Month: September 2021

7 Tips for Dealing With Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts don’t necessarily mean apparent gloominess, depression, or torturing anxiety. Sometimes, it’s just a background thinking pattern that defines the way we react to what’s happening around us. 

Anyway, the longer that thinking pattern persists, the worse its impact on our physical and mental state. Until apparent gloominess, depression, and torturing anxiety begin actually developing.

How do you Define a Negative Thought?

A negative thought is a dysfunctional thinking pattern, also called an “automatic thought.” It’s an involuntarily triggered cognitive response to a challenging situation, often generalizing and painting a pitch-black picture where there are multiple shades of grey. 

An automatic negative thought is when you say to yourself, “I’m a total failure” instead of “I simply couldn’t cope with this task.” 

It’s also when you say to yourself, “I will never trust people again” instead of “I was let down, and I’ve learned my lesson,” or “My life is ruined” instead of “I’m supposed to change my ways in order to move on.” 

As you may already suggest, these thoughts tend to produce a direct impact on our lives – in matters of emotional resilience, life events, and even physical health. 

How do Negative Thoughts Affect Your Well-Being?

Emotionally speaking, persistent negative thoughts can result in anything from a bad mood to anxiety, anger, self-esteem issues, and even depression. 

Also, they can get very physical by manifesting our thinking as higher blood pressure, increased risk of developing heart disease, lower immune system, higher level of stress hormones, or insomnia.

Put shortly – bad thoughts can literally get you sick! So – what is there to do about them?

Everyday Strategies for Dealing with Negative Thoughts

Here is our little guide for dealing with negative thinking in your everyday life:

#1 Learn to Recognize Thought Distortions

According to Psychology Today, there are four kinds of thought distortions:

  • Black and white thinking – classifying events as either satisfactory or disastrous, with nothing in-between.
  • Personalizing – believing that anything that goes wrong is always your fault.
  • Catastrophizing – expecting the worst outcome of any situation.
  • Filter thinking – recognizing only the negative side of any situation.

Analyzing your thoughts and recognizing a dysfunctional thinking pattern you have is the first and most crucial step towards fixing it. 

#2 Re-Evaluate Your Situation

Once you feel that automatic thought starting to creep in, try to distance yourself from it and change your perspective. For example, what would you say to someone else in your situation? What would it look like to you if you were not personally involved? 

That’s right – negative thoughts almost always keep you from being realistic, and reality is probably way better than you perceive it subjectively.

#3 Feel it Before you Let it Go

Frantically running away from bad thoughts is never a good strategy, as a person’s emotional spectrum is not (and is not supposed to be) monochrome. Instead, spend your time with your frustration – sit back, feel it, live through it, and, finally, dominate it. 

Feeling sad or angry is ok. It simply doesn’t mean you have always felt that way, or you’ll be feeling that way forever. 

#4 Don’t Keep it All to Yourself

Sometimes, other people’s opinions and support can be of great help in overcoming negative thinking. As hard as it may be for you, try to share your concerns and emotions with another person – communicate it, talk it through, and make an effort to accept advice from the outside. 

You can talk with a friend, a relative, a significant other, or a professional psychologist – it’s all fine when it makes you feel fine.

#5 Count Your Blessings

The good old balance scale strategy comes in handy when negative thinking makes you feel down. This approach is very simple – you are supposed to merely think about the good things you have in your life. The things you are grateful about and rarely appreciate on a daily basis.

Be it your family, your child, your pet, your talents, or your passions – make a little list of blessings and keep it present in your conscious thoughts every time you begin to slide off. 

#6 Make a Lifestyle Change

Negative thinking is harder to win when you take better care of your general well-being. Where to begin?

  • Eat better;
  • Sleep more;
  • Socialize more often;
  • Spend more quality time with your loved ones;
  • Do not systematically overwork yourself;
  • Engage in more dynamic physical activities;
  • Spend time in nature.

At the end of the day, you will be startled by the massive difference that little things can make. 

#7 Practice Automatic Thoughts Recognition in RelaxifyApp

In our RelaxifyApp, we’ve designed a playful and engaging experience based on science that will help you reconsider your patterns of thinking.

negative thoughts exercise in RelaxifyApp

 

By spending just a couple of minutes per day playing the Negative Thoughts mind game, you will become increasingly aware of dysfunctional thinking and learn to control it – for a better mood and a better life.  

Because every positive change begins with the notion that something needs to change and the conscious effort to change it the healthy way!

8 Best Strategies for Managing Stress in the Workplace

Which are the Best Strategies for Managing Stress in the Workplace?

According to the American Institute of Stress, a massive 80% of workers feel continual job-related stress

What’s more: 

  • 25% claim that their jobs are the number one stressor in their lives;
  • another 25% have felt like screaming or shouting because of workplace stress
  • and 2% had actually struck someone in a job-related rage!

