Habits

Whenever some disturbing news is reported to you, you ought to have ready at hand the following principle: News, on any subject, never falls within the sphere of the moral purpose. Can anyone bring you word that you have been wrong in an assumption or in a desire?—By no means.—But he can bring you word that someone is dead. Very well, what is that to you? That someone is speaking ill of you. Very well, what is that to you? That your father is making certain preparations. Against whom? Surely not against your moral purpose, is it? Why, how can he? But against your paltry body, against your paltry possessions; you are safe, it is not against you. Epictetus, Discourses 3.18.1-3

When you are surrounded by bad news, it is tempting to go in 2 ways. Avoid all mentions of it and obsessively read about every small detail and so several people are doing the latter lately, that there is even a word for it now, doom scrolling. Not convinced? Check Twitter. The website is filled with comments about users and their tendencies to doom scroll, and pleas to stop the habit. Also, Merriam-Webster has designated the term with doom surfing as one of the terms that they’re watching. It is understandable, obviously bad news is not essentially in short supply these days, and with Americans staying home more because of COVID-19, screen time has noticeably jumped. But there is good news about your bad news habit. There’re good things you can do to lessen your doom scrolling and reclaim some of your precious time. Here is what you need to know, and how to break the habit.

What is doom scrolling?

Doom scrolling and doom surfing, are new words used for describing the tendency to continue to surf and scroll through bad news, even that news is depressing and disheartening. While doom scrolling existed in practice, if not in name before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it has been pointed out that it is actually taken hold lately. It isn’t just about the virus. People can doom scroll through the news about racial injustice, and the unemployment rate. Basically, if the news is bad and depressing, you can doom scroll it. Doom scrolling can pose toxic impacts to the scroller’s overall well-being. The body, mind, and spirit thrive when we engage in positive, uplifting activities and thoughts. When we are engaged in doom scrolling, then we promote negative feelings, ideas, and bodily sensations. In the short term, doom scrolling can cause an upwelling of feelings like irritability, anxiety, and sadness. In the long term, doom scrolling can definitely foster chronic anxiety, stress, depression, and pessimism. But it makes sense why so several of us are turning to it as a coping mechanism, amid a worldwide health crisis, a national economic collapse, and a social reckoning of the systemic racism that has been swirled in this country for a long time, it is natural if one will feel a total loss of control. Doom scrolling, in several ways, feels like control because we can decide how informed we are. But when the info is triggering and there is not much by way of answers to offer, the impact is not essentially a positive one.  While we initially turn to this online content for comfort and answers, the reality is that the further we consume, the more drained, helpless, and potentially anxious and lonely we will feel. Those feelings can frequently trigger us to seek out even more info, on an endless quest for a sense of control that we are not probably to achieve. But, it is in every person’s power for stopping the doom scrolling cycle.

Do not get us wrong, staying up to date with coronavirus news and recommendations is essential, as it’s staying connected with your friends. For both reasons, doom scrolling became famous during the pandemic, whether people were looking for more info or they were trying to stay in touch with their friends when they cannot connect face to face with their friends and loved ones. When we talk about doom scrolling, there’s a feeling of missing out. When there’s any breaking news, we can feel like we’re missing out and doom scrolling becomes “a solution. In times like these when we are talking about racism more than ever, we might even feel guilty if we aren’t doom scrolling. This can mean that we aren’t interested to be informed and that we’re turning the other cheek. However, it is essential to keep in mind if we are spending too much time following news and not taking care of ourselves, we are less probably to take real action.

Why do we doom scroll?

