Negative narratives vary and hit people differently. Some might even say they feel like their own worst enemy. That is unavoidable once your inner critic finds a way to put down everything it is you tell yourself. People who do not keep their thoughts in check tend to slope down into self-loathing and depression. If you think you need help for substance abuse, see here for the “best substance abuse centers near me”
CUSTOMIZING YOUR INNER CRITIC.
Mental health is just as important as physical health: hygiene, fitness etc.
In a society like ours highly prone to depression, social anxiety and Bipolar disorder, it is prudent to take charge of your Mental health as you are what you feed yourself.
The mind must be constantly renewed with a positive narrative because the mind cannot exist in a vacuum. If it does, it automatically creates scenarios using the pleasant and unpleasant situations around and fills itself. More often than not, it fills itself with negative narratives.
If you can relate with the first few lines of this article, here are some of the negative inner narratives you might have subjected yourself to:
- MENTAL FILTER. This is the act of constantly filtering the mind to meditate upon mistakes and errors and slip-ups, completely ignoring the times you have hit milestones, climbed mountains and made an impact.
- Comparison, The ‘SHOULD’ Statements. The world has become a small village thanks to the internet. Social media platforms have rapidly turned into places to show feats of accomplishments. Chances are you have been comparing yourself with an old coursemate or colleague with should statements. “I should have…. I ought to have”. While ambitions and a little competition is healthy, you shouldn’t belittle little wins and previous achievements.
- Personalizing blame. Another negative narrative is taking the blame for every slip up in interpersonal relationships failure. Taking responsibility is maturity and it takes courage, but rather than heaping blames which weigh you down, why do not you identify the issue and fix it so they do not occur anymore.
- Emotional reasoning. Another self-sabotaging narrative is letting your feelings override your reasoning. Just because you feel you won’t be accepted into a particular programme, shouldn’t deter you from actually applying. Stop writing yourself off before actually trying.
- Black and white the all or nothing mentality. If you are a perfectionist like myself, you see the world divided into two, black and white, good and bad, dry and wet. Zero middle ground. All or nothing. If you live this way, there is a very high chance that the failure of the minutest order can make you an emotional wreck. This is highly unhealthy, and it just takes life happening to you twice consecutively to break you into fragmented bits. Winning is not everything.
- Downplaying positive experiences. Take pride in your work! Your achievements, your wins! Downplaying wins, experiences is a sure way to go down a rabbit hole fast.
- Magnification of negative experience. Magnifying faults and negativity is also a sure way to pollute your inner critic. Fill your mind with memories of past glories, not in an atmosphere of pride, but to create an atmosphere of positivity.
- Panic, overthinking. Put your emotions in check. Leave nothing to the vexation of emotions. Channel your energy into enabling tranquillity of the mind. This way you get to think and do better.
CONCLUSION
Many things happen to be implicit and it takes an explicit realization of certain facts to begin the journey of recovery. Positive thought patterns are a lot healthier than negative thought patterns because even though they seem comforting, in the end, they’re just like alcohol or habitual smoking; extremely dangerous in the long run.