Every second of wakefulness, a person thinks about something. And the string of thoughts has no end. It is good that now there is still no device for reading them. Indeed, in harmless thoughts about solving everyday tasks and planning for the future, sometimes bad, even scary thoughts are wedged. All these are tricks of the human subconscious. And each of us, at least once rejoicing in the failure of his neighbor, could be caught red-handed. How to defeat the "inner demon"? Psychologists know how to get rid of bad thoughts.
- Find the source. American psychologist Eric Klinger argues that a person subconsciously constantly explores the surrounding reality for potential danger. When such emotional signals are detected, bad thoughts arise. This is a kind of defensive reaction. For example, the employee once again receives a reprimand from the boss. He consciously feels shame, frustration, and confusion. And his subconscious mind perceives the angry boss as a danger and in response sends thoughts about how the employee hits, crushes and simply scoffs at his boss. Therefore, when you are visited by bad thoughts of this kind, this does not mean that you are a bad person. But it is necessary to analyze your environment and activities, to make certain adjustments.
- Think to the end. As soon as bad thoughts burst into our minds, we immediately try to brush aside them, run away, hide. From this they become even more intrusive. This process resembles the mythical Lernean hydra, where instead of one severed head, two appear. According to the theory of psychologist David Bass, a bad thought should be read to the end. Do not be afraid to commit a “thought crime”. You will not be condemned for him. Moreover, it blocks such actions in reality.
- Turn on the humor. If bad thoughts dragged you on, try not to get into the bloody thriller in them. When mentally viewing the picture, include humor in the process and give it more positive meaning. For example, if a person annoys you, do not kill him. Just mentally correct what irritates you. You can twist a loud laugh, you can cope with facial expressions and gestures by reducing your interlocutor several times. Yes, all this requires patience and concentration. Train!
- Do not tell anyone. This is a self-evident rule for anyone who wants to get rid of bad thoughts. You can’t share them with friends and family. And there are several reasons for this. Firstly, such a confession can hit your reputation and become a serious weapon in the hands of ill-wishers. Secondly, after such a frank story, you may begin to overcome fears of the spread of personal information. Bad thoughts, along with the source of their occurrence, will gradually go away and be forgotten, but a reminder of them from friends may become a serious obstacle to this.
- Lack of entry is an exit. If you manage to free yourself from bad thoughts for a while, try to correctly assess reality. Perhaps there have been some changes in life: you have changed the situation, stopped communicating with certain people, changed the place of work or study. So you can not only find the source of your gloomy and obsessive thoughts, but also be able to prevent them again.