Our brain loves this stuff. We’re all hardwired for seeing the negative and be drawn to the negative because it can harm us physically. As per one expert, it’s evolution as the reason for why humans seek out the negatives. If your ancestors learned all about how can injure them, they can avoid that fate. We can sense danger. It helps us survive. But in modern times, most people do not realize they are even doing this. People have a question, they need an answer, and assume getting it will make them feel good. You keep scrolling & scrolling. Several think that will be helpful, but they end up feeling worse afterward. To that point, doom scrolling can actually challenge the way you see the world. People are drawn to doom scrolling because they feel like they have got a sense of being able to control any of that bad news. But doom scrolling doesn’t take control and only makes you miserable. The overall effect doom scrolling has on people can vary, but usually, it can make you feel more anxious, depressed, and isolated. When we are stressed, we tend to turn to social media for info or distraction. Doom scrolling is a coping mechanism in the uncertain times like it’s now in the time of pandemic in the world.

There are some ways why people do doom scrolling

Anxiety. People who do this can have anxiety, there can be a feeling of negativity with the individual. Negative news fuels these feelings.

Time. With lockdowns and quarantines, people have more time to waste. Several will waste it by watching news items.

A false sense of control. There is a lot that has happened due to the virus. Now, social disruption is beyond our control. We can feel vulnerable and helpless. Feeding ourselves bad news can give us a false sense of security with the false hope we are knowledgeable about what’s going on.

Effects of doom scrolling on Mental Health

We turn to news to make sense of what is going on in the world. When info isn’t available or given in its entirety, people can feel helpless, frustrated, and angry. We’ve for drawing the line between staying informed and doom scrolling. In a few cases, doom scrolling can create the same symptoms as a post-traumatic disorder, particularly if we’re dealing with stressful content as we’re during the pandemic.

Why should you stop it?

Despite sleep problems and mental health issues and anxiety because of uncertainty in this time, several of us have become addicted to scrolling through our phones. It leads us to have the worst feeling about life.  When we are caught in the doom scrolling net, we lean towards disconnecting from reality and loved ones. This thing makes us forget the positive stuff in life. It will become a bad habit before you know it,. One that you would not only have a difficult time stopping but one with terrible consequences. The lack of routine during the pandemic has had an effect on our ability to focus on best memories and experiences.  Lockdown has had a big impact on wellbeing, with several feeling trapped in an environment. Add this to a sense of helplessness because of seeing constant doom facts and figures, deaths, and losses. Lockdown has given various people too much free time, free time that almost goes to dooms Colling.

What Can You Do About Doom scrolling?

Rather than scrolling through apps, opt for reading magazines, newspapers, and newsletters. Once you find other sources, minimize the time spent online, scrolling through social media while looking for further info. It is essential to minimize the number of news we read while yet staying informed. Listen to podcasts and news rather than scrolling down on your phone. Incorporate watching the news in your daily routine and opt for reliable sources, most mainstream media channels in the United State spin all the news and outright misinform. Learn through volunteering & spending time with other people. News isn’t the only place where you can stay informed. Have discussions with your friends, share info, fact check information of each other, and have a healthy dialogue. Most people know what they’re exposed to in mainstream media, and unfortunately, the level of bias and misinformation is at an all-time high. The most essential thing is to be mindful and connected to the problems that matter to you. If you discover yourself doom scrolling, urge yourself to look for some positive news as well to find peace and joy in this crazy globe. Doom scrolling must not be a way to escape reality for us. We should be completely engaged in our daily lives and the lives of others. Staying connected matters. Staying connected with others matters but most essentially staying connected with yourself matters. Mindless doom scrolling isn’t the way to stay connected with yourself.

Strategies to stop doom scrolling habit

Disconnect yourself from the phone or other devices and replace doom scrolling with other activity

This can mean physically detaching yourself from your phone and computer. Which can advantage you in a number of ways beyond saving yourself from the impacts of doom scrolling? The blue light from our phones really turns off the melatonin in our brains which makes it extra difficult to sleep. Instead of scrolling, you can read a book, listen to calming podcasts or music, find other distractions that do not self-perpetuate the same way checking online feeds does.

