Negative Thought Loop – 3 Classic Negative Thinking Loops 

Do you ever find yourself caught in a negative thought loop? if yes, then it’s important to read this. Negative thoughts that replay on loop, are incredibly dangerous because when you think something over and over again, you start to believe it...

When you get stuck in that loop, it’s like quicksand, robbing you of your capacity to have a different perspective…to have hope. Hence, it makes it harder to deal with people and situations calmly and in a centred way. Instead, you get caught in bouts of anxiety, self-doubt, agitation and a sense of helplessness. This can really impact your life!

Here are three classic negative thought loops that we tend to get stuck in…

1. Catastrophizing

Catastrophizing is exaggerating the negative aspects of a situation and imagining the worst-case scenario. 

• ‘It’s never going to work out’.
• ‘I’ll never be able to recover from this’.
• ‘This is the worst thing that could have happened’.

2. Personalizing

Personalizing results in blaming yourself or assuming that negative outcomes are a reflection of personal flaws or failures. 

• ‘This is all my fault’.
• ‘I’m such a failure’.
• ‘If only I had done things differently’.
• ‘why do I always mess things up’.

3. Magnifying

Here you find yourself focusing excessively on the negative aspects of a situation while minimizing or ignoring the positive aspects.

• ‘This is a complete disaster’.
• ‘Everything is going wrong’.
• ‘I can’t take it anymore’.
• ‘I’m never going to be able to fix this’.

Which one do you tend to do more? I am a master catastrophizer and I have learnt how to reign in those thoughts and not allow them to ruin my mental and emotional balance. 

We need to learn to counter these and break the negative thought loop. Life will throw up challenges. It’s inevitable. But to still summon the resilience to tell yourself that everything is okay, things will get better, you have people who love you, and you know that you are strong. Most importantly, truly believe you have the courage and ability to create a positive shift in your life. Try it, it’s beyond empowering.

If you resonate with our thoughts on Negative Thought Loops and are looking for more, take a look at our top-rated development workshops that will change your beliefs, Click here
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