{"id":72346,"date":"2019-10-30T19:06:42","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T03:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=72346"},"modified":"2019-10-30T19:06:46","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T03:06:46","slug":"5-tips-to-break-free-from-negative-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-break-free-from-negative-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips to Break Free from Negative Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

We all get lost in thought from time to time, but\nsometimes those thoughts feel downright overwhelming. If we don\u2019t take specific\naction to stop the thought loop, it can throw off our whole day. Whether you\nsuffer from anxiety, mild depression, or you just woke up in a funk,\nmindfulness can help. Try one or all of these tips for yourself and see what a\ndifference mindfulness can make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Become\nan observer: <\/strong>Slow down\nand notice what is arising. \u201cOh, that\u2019s anger in my chest,\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s anxiety\nin my stomach.\u201d Labeling the emotion gives you some space from the intensity of\nthe thoughts and feelings you\u2019re experiencing, allowing you to observe them\ninstead of being hijacked by them.<\/li>
  2. Try\nmeditation: <\/strong>Even if\nyou\u2019re not an experienced meditator, there are so many ways to dip your toe in\nthese days \u2014 including trying meditations that are just a few short minutes\nlong. Meditation slows you down and calms you down. You can get started with some of my free guided\nmeditations here on the Insight\nTimer App<\/a>. (Learn more\nabout the benefits of meditation in published research in the Journal of the American Heart\nAssociation<\/a>. For an\nexploration of brain changes when studying meditators, see this 2013 study<\/a> and this research<\/a> from the early \u201890s.)<\/li>
  3. Offer\nyourself a gentle touch:<\/strong>\nPlacing our hands where we find them most soothing releases oxytocin and\nopiates, helping us to regulate the cortisol and adrenaline stress hormones\nthat flood us when we are upset. You can place your hands wherever on your body\nyou observed feeling an intensity of emotion in Tip One, or you can just place\nthem anywhere that feels calming for you, such as around your arms, on your\ncheeks, or on your stomach. (For a general discussion of oxytocin release with\nvarious types of touch, see this study<\/a>.)<\/li>
  4. Get\ngrounded: <\/strong>Drop your\nattention to the soles of your feet; notice if they are warm or cold, moist or\ndry. Pay attention to your feet for a couple of breath cycles. Then focus your\nconcentration on your breath, if breathing feels comfortable for you.  Feel \nand see your body breathing in for four counts and out for six. When\nyour exhale is longer than your inhale, your heart rate and blood pressure will\ngo down, and you will feel calmer. <\/li>
  5. Change\nthe channel:<\/strong> Invite\nyourself to change your channel of thought. Focus on something you are grateful\nfor, perhaps going so far as to write a letter of gratitude to someone. (You\ndon\u2019t need to send it to get the mental health benefits.) You can also pull up\na wonderful memory and marinate in those feelings to install the goodness in\nyour body and mind, pushing the mental state into a neural trait so the happy\nbridge gets reinforced in your brain.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    We are more than the content of our thoughts, but it sure can feel like they have power over us when we experience them as all consuming. With these mindfulness tools in your back pocket, you\u2019ll have an option on hand to help you shift out of unhelpful thought patterns and feel more grounded and at ease. You\u2019ve got this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    About: <\/em><\/strong>Mindfulness expert and author Julie Potiker is an attorney who began her serious study and investigation of mindfulness after graduating from the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of California, San Diego. She went on to become trained to teach Mindful Self-Compassion, and completed the Positive Neuroplasticity Training Professional Course with Rick Hanson. Now, she shares these and other mindfulness techniques with the world through her Mindful Methods for Life trainings and her new book: \u201cLife Falls Apart, but You Don\u2019t Have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm In the Midst of Chaos.\u201d For more information, visit\u00a0<\/em>www.MindfulMethodsForLife.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    —<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We all get lost in thought from time to time, but sometimes those thoughts feel downright overwhelming. If we don\u2019t take specific action to stop the thought loop, it can throw off our whole day. Whether you suffer from anxiety, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16899,"featured_media":72461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[3709,32,21,6],"tags":[4641,306,3528],"yoast_head":"\n5 Tips to Break Free from Negative Thoughts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Whether you suffer from anxiety, mild depression, or you just woke up in a funk, mindfulness can help you break the negative thought loop.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-break-free-from-negative-thoughts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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