Set boundaries for consuming news

Avoid news after your dinner, as it can raise stress and interferes with sleep. You can strive to stay away from provoking, visual sources that can trigger traumatic responses from you, and, above all, listen to what your body is telling you. When you slow down to listen, then your mind and body will tell you when you have absorbed sufficient or the wrong type of news. If you are feeling agitated, anxious, and stressed, you know your body is signaling you to stop what you are doing.”

Mitigate stressful triggers when necessary

And different news items can be specifically triggering to different people. For instance, a person who recently lost a loved one to COVID-19 can be further affected than others by data showing a rise in COVID-related deaths. If a trigger feels stressful or challenging, try not to criticize or judge yourself, realize that you need somewhat TLC around these problems. When you are doing doom scrolling on social media, you notice that some specific content is harmful to you and your mental health, Baker suggests muting, unfollowing, and blocking accounts as needed. Furthermore, to silencing negative accounts, it is essential to curate happiness. You can follow those accounts that you find positive & uplifting.

Stay connected in other ways

A simple lifestyle change that can help you kick a doom scrolling habit is to contact a friend and have a cleansing conversation. Give somebody a call, and if you are not screen-timed out, FaceTime or Zoom with friends or family. Being face to face with somebody, even if it is through screens, maybe the best for lowering stress and limiting mindless scrolling. You can, obviously, check-in and connect with yourself. Utilize your free time to spend on extra productive activities like reading, starting a creative project, spending time with the family you’re quarantined with, exercising, and enjoying your natural surroundings and sunlight.

Time Management

Be aware of your time and how you’re using it. Rather than mindless scrolling takes an online course or do something productive.

Mindfulness

Be more mindful of your activities. Be aware of the action you’re doing rather than losing yourself in endless articles of bad news.

Stay connected

Stay connected either virtually and in person. On a personal level check in with family and friends for seeing how they’re. On a professional level try for expanding your network on sites such as LinkedIn.

I often wonder how it is that every one loves himself more than all the world and yet takes less account of his own judgement of himself than of the judgement of the world. At all events, if a god appeared to him or some wise master and bade him think and contemplate nothing within himself without at the same time speaking it out loud, he would not tolerate it even for a single day. Thus we respect whatever our neighbours will think about us more highly than we respect ourselves. Meditations, Marcus Aurelius 12.4

We hear a lot about self-care in popular culture, however, we don’t get to hear all too much about self-preservation, even though without no commitment to self-preservation, we can never truly feel the benefits of self-care.

What is Self-Preservation?

In the simplest terms, self-preservation is the act of keeping ourselves safe from harm, it is regarded as a basic human instinct which we are all equipped with – yet that doesn’t mean that everyone is using self-preservation effectively and always acting in their own best interest.

Self-Preservation kicks in when we are faced with danger and adversity, it is our self-preservation which triggers the fight or flight response which either gives us the impulse to confront the danger or move away from it. It’s an effective system in the wild, however, in modern-day situations, it is not always possible to use those two modes of self-preservation.

Any situation which causes us to become stressed can trigger the flight or fight response, such as getting stuck in a traffic jam and being late for work, waiting on an important phone call, or having a disagreement with our loved ones. Yet, in many cases, the adrenaline which is pouring through our bodies after triggering the response and preparing us to run or attack is coursing through our bodies with no outlet. This adrenaline which we aren’t able to use in turn causes anxiety and can cause panic attacks – which is exactly where self-care comes in, we will explain more about the differences of self-care and self-preservation down below.

The Difference Between Self-Care and Self-Preservation

As we pointed out above self-preservation is a natural instinct which we use to ensure our safety and survival – we don’t get a choice in making it happen. Self-care, on the other hand, is a conscious decision which we make for ourselves to make sure that we are taking the time to manage the stresses in our lives. These stresses are largely ones which self-preservation can’t help us with. For example, if we receive an unexpected bill which we are unable to pay. We can’t fight our way out of the situation, and we can’t really run away from the problem without it becoming much, much worse. Instead, we can choose to be kind to ourselves while we process the information and try and find a plausible way to remedy it.

