How To Stop Those Swirling Negative Thoughts

Just about everyone has been in a job interview. Have you ever been in one and blurted out an answer to the HR person interviewing you and then the recrimination starts? No, it's not from the interviewer; it's from that thought nag in your brain. It's your thoughts that come up, "Now, why did you say that?" and "Oh no, I've just blown the interview!", or even, "If this gets around, no one will ever hire me."

These types of responses and the thoughts that follow tend to happen when you're under pressure, like during that job interview. But here's the thing - thoughts aren't facts. Those screaming negative thoughts that assault your brain don't automatically turn into acts, either.



These cascading thoughts become a sort of self-punishment, whirling around in your brain, telling you what a screw-up you are. And more of those types of thoughts spawn even more, until you begin to believe that you've never done anything right, and are only capable of ruining your life and everyone else's in the future. Again, remember that thoughts aren't facts.

It's time to disrupt those negative thoughts with gentleness, even though that gentleness can be hard to find amidst the whirling negative thought machine. That's actually when thinking about the biological process of breathing can come in handy. Let the thoughts come; don't fight them. Focus on breathing, the flow of air in and out.

Focus on breathing can help you find out what is driving the thoughts and provide the calm of mindfulness. That anxiety and pressure that led you to blurt out an answer and then succumb to the negative thoughts can be calmed down. Focus on breathing helps reduce the pressure you feel, and allows you to focus again, so you don't end up undermining yourself.

That can also help place a more realistic perspective on what did occur. A mistake isn't the end of the world. You can learn from it, and might actually stop yourself the next time you feel the impulse to blurt out an answer. The harsh, self-critical thinking does not help; it hurts. You can even make a plan to focus on your breathing before you walk into a pressure-filled situation, allowing you to make more thoughtful responses. Mindful breathing can really lead to more positive experiences.

Thanks to information from this article by Elaine Smookler at Mindful: http://www.mindful.org/stop-negative-thoughts-from-getting-you-down/.

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