidence as if you were a neutral observer. You’ll realize that negative thinking is nothing more than an illusion that grows inside us without benefit. Always remember, you can break things down into smaller parts to manage each one more easily.