The beauty of self-care is that there aren’t a set rule of activities to engage within, instead, it is knowing what helps you to relax personally. If reading a novel helps you to dissolve stress, or a walk in the park clears your mind, or drawing a bath helps you to relax, you can always opt for these methods. However, the three fundamental aspects of self-care involve exercise, a healthy diet, and meditation. With these three aspects of self-care covered, you will find that you have much less stress to contend with on a daily basis.

What Are the Limits of the Natural Human Condition?

As we have already learned, stress can be detrimental to our health, so, what happens when our jobs constantly require us to be face to face with stressful situations. While every job has the potential to be stressful, people in service positions such as soldiers, police, firefighters, and doctors are constantly experiencing stress on a daily basis. So, it comes as no surprise that people in these roles often experience burnout after being put through extensive chronic stress. It is worth noting here that not all stress is negative stress – stress and the cortisol which follows is what gives people the ability to run into a burning building or confront an armed attacker. However, chronic stress can cause fatigue, migraines, aching muscles, stomach problems, insomnia, chest pain, a low immune system, depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviour and mood swings.

This is why it is crucial for people in self-sacrificing service roles to practice sufficient self-care, because as selfless as people in these occupations may be, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be thanked for their efforts. Putting yourself through constant stress and seeing very little in the way of praise can often take its toll, therefore, we must take the responsibility to give ourselves the recognition.

Practising positive self-care isn’t selfish, despite what many people would believe, in fact, it puts us in a better position to help look after others. After all, you can’t fill with an empty cup! Do little things which remind you that you matter. Pamper yourself, indulge yourself – within reason. Don’t become a martyr to your own stress.

The Justifications of Our Fears

There are many different forms of stress in our 21^st-century lives, there are also many different ways in which we justify our fears and what triggers the stress response. Take for example the different reactions people have when they see a spider. Spider phobias are one of the most commonly learned fears, and for everyone who is living in Australia, panic should kick in when you see a spider as they can be poisonous and harmful. But if you’re living in the UK and you see a harmless spider, the fear isn’t as well justified. Fear of spiders or any potentially dangerous creature is a survival instinct which allows us to kick into action when faced with a threat. However, our methods of self-preservation were much more suited to us when we didn’t have to think about mortgages, taxes, moving house, relationship breakdowns, getting fired, and so on.

Now our acts of self-preservation stem from fear and anxiety triggered by different stressful stimuli and it’s not always easy to see the best choice to make. For example teenagers who get involved with gangs because at the time it may seem to offer more safety by ‘joining with the pack’, however, it is easy to see how decisions such as these can lead to more trouble further down the line.

Therefore, it is important for us to understand how self-preservation works, so we can make more mindful decisions in our lives, which aren’t just simply acting in action and letting an outdated system rule us by jungle rules in the 21^st century.

Do you find yourself constantly jumping to the wrong conclusion? If so, it may be time to discover the risks associated with making assumptions. The trouble with assumptions is that we don’t always necessarily register them as assumptions, but we will still allow our emotions to dictate our responses to situations and conversations.

The risk of making assumptions becomes even more detrimental to your life and relationships if you are in a negative mindset. For example, if someone forgets your birthday, does that mean that they don’t care about you and there is no value in the friendship? Not necessarily, we know that our own lives are full of stresses, trials and tribulations, however, we can quickly forget this when it comes to other people.

Assumptions allow us to process things as true without any proof to back it up. Assumptions can also make us believe that the outcomes of events are certain and fixed, take for example sitting an exam. If we are in a negative mindset, we can assume that we’ll fail before we even sit down and put pen to paper. This can have a detrimental impact on our mental health; therefore, it is essential that we always keep an open mind and consider the possibility of multiple outcomes.

We will cover 5 different ways in which people make incorrect judgements in their lives and how to avoid doing so in the future.

