Positive Thinking Techniques: Take Action on Your Anxieties, or Forget about Them

There are many bumps on the road to positive thinking. One of them is undue anxiety. Negative thinking can cause you to worry about situations that are beyond your control. Because negative thoughts can consume you, it's essential to use positive thinking techniques to get rid of both your rational and irrational worries.

• Be Aware of Your Anxiety

The first step in utilizing positive thinking techniques is to become aware that you're worrying. As with negative thinking, worrying about every little thing can become something you do subconsciously. Start by being conscious of the fact that you are worrying.

• Question Yourself

Question your worry. Can you take action on it, or is it something over which you have no control?

If it's inactionable and out of your control, you need to become aware of that. Since you can't do anything about it, find a diversion that will put it out of your mind. Don't waste time thinking about the consequences of your anxiety. It’s utterly pointless.

• Take Action

If the situation is actionable, take action and do something about it—immediately, if you can. Then forget about it for the rest of the day, and be calmed by the fact that you have done something to help resolve the problem.

If you can't do anything immediately, you can still calm your mind by scheduling time to address the situation later in the day or week.

• Change Your Focus

Sometimes, simply recognizing that it’s useless to worry may be sufficient to prevent you from worrying. Other times, you will have to shift your focus. For instance, if you're surfing the net to find the things that are worrying you, you may need to log off in order to stop worrying. Go out and take a walk for a change of scenery.

Whether your worry is actionable now, later, or not at all, put it out of your mind.

By doing all of the above, you've done everything in your power to take control of your situation.

These positive thinking techniques seem simple but they can make a big difference between worrying for a few minutes and worrying all day. Taking action on the problems you can control and letting go of the ones you can’t is one of the most important steps towards forgetting about your worries.

Understanding the Health Benefits of Positive Thinking

 

The benefits of positive thinking apply not only to our minds, but to our physical wellbeing. Many studies have indicated this to be true. Here are some of the benefits of developing a positive attitude.

Conquer Anxiety, Depression and Illness

Seeing the glass as half full or half empty can have a great impact on the way you respond to obstacles in your life. Those people who tend toward optimism will often see the silver lining in circumstances that might otherwise make them anxious or depressed. Negative emotions and self criticism play a key role in depression and anxiety.

In addition, some research has shown a direct correlation between stress levels and the strength of our immune system, directly affecting our immunity to certain health conditions. One study indicated that increased brain activity while thinking negatively is related to our immune response to the flu.

An upbeat outlook helps people dealing with serious long term diseases such as cancer. Those who practice positive thinking -- by keeping check on the negative stream of thought that continually repeats itself -- were discovered to have fewer side effects and faster recovery from cancer treatment.

Advantages of Positive Thinking

Research on the health benefits of positive thinking is not yet conclusive. However, the well-renowned Mayo Clinic states that positive thinking has many advantages, including:

• Longer life span
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Improved over all health
• Lowered susceptibility to depression
• Better life-coping ability
• Reduced risk of heart disease

There are many opinions about why those people who think optimistically experience these health benefits, but it usually comes down to the fact that they are less anxious and depressed in general. The reduced anxiety and depression is a result of what they think on a day-to-day basis.

Most of us don’t notice the barrage of negative thoughts that constantly pop into our minds. Some studies show that there may be thousands of them going through our minds every day. It's not hard to understand why having so many of these thoughts can lead to a downbeat outlook on life, making it harder to deal with difficult situations.

The detrimental effects of negative thinking affect our mood and our health. The benefits of positive thinking, which come about by working to improve our thoughts, influence our mood and health as well.