HYPNOTHERAPY FOR NEGATIVE THINKING
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How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Think Constructively
We all know that we should think more positively or avoid too many negative thoughts, but it is notoriously difficult to stop. Overcritical thinking can be useful to help assess the possible pitfalls in a potential plan of action, but you need to be able to turn it on and off at will, or it will end up sabotaging your self-belief, your confidence, and eventually your achievements.
Negative thoughts are not reserved for just a few people or situations – everyone is plagued by negative thoughts at some point in life. Worrying can actually be helpful when it spurs you to take action and solve a problem. But if you’re only preoccupied with "what ifs" and worst-case scenarios, worry becomes a problem. Unrelenting doubts can be paralyzing. They can sap your emotional energy, send your anxiety levels soaring, and interfere with your daily life.
If you suffer from chronic anxiety and worries, chances are you look at the world in ways that make it seem more dangerous than it really is. For example, you may overestimate the possibility that things will turn out badly, jump immediately to worst-case scenarios, or treat every negative thought as if it were fact. You may also discredit your own ability to handle life’s problems, assuming you’ll fall apart at the first sign of trouble. These irrational, pessimistic attitudes are known as "cognitive distortions".
Although cognitive distortions aren’t based on reality, they’re not easy to give up. Often, they’re part of a lifelong pattern of thinking that has become so automatic you’re not even completely aware of it. In order to break these bad thinking habits and stop the worry and anxiety they bring, you must start reprogramming your mind.
Therapeutic hypnosis trains your brain to stay calm and let negative thoughts drift on by. Since it’s impossible to be anxious and relaxed at the same time, strengthening your body and mind’s relaxation response is an extremely powerful worry-busting tactic. Now, think for a minute how different would your life be if you always tried instead of always thinking the worst? If you went for everything within your reach and took those opportunities, instead of always imagining what could go wrong?
Cognitive distortions that add to anxiety – Does any of these sound familiar?
All-or-nothing thinking – Looking at things in black-or-white categories, with no middle ground. “If I fall short of perfection, I’m a total failure.”
Overgeneralization – Generalizing from a single negative experience, expecting it to hold true forever. “I didn’t get hired for the job. I’ll never get any job.”
The mental filter – Focusing on the negatives while filtering out all the positives. Noticing the one thing that went wrong, rather than all the things that went right.
Diminishing the positive – Coming up with reasons why positive events don’t count. “I did well on the presentation, but that was just dumb luck.”
Jumping to conclusions – Making negative interpretations without actual evidence. You act like a mind reader, “I can tell she secretly hates me.”
Catastrophizing – Expecting the worst-case scenario to happen. “The pilot said we’re in for some turbulence. The plane’s going to crash!”
Emotional reasoning – Believing that the way you feel reflects reality. “I feel frightened right now. That must mean I’m in real physical danger.”
'Shoulds’ and ‘should-nots’ – Holding yourself to a strict list of what you should and shouldn’t do and beating yourself up if you break any of the rules
Personalization – Assuming responsibility for things that are outside your control. “It’s my fault my son got in an accident. I should have warned him to drive carefully in the rain.”
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