1. Do You Let Fiction Dictate Your Relationships?

It can be tricky to understand a person’s motives 100% of the time. If you find yourself running with incorrect judgements and assumptions instead of asking for clarity in the situation, you may notice that you struggle to see eye to eye with people. For example, if a friend, relative, or partner cancels on plans, it’s easy to make the assumption that they don’t want to spend time with us. Yet, before responding to the cancellation with judgement, seek clarity. Ask them if they are okay. If someone seems distant, don’t come up with the reasons why they are so distant in your own mind, ask them, and show that you care.

2. Do You Limit Possibilities?

On any given day any number of random events may occur, we never know what will happen, and that can be one of the most exciting parts of being alive. Yet, sometimes we can find ourselves with a limited number of mindset assumptions where we don’t even consider that there are other possibilities which we haven’t even considered. By approaching each day, situation, and event with such a restricted set of assumptions, we will limit the possible outcomes. For example, we might hold ourselves back on asking an old friend to go out to dinner as we’ve already convinced ourselves that they’ve said no. But what if they say they’re busy and out of town and invite you along for the trip? Anything can happen, you just need to make yourself available to the possibility.

3. Do You Struggle Pulling Yourself Out of Negative Thinking Patterns?

One negative thought can quickly transcend into a downward spiral of negativity and futility. When this happens, you need to accept that the world isn’t transpiring against you, it doesn’t hate you, and it isn’t out to get you. It may be hard to see past the mental fog which is hiding the reasons why you found happiness in the first place. The best way to bring yourself out of a negative spiral is to remind yourself of the reasons why you are grateful and thankful. Write a list of 10 different things which you’re grateful of each night before you go to bed, read them aloud in the morning when you wake up, and you will soon find that you have plenty more things to be grateful for. This will allow you to remove biases from situations and to help you see more positivity in the world.

4. Are You Really in Control of Your Decisions?

This one can be a tricky one and incredibly hard to spot. We can subconsciously limit our self-awareness by not taking the time to be mindful in the decisions which we make. Professor Steve Peters who wrote ‘the Chimp Paradox’ states that we have three brains, the chimp, the human, and the computer. The chimp handles our emotions, and the human deals with facts, the chimp can be incredibly quick to react in stressful situations. If you don’t want your impulsive chimp to make decisions for you, it is recommended that you take the time and discover all of the facts before making a decision. This means that you will need to take stock of your emotions, beliefs, and the facts before you can make a rational decision in any given circumstance.

5. Do Assumptions Make You Feel Safe?

Uncertainty can be incredibly daunting. This is why it feels like a safer option to come up with assumptions on outcomes. No one likes to wait around for important news, however, allowing our fears to convince us of negative outcomes or allowing our egos to convince us of positive ones can be detrimental to how we navigate in the world. There’s the old proverbial saying that only two things are certain in life, one, that we will be born, two that we will die. There is an infinite amount of possibility to explore in between.

Making assumptions can indicate that we are afraid of adversity in certain situations, for example, someone who experiences issues around rejection may hold themselves back from applying for a promotion, entering a competition, or asking someone out on a date. But life is never handed to us freely, we have to prove that we aren’t afraid to make ourselves happy and grasp for the opportunities which present themselves to us, and those which we have to go out in search for.

Ultimately, our happiness is our own responsibility, and we’ll need to put ourselves in situations where we won’t always know the outcome, but it is the only way to ensure that we’re not being limited by our incorrect negative judgements.

