Change your Thoughts

Thought spirals are brutal. You have a negative thought, then fifteen minutes later you’ve concocted a scenario with terrifying consequences of epic proportions. But, they are completely made up! What if you could change your thoughts?

Overprotective mode

When you get pain it’s easy to dive straight into trying to work out what it means. And this leads to panic and worry about what’s wrong and what damage you have done. But unless you’ve caused a specific injury, chances are you brain has just gone into overprotective mode.

Instead of immediately worrying, try this: when you feel pain – either a sharp stabbing pain, building ache or a flash of pain, just tap yourself reassuringly on the shoulder and say ‘it’s just my brain.’ Then, you’ve stopped the thought spiral and you get on with your day.

This reassurance teaches your brain that there is nothing to be afraid of. If you panic and start thinking of all the possible reasons why you have experienced pain, your brain immediately goes into the overprotective mode and sends more pain to stop you from moving.

Be in control

Here’s another idea: be a bit stricter with the pain. Too often we can behave like victims and avoid this place, or that event, because pain will flare up. But actually, try telling your pain: “you know what, I’m going out with my friends and you are coming with me.” Once you decide you will not tolerate the pain, it helps to ease it because you are in control.

Okay so now I sound a bit crazy suggesting you talk to your pain. But some people even give it a name and welcome it into their lives as a friend… this works for them, as again it is reassuring the brain that the pain is not the enemy.

A different story

Thoughts, whether negative or positive, have such huge consequences mentally too. I remember seeing a friend running every morning on my journey from school, and I would feel so awful and spend the rest of the journey feeling upset and annoyed at the injustice for me.

But then I decided, as I drove past, I would say to myself, ‘she has a different story’. Once I’d thought that perspective, I would think about something else for the rest of the journey because that thought had been dealt with and didn’t lead to endless rumination.

It’s just an opinion

Similarly, when you have low self-esteem and high insecurity, the smallest comment from someone can set off another thought spiral about yourself. Cue thoughts such as ‘What did they actually mean?’ ‘How could they think that?’ or ‘Why did they say that about me?’

But I’ve learnt to stop that with the thought ‘It’s just an opinion.’ And then move on. You can train yourself to think it is just their opinion. And it is! It isn’t fact. But when you accept something as fact you see it as a threat and this makes you feel even worse about yourself.

So, think of a thought that will be your ‘go to’ when you begin a spiral. Whether it’s for when you feel pain or when someone says something potentially hurtful, you’ll find it so much easier to deal with the initial trigger. Less spiral? Less pain!