Negative thoughts could hinder your recovery from depression and increase your feelings of hopelessness. If you have not tried cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), consider it. It is one of the most studied and effective forms of therapies for depression.
With CBT, you will work with a therapist to identify behavioral patterns that need changing. The primary goal of therapy is to rewire the specific part of your brain that is keeping a lid on your positive thoughts. In general, you could expect to encounter these techniques when you go through CBT sessions in Westport, CT.
Identifying the Problem to Find a Suitable Solution
Speaking with your therapist and writing down your feelings could help you uncover what is making you depressed. Once you have figured out what might be keeping you depressed, write it down in the simplest terms possible and try to find ways to solve it.
Hopelessness, the belief that nothing could get better, is one of the most influential hallmarks of depression. Making a list of what you could do to make your situation better could help you deal with depressive feelings and combat hopelessness.
Writing Affirmations to Counter Negative Thinking
Once you have determined why you are depressed, list down all negative thoughts you typically use for dampening your positive thoughts and then write down affirmations or self-statements you could use for counteracting those negative thoughts. Repeat these affirmations to yourself during times that you feel negative thoughts trying to extinguish your positive thoughts. Over time, you will learn to create new associations to substitute negative thoughts with positive thoughts.
Looking for Chances to Practice Positive Thinking
For example, if you wake up feeling depressed and thinking that you’re going to be depressed the whole day, you could train yourself to think of at least five things — even the simplest things such as eating a favorite snack — you could feel good about your day. Remind yourself about these things at least thrice daily to train yourself in reframing your thought patterns into more positive ones.
Accepting That Disappointment is a Part of Normal Life
How you respond to disappointments could impact how fast you could get over your disappointments. Do not dampen your disappointment with loneliness. Instead, accept that you cannot control everything. Work on what you could control by writing down your disappointments, what you learned, and how you could deal with it better next time, paying attention to excessively negative thoughts.
Finishing Every Single Day by Remembering All the Good Parts
End every day by typing or writing down all the things that you are thankful for — yes, even the smallest things in your life. Recording these positive thoughts could aid you in developing new associations or pathways in your negativity-riddled mind.
Being able to recognize, accept and leave your negative thoughts behind instead of merely dampening them when they come could be immensely liberating. Regular CBT sessions and doing work on your own could help in reinforcing positive thought patterns and set you on the right path towards true recovery.