In each separate thing that you do, consider the matters which come first and those which follow after, and only then approach the thing itself. Otherwise, at the start you will come to it enthusiastically, because you have never reflected upon any of the subsequent steps, but later on, when some difficulties appear, you will give up disgracefully. Do you wish to win an Olympic victory? So do I, by the gods! for it is a fine thing. But consider the matters which come before that, and those which follow after, and only when you have done that, put your hand to the task. You have to submit to discipline, follow a strict diet, give up sweet cakes, train under compulsion, at a fixed hour, in heat or in cold; you must not drink cold water, nor wine just whenever you feel like it; you must have turned yourself over to your trainer precisely as you would to a physician. Then when the contest comes on, you have to “dig in” beside your opponent, and sometimes dislocate your wrist, sprain your ankle, swallow quantities of sand, sometimes take a scourging, and along with all that get beaten. After you have considered all these points, go on into the games, if you still wish to do so; otherwise, you will be turning back like children. Sometimes they play wrestlers, again gladiators, again they blow trumpets, and then act a play. So you too are now an athlete, now a gladiator, then a rhetorician, then a philosopher, yet with your whole soul nothing; but like an ape you imitate whatever you see, and one thing after another strikes your fancy. For you have never gone out after anything with circumspection, nor after you had examined it all over, but you act at haphazard and half-heartedly. Epictetus, Enchiridion 29

Many things in lives are not under your control, but your thoughts definitely are. With high expectations, stress and anxiety in everyone’s lives, it is easy to fall prey to negative thinking. Unhealthy thinking patterns can make you feel more depressed and unhappy with your lives. When this happens consistently, you may get disinterested in making connections or you may lose the desire to continue pursuing your goals.

Negative thinking can affect your health, relationships and even your work. You want to be in the present moment, but unhealthy thinking patterns will not let you do that. Moreover, the thoughts will drain your energy faster and will not allow you to feel good.

It is a well-known fact, you admit it or not, that no one is perfect here. Everyone is aware of what he has to do or how to do it. For instance, we should have healthy eating habits, exercise, sleep well, be mindful of the surrounding, etc. However, most of the people aren’t motivated enough to follow any of those things. What seems to be “we’ll do it later” becomes a bad-habit in the long run. This is because when you have negative thinking patterns, your mind keeps you stuck, holding you back in your life.

It is very important to stay away from negative thinking and embrace positivity. Negative thinking can begin with just a feeling or a thought. A situation or your surrounding can be responsible for what you think or how you feel. Negative thoughts can also occur if some person tells you something disturbing. Most of the people don’t give importance to it and doesn’t take any action. So, negativity becomes habitual and causes negative emotions like anxiety, fear, shame, etc. These repetitive thoughts are really unhelpful in your life.

If you want to overcome unhealthy thinking patterns, you have to identify those patterns and change them. Each one of us has unique experiences as our brain gives its meaning to the subject. So, you have to individually determine your thoughts and lay the groundwork for changing your attitude and thinking pattern.

To get rid of negative thinking, people try many different ways including diverting their attention and distracting themselves. However, as time passes, they regret doing those things because they find themselves still stuck in negativity. By practicing these strategies, these people can only stop those thoughts for a short period. The things can become worse in the long run as it does not fix the issues at its core.

If you are struggling with unhealthy thinking patterns, you can turn things around and make peace with your life. Once you know the reasons for negative thinking and use the skills to change your mind, it is possible to overcome them and transform your lives. Let’s look at some unhealthy thinking patterns in brief and ways to overcome them.

Polarized Thinking

Many of you see things as black and white. For instance, you have joined a new company. You feel a specific colleague is either good or bad. Or, when you go out with someone, you think that the outing was either boring or interesting. When you see a new opportunity, you think, “I can do this” or “I’m not perfect, I can’t do this”. You always think in extremes. For you, everything is either perfect or imperfect.

Polarized thinking is nothing but a cognitive distortion and it makes you process the information incorrectly. People will have lots of expectations and most of them would be unrealistic. In such cases, they fail to see gray areas in every situation they are in. This makes them feel bitter and frustrated.

To overcome this, you need to know when you get negative thoughts. For example, you might be saying to yourself – “I’m bad at work. I don’t complete the tasks on time. I’m utter waste and I won’t go anywhere in my career”. You don’t have to get fit in everything around you. You can generate possibilities in them. You can think, “I may not be perfect at work, but I will try to complete the tasks on time.” Just find one alternative and break this kind of thinking pattern. You have to think clearly to understand intangibles in life.

