Stress, depression, anxiety and in extreme cases suicide are becoming a silent epidemic, slowly eating into the fabric of society and inflicting harm on people especially youths.
Despite the fact that several campaigns and awareness are being launched to educate and help people talk more openly about mental health and remove the stigma attached to mental health issues, there is still little resistance brought on by shame or embarrassment. Some people are embarrassed to admit or even acknowledge that they are going through high levels of stress, depression or anxiety. This, in most cases, is to be able to keep providing for their family and so they refuse to recognize that the body and mind are giving signs that you need to take a break and take care of themselves.
According to Life Transformational Coach and Mentor, Annie Gibbins, this is due to the fact that people have placed their mind in a mental disadvantage or prison. Whereby when they think about taking a break from work to recuperate and energize, they immediately start panicking and thinking about all the things that would be left undone or could go wrong. Negative thinking. As an employer or employee, this is bad for your business and your well-being, so you might be doing more harm than good on both ends.
Some studies show that personality traits in people such as optimism and pessimism play a significant role in an individual’s health and well-being because it is a factor in how they make decisions about their health. The positive thinking that usually comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management which has many health benefits.
If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative and always geared towards “what could go wrong”, perpetual worrying and stressing, that means that your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you’re likely an optimist — positive thinker.
If you tend to be pessimistic, then this article is for you and you have to change that and start thinking positive thoughts.
Understanding positive thinking and self-talk
Thinking positive thoughts doesn’t mean you should bury your head in the sand and pretend that bad situations don’t happen because you are thinking about rainbows and unicorns. It just means that you should approach those bad situations in a more positive and productive way. Writer, Norman Vincent Peale, in his book, “The Power of Positive Thinking” said,
“I certainly do not ignore or minimize the hardships and tragedies of the world, but neither do I allow them to dominate.”
Writer – Norman Vincent Peale
So, while you see the ‘cons’ of a situation, do not forget to also look at the ‘pros’ as well and appreciate them. Look on the bright side of things sometimes! This might sound like a cliché or like it’s easier said than done but you should understand that there exist a whole science and research in the field of positive psychology that shows that putting attention to specific ways of thinking helps reduce stress and improves life too.
Using positive thoughts to reduce stress
According to Annie Gibbins, there are ways to use your positive thoughts to reduce stress and benefit your well-being. Positive thinking most often starts with admitting to yourself that you need to take care of yourself. When you resolve that you have to take your health and wellbeing more seriously, you have then opened your mind to positive vibes and living. Then you can remove yourself from whatever is causing you to stress in other to relax and reenergize. This is self-care and self-care is love and positivity.
Master the art of self-care and enrich your mind, body, and soul.
Keynote Speaker and Life Coach – Annie Gibbins
And then you can start reviewing your self-talk. Self-talk is those unspoken thoughts that run through your mind. They could be positive or negative. Catch yourself during those thoughts and review them. When you resolve that you need positivity in your life and you start making changes towards that, your thoughts would be geared towards the positivity, stress management and your outlook on things also become more positive. The proverbial or even real glass becomes half full or just a glass of water and not half empty.
The health benefits of positive thinking
According to research, the effects and benefits of positive thinking include lower stress levels, lower depression, healthier life, longer life span, a better psychological and emotional well-being and better-coping skills in stress and difficult situations. According to Annie, these benefits are because the positive thought process helps reduce stress and its negative effects on our body and health.
If you tend to have a negative view on things, it is not expected (and it is, in fact, unrealistic) that you would immediately change up and start thinking pineapples and ice creams. Thinking positive thoughts or becoming an optimist is not an overnight feat. It requires practice and conscious resolve to change your thought process, and eventually, you will start noticing that those unspoken thoughts in your head are not so critical anymore but are now more accepting.
Sources –
Chopra – https://chopra.com/articles/how-to-reduce-stress-through-positive-thinking-5-methods
Annie Gibbins – https://www.anniegibbins.com/
Mayo Clinic – https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950