Blog Short #237: How to Stop Negative Self-Talk
Photo by nensuria
What is negative self-talk?
It’s a specific type of chatter that rattles on in your mind, usually involuntarily. If you’re able to stop it for a moment, it starts back up as soon as you relax. And most often, you have little to no control over it.
Here are three examples:
Why did I say that? What was I thinking? They’re going to think I’m nuts, and now everyone’s mad at me.
I’m going to feel so awkward the next time I’m around any of them. I’m sure they won’t want me there. What if I say something stupid again? I’ll be so embarrassed and never live it down. And I still have to see them at work every day. How can I?
How do I always get in this place? Can’t I control myself? I just rattle on without thinking and say such stupid stuff. I’m really a nutcase! I know that’s what people think, and they’re right! I’ve got nothing to offer.
Okay, let’s break this down a bit.
Three Types of Negative Chatter
The examples I just gave stem from a single incident. They illustrate the three types of negative self-talk we most often engage in.
This categorization comes from Ethan Kross, a psychologist and researcher who wrote the book Chatter. His three categories are:
- Rumination
- Worry
- Self-Beratement
Rumination
Rumination is obsessing about the past. You did something, or something happened, and you keep going over it.
You get focused on every detail of your behavior or performance and second-guess what you did or said. You imagine people’s negative reactions to you.
You can’t let go of it and shift your focus to something else.
Rumination is repetitive and holds you emotionally hostage.
Worry
The second part of “chatter” is to worry about the future. This is where all the what-ifs live and thrive.
Now that I’ve done this thing, here are all the horrible repercussions that could happen in the future because of it.
A note here: Worry doesn’t necessarily always have to do with something you’ve done. As you well know, it can be about anything.
But the hallmark of it is to catastrophize about all the possible things that could go wrong.
And like rumination, worry is relentless and repetitive.
Self-Beratement
The last category is turning in on yourself with harsh criticism, beratement, and self-doubt.
This chatter is brutal and unforgiving. You create a picture of yourself that’s narrowed down to a single incident or behavior and see it as the whole.
You’re not someone who made a mistake; you are the mistake.
And like the other two categories of chatter, this one is an endless stream with no letting up.
So, what can you do to stop this assault?
If you read Chatter, you’ll learn about all the possible methods of quieting and getting control over it, which I recommend.
For our purposes today, I will review six of the tools Dr. Kross prescribes. These tools are all backed by research, which surprised me but also delighted me, as the results are encouraging.
Here we go.
1. Say Your Name
I love this one because it requires minimal effort. It’s easy.
As you talk to yourself, move from first person to third person. Instead of saying, “I said something stupid,” say, “Barb (your name) said something stupid.”
When you do that, you get some automatic distance from both the incident and the emotions attached to it.
Secondly, use this strategy when you give yourself advice. When you offer advice to someone else, you tend to be more forgiving, encouraging, and positive in your approach.
If I say to myself, “Barb, don’t worry so much. It’ll be all right,” that has much more power than saying, “I shouldn’t worry so much.”
When you use the first-person “I,” you waver. You won’t believe what you’re saying. But when you address yourself by your name, what you say is more believable and reassuring.
The same goes when you give yourself a command like, “Barb, stop fretting. You’re exaggerating. Give it a rest.”
Something about your name calms your nervous system and slows down the fight or flight response your brain’s locked into. Research has shown this to be true.
2. Put Yourself in Some Green Space
Take a walk in nature, go to the park, or sit outside.
Research has shown that access to green space is calming. Nature draws us in involuntarily and captures our attention while reducing anxiety. It requires no work on our part.
If you’ve ever taken a break from work by walking outside for a while, you’ve had that experience. You hear the sounds of birds and experience the beauty of trees and flowers while feeling the warmth of the sun. It’s a sensory feast that captures your mind and releases your stress.
You won’t get the same effect walking in an urban area unless you’re in a park or similar setting with green space available.
Being in nature or green space interrupts the obsessiveness of negative chatter and opens your mind back up. Research has also shown that walking increases creativity and innovative thinking.
3. Create Order in Your Environment
Have you ever started cleaning your house or reorganizing your office when you’re anxious or upset about something?
There’s a reason you do this.
By creating order in your environment, you create mental order simultaneously.
This strategy is an outside-in approach that’s quite effective. You won’t stop thinking, but you’ll feel your body relaxing, your thoughts slowing, and your emotions settling.
This happens in part because you’re engaging your executive functions – focus, rational thinking, evaluation, flexibility, self-regulation, and general use of your cognitive skills.
“Our executive functions are the foundation of our ability to steer our thoughts and behavior in the ways we desire.” (Kross, P. 46).
Instead of actively wrestling with your thoughts, ordering your space does it for you.
4. Time-Travel
This one will be familiar to you.
When you feel stuck on something, travel forward in time – a month, a year, or ten years out. How will what you’re worrying about now impact you then? How much will it matter?
Conversely, look back at previous experiences you’ve had that seemed insurmountable at the time, but you managed them successfully.
Doing either of these things will help you put your current situation in perspective. You’ll have more faith in yourself to resolve your worries and subdue your emotions.
5. Journal it.
Spend 15 to 30 minutes writing out your deepest thoughts and feelings about your situation. Do this for several consecutive days if necessary.
Don’t edit. Just write.
Write from the perspective of a narrator so that you’re seeing your experience in story form.
Doing so gives you some distance from whatever’s got you in a chokehold and increases your compassion for yourself.
Using a narrative approach has the twofold effect of providing a different, more generous perspective on your negative interpretations while also reducing self-beratement.
6. Talk it out.
Talking with the right person can be of tremendous help, but the operative word here is “right.”
You need someone who’s empathic and able to validate your feelings, yet is not swept up by them and jumps on your bandwagon.
In other words, you need someone who is understanding and will listen carefully as you unload your woes, but when the time comes, can help you readjust your thinking more in line with what’s true.
You want someone who’s compassionate yet honest and has your best interests at heart.
Keep Going
These are my six favorite tools offered by Dr. Kross, but I’d encourage you to read his book and learn about the others. He describes 26 different tools and how to use them.
He also reminds us that we often need a combination of tools rather than relying on just one. It depends on the type of chatter you’re experiencing and what tools work best for you. It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation.
In the meantime, I hope that if you’re plagued by negative chatter, you’ll try some of the tools I’ve described in this article.
That’s all for today.
Have a great week!
All my best,
Barbara
Note about the research: I didn’t cite individual studies for this article, as there are many of them. I recommend Chatter if you’re interested in learning more about the research conducted related to the tools mentioned in this article. The book is well-written, and the studies cited are interesting and eye-opening.