Generalizing

Many people have the habit of generalizing things. You are overgeneralizing if you draw a conclusion about something from one unpleasant event. Overgeneralizing can result in thinking errors, which leads to unnecessary emotional pain. When you overgeneralize, you predict the result of something based on its previous instance. Your prediction is more on the negative side than positive.

For example, if you go to a job interview and don’t get the job after the interview, you may overgeneralize and think that you will never get a decent job. You feel dejected and hopeless and predict that you will be jobless forever. Another example, you see a man teasing and molesting a woman. You, as a woman, overgeneralize that all men are scum and every man will behave in the same way. These assumptions are highly inaccurate and will greatly influence your thinking. Due to this, you start making ineffective choices and creating artificial barriers.

You can easily overcome this unhealthy thinking pattern. Overgeneralization is nothing but a thought process, generating ideas about others and yourself. So, the first thing you need to do is to pay attention to your ideas and thoughts. Often, the ideas will look true to you, but they are nothing but exaggerated generalizations. So, as soon as you become mindful of these kinds of thoughts, you need to ask yourself about real-time experiences and sufficient proof. Most of the time, you will not find answers to those questions and ideas. This will confirm that they are thoughts of your generalizations.

Narrow View

More often than not, you only think about the things you want to think about or you want to see. You frequently reject the positive experiences and statements by insisting they don’t exist or count for some reason. You only support a negative belief and that it is contradicted by your statements and experiences. This is something like polarized thinking, in which you filter out all the positive experiences and focus only on negative.

For example, if you score a goal in football and other players praise the effort, you simply reply-“everyone has a lucky day.” Rather, feel proud of your efforts and thank them for the compliment.

When you reject positivity, you are only embracing negative thoughts and beliefs. Just accept the compliments you receive from others and say-“Thank you”.

Making Excuses

Are you consistently making excuses when things are not going your way? Do you avoid taking responsibility for the circumstances in your life? You may think excuses are better because they make you feel better about yourself. But the fact is when you make excuses you are actually living with your failed expectations and getting sympathy from others. There are many reasons as to why people make excuses. You might be making excuses for shortcomings in your life or it may be because of fear of failure, change, embarrassment, uncertainty, etc.

It is important to eliminate the habit of making excuses. You should begin by removing fear out of you. Fear arises because of limited resources, understanding or experience. Because of this, you will be low on self-confidence and consequently, you will not take actions that are important for moving forward. Admit that you are making excuses and ask yourself why you are making excuses and what are you getting out of them. These things will greatly help you overcome this unhealthy thinking pattern.

Supposition

Very often, people think that something will happen but there will be nothing to support that thought. These days, people have become so negative that they predict the outcome before something happens. They assume it to be true without having any evidence or proof. For instance, you think- “I’m stressed out lately and this means that my issues are big and I cannot overcome them.”

Sometimes, people forget that whatever they are assuming is not the only option that would happen. Supposition will affect you in many ways. It may suppress your creativity and make you feel stressed. If you want to live peacefully, you need to stop thinking that something unpleasant will happen. First, find out how you arrived at that supposition. You may have come last in a race, but that doesn’t mean you will always come last. Then, experiment and believe in yourself to start changing the results.

Unhealthy thinking patterns are very harmful to your life as they make you unhappy and depressed. For a peaceful living, you need to overcome unhealthy thinking patterns and embrace more useful and helpful positive thoughts. You can practice mindfulness and find the thinking patterns, which have already become habitual. Or, practice some strategies and overcome unhealthy thinking patterns and enhance and transform your life. We have given the most common unhealthy thinking patterns that affect you in various ways. These patterns can be easily overcome if you think clearly with a broad mind and never overgeneralize and make excuses.