First thing first – this type of everyday struggle goes far beyond someone feeling “kind of unwell” or “slightly concerned.” It actually results in chronic physical and mental conditions, worsened private and social life, stress-related autoimmune diseases, and even suicidal thoughts.

So, let’s dig a bit deeper into the origins, manifestations, and solutions of the problem.

workplace stress

What Causes Stress in the Workplace?

Workplace-related stress factors can be generally divided into four larger groups. These are workloadspeople issuesjob security, and the balance between personal and professional life.

Of course, combinations of them can frequently occur. And as we are all perfectly aware, both the balance and security have been severely disrupted in the last couple of years due to the unusual situation of the ongoing pandemic.

Respondents around the world reveal that long hours, tight deadlines, pressure to be responsive outside working hours, and a toxic in-house environment are among the top stressors in their professional fields. 

Last but not least – lack of autonomy, monotonous work, or workplace gender inequality can also add to the ultimate feeling of being tense, anxious, and burnt out at the end of the day. 

What are the Signs of Stress in the Workplace?

You obviously can’t mistake the feeling of anger, worry, and distress when it hits you. Anyway, there are multiple other, not-so-obvious symptoms that you might be having long-term trouble in your workplace. These include, for example:

  • A pounding heart, irregular heartbeat, or chest pain;
  • Stress-related shoulder, neck, and back pain;
  • Worsened efficiency of the immune system;
  • Persistent stress headaches;
  • Warm or cold waves with episodes of excessive sweating;
  • Stomach problems;
  • Fatigue or nausea;
  • Unnatural appetite and/or libido alterations.

The Best Strategies for Managing Stress in the Workplace

As unlikely as it may seem at first, stress management is greatly about how you control your own response and how you handle the situation. Or else said: you probably can’t change the world, but you can alter the way things get to you.

Here is some advice on where to begin and how to proceed:

#1 Start Your Day Right

Most people are already stressed the moment they arrive at their workplace. So, try to organize your mornings in the smartest way possible – preferably without rushing and giving too much credit for road rage, for example. 

Sometimes, waking up earlier causes much less damage than taking these extra 20 minutes of sleep and then running wild for the rest of the day. 

Another way to start your day right is doing the professionally designed “Positive Affirmation” or “Emotion Recognition” exercises in our RelaxifyApp.

#2 Keep Things Organized

A journal, a schedule planner, a to-do list, or a priority tracker – you choose the means; it does the magic. Having a strict plan spares the pressure of tight deadlines, neglected tasks, and minor panic attacks throughout your day. 

The longer ahead you think, the better you will be able to comprehend and prepare for everything that’s coming.

stress at workplace

#3 Avoid Heavy Multitasking

Considerable research suggests that calmness and productivity do not come with multitasking but with enhanced focus and prioritizing. 

So, instead of playing the Multi-Armed Shiva, try to avoid distractions and concentrate on one thing at a time before you jump on to the next. 

#4 Do Not Overcommit

To prevent burnout and work overload, you shall learn to say “no,” establish respectful boundaries, and develop healthy responses to task requests.

Whether you work for yourself or an employer, set your limits straight and step back once you reach them. Performing your duties and following your goals is good until it turns to performing everyone else’s duties and letting your goals remodel your mental energy. 

Restrain your perfectionism, do not always shoot for the stars, and learn to delegate responsibilities when needed. This is the only recipe for enjoying your job and making it not merely profitable but also healthy and emotionally rewarding. 

#5 Take Little Recharge Breaks

A 10-minute walk can do miracles! The same goes for a bit of exercise, a friendly chat, or a good joke. 

Know what takes your stress away and turn it into a routine during your workday – walk a bit after lunch, create a physical activity plan, or merely reach out to your crew to make this day better than expected. 

#6 Make Your Workplace Feel Good

Being comfortable – both physically and emotionally – turns the workplace into a friendly place. 

So – grab a back booster for your chair, bring on your fancy headphones, listen to music, and surround yourself with feel-good symbols or memories. Even use an essential oils dispenser if everyone in the room is ok with it!

All workplaces and professional roles have their specifics, so cater your environment to your duties and design your own way to bring these positive thoughts on. 

#7 Practice Mindfulness

Daily mindfulness practices can help you relaxfocus, and raise your productivity without creating extra stress. 

If you have no idea where or how to begin, you can always use guided practices – including in our scientifically backed RelaxifyApp!

#8 Ask for Some Support

Everything is not always pink and admitting it is an essential part of improving it. So – feel comfortable to ask for advice and support from your employer, supervisor, colleagues, and relatives.

Share your concerns and expectations, manage conflicts before they grow, and talk things through honestly. Sharing how you feel can bring clarity and point out the organizational issues to be addressed for long-term improvement.

Do not hesitate to seek professional help if needed, as well as boost your well-being with a chosen self-help tool – be it a favorite book, a professional mental health app, sports, or a combination of all of these.

Because little things make the bigger picture, and the bigger picture is your life!

Scroll to top