Positive thinking: Reduce stress, enjoy life more

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Positive thinking: Reduce stress, enjoy life more

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/positive-thinking/SR00009

Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health.

Overcome negative self-talk by recognizing it and practicing with some examples

provided.

Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question

about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward

yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic.

In fact, some studies show that these personality traits — optimism and

pessimism — can affect many areas of your health and well-being. Positive

thinking also is a key part of effective stress management. Positive thinking

doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant

situations. It just means that you approach the unpleasantness in a more

positive and productive way.

With all this in mind, take a refresher course in positive thinking. Learn how

to put positive thinking into action in your own life, and reap the benefits.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Self-talk is the endless stream of thoughts that run through your head every

day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your

self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from

misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on

life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're

likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on

health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

Increased life span

Lower rates of depression

Lower levels of distress

Greater resistance to the common cold

Better psychological and physical well-being

Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease

Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health

benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope

better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of

stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and optimistic people live

healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet,

and have reduced rates of smoking and alcohol consumption.

Identifying negative thinking

Some common forms of negative self-talk include:

Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of

the positive ones. For example, say you had a great day at work. You completed

your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough

job. But you forgot one minor step. That evening, you focus only on your

oversight and forget about the compliments you received.

Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For

example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume

that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.

Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. You refuse to go out

with friends for fear that you'll make a fool of yourself. Or one change in your

daily routine leads you to think the entire day will be a disaster.

Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad, black or white. There is

no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or that you're a total

failure.

Focusing on positive thinking

Because your self-talk is mainly negative doesn't mean you're doomed to an

unhappy or unhealthy life. You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive

thinking. The process is simple, but it takes time and practice — you're

creating a new habit, after all. Here are some ways to think and behave in a

more positive way:

Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're

thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way

to put a positive spin on them.

Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during

difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life,

you feel less stressed.

Follow a healthy lifestyle. Exercise at least three times a week to positively

affect mood and reduce stress.

Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. And learn to manage stress.

Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are

positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and

feedback. Negative people, those who believe they have no power over their

lives, may increase your stress level and may make you doubt your ability to

manage stress in healthy ways.

Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say

anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and

encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it

rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about yourself.

Examples of typical negative self-talk and how you might apply a positive twist

include:

Negative self-talk Positive spin

I've never done it before. It's an opportunity to learn something new.

It's too complicated. I'll tackle it from a different angle.

I don't have the resources. Necessity is the mother of invention.

I'm too lazy to get this done. I wasn't able to fit it into my schedule but can

re-examine some priorities.

There's no way it will work. I can try to make it work.

It's too radical a change. Let's take a chance.

No one bothers to communicate with me. I'll see if I can open the channels of

communication.

I'm not going to get any better at this. I'll give it another try.

Practicing positive thinking every day. If you tend to have a negative outlook,

don't expect to become an optimist overnight. But with practice, eventually your

self-talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance. You may

also become less critical of the world around you. Plus, when you share your

positive mood and positive experience, both you and those around you enjoy an

emotional boost.

Practicing positive self-talk will improve your outlook. When your state of mind

is generally optimistic, you're able to handle everyday stress in a more

constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health

benefits of positive thinking.