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How to Keep Negative Thoughts from Getting You Down DEFEATING (AND RETHINKING) NEGATIVE THOUGHTS It’s estimated that the average person has more than 6,000 thoughts each day—and negative thoughts tend to outnumber positive ones. 91% of the stuff we worry about doesn’t come true, suggests a study exploring negative thoughts in those with generalized anxiety disorder. Even when our worries DO become a reality, about 30% of study participants said they handled the outcome better than expected. Don't Be a Ruminant Although negative thoughts are normal, going over and over them in your head—what psychologists call rumination— can lead to increased anxiety, stress, and depression. Do Come Up with Alternatives ● Consciously challenge a negative thought about an event by coming up with alternate explanations for what caused it. ● Try to view negative experiences as unlucky situations that are neither personal nor permanent. [Illustrate in bubble or circle nearby:] Psychologist Martin Seligman calls this learned optimism. Try to See the Glass Half Full Imagining the worst-case scenario, or catastrophizing, may actually increase anxiety and depression. Learn to Dispute Your Negative Thoughts Recognize them and then try to see them as if someone else said them to you. Now consider: Would anyone who cares about you ever really say that? When you're feeling down on yourself, think about what a good friend would say to you or argue on your behalf. By being more mindful of our thought patterns, we can choose to be more positive: - Examine the evidence for your negative thoughts. Are they rational? - Dispute these thoughts with a mantra like

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