Are these thoughts normal? 💭

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, friends.

So, let’s talk about how most of us, at any given time, have sooo many worries swirling around in our minds. What’s up with that?

To an extent, this is totally normal. 

We have a natural tendency to dwell and it’s called rumination. 

In order to keep us safe, our brain and nervous system are actually hardwired to dwell on the negative more so than the positive. 

But if we’re not careful, rumination can actually make us even more angry or upset than we were in the first place — things become magnified in the mind after playing through it a number of times.

So, how can we stop dwelling and blowing things out of proportion? 

Relax — Try our “Ruminating Thoughts” guided meditation to relax your mind. Once the mind is in a relaxed state, you can more easily find your way out of sticky, negative thought patterns with the tips below.

Release — It may sound funny, but one way to get rid of a nagging thought is to write it down and actually throw it in the trash, according to a Ohio State University study. Those who wrote down negative thoughts about their bodies and threw them in the trash had a more positive self image after the fact, compared to those who kept the notes. Literally trashing our negative thoughts may, in fact, signal our minds to release it. 

Replace —Think about something else that requires concentration. Try reciting your favorite poem or song lyrics the next time you’re obsessing or worrying about something. Or, imagine your next vacation. Where are you going? What fun activities will you be doing? Who will be with you? What new foods will you try?

Reframe — Here’s what we mean...stuck in traffic and thinking about how it’s a waste of time? Try finding the silver lining. Instead, could this be an opportunity to catch up on all of the podcast episodes you just haven’t had time to listen to yet?! Ask yourself if you can reframe the situation and look at things from a different perspective.

Try the ‘4 Rs’ and let us know how it works for you!