Keeping Track of Your Thoughts

[DDNatureLover]

Have you ever tried keeping track of your thoughts, so you can see how much negativity is in your head? I've learned over the years that my head is filled with quite a bit of negativity, primarily aimed at myself, and that the negativity often slips by unnoticed, if I don't actively try to keep track of and counteract it. The more anxious I become, the more negativity exists and persists in my thoughts. Logging my negative thoughts helps me to better manage my anxiety by increasing my awareness. When I'm more aware of the negative thoughts, I'm better able to dispute and counteract those thoughts with more positive ones.


It's important to be specific when crafting replacement phrases/thoughts, and that those replacements are reality-based. Telling yourself something like, 'you're the most beautiful girl in the world' might sound positive at first glance, but it's not reality-based, unless you actually are the most beautiful girl in the world. The idea is to create positive self-talk based on actual skills or positive qualities you possess, to build a higher level of self-esteem based on reality.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I think that sometimes I do this without really thinking about it... I'm not really sure if this is what you meant to say, but sometimes when I am not feeling quite well, I try to see what's really affecting me, if it's something more physical or it has to do with something on my head... And that happens to me a lot with my social anxiety, I try to think if they are really judging me that bad or it's just me... And sometimes I try to think what I would think if I see a person just like me, if I would judge him as I think that they are doing, and they probably not. I think that I just try to calm myself down mostly.

 

[Panic57]

For my creative writing class in middle school, I had to keep track of my thoughts. My teacher saw it and thought it was fake with so many negative words and feelings, that she told me to stop playing the victim and redo it properly. I haven't wrote down my negative thoughts down on paper since because it brings back bad memories. I do have a mental list in my head of all the negative words that run on repeat in my head. I think it's better to write down the positive words in my head and then pin them up because they tend to get drowned out by the negative words in my head.

 

[hades_leae]

I have never tried that before, it seems like a task. If I did, I'd probably keep a journal handy and write down every time I had something negative in my mind, or even make audio clips of those things as well to learn something about my mind. Logging your negative thoughts does sound like a great method to try and counter them with positive thoughts like you say. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[Roscas]

You are quite right. At one point in all our years we had demons to deal with. We may still do. These thoughts are reflected or manifested not just in our words but our actions as we. One way would be to reflect inwardly and analyze those thoughts.


I am no stranger with 'tracking' such thoughts. I kept journals and used these in times of need for the purpose of taking away the cobwebs, the haziness of the mind.... for clarity and focus. I talk to myself in writing. I talk to those who stress me out in my journals. In between the self-written letters, I jot down dos and don'ts lists, pros and cons lists, she says, he says, they say lists as the years passed. When I do these, along the way, I become aware of the choices of words I put down and the words I uttered before and what word could have supplanted it better. I am able to reflect and compare what I was, the choices I had, the feelings I felt, the people I dealt with that were important previously vis-a-vis the present.


To track our thoughts is a productive way to find focus, not just for clarity, but objectivity. It is positively therapeutic when we track down in writing. When we see it, what was written, when we read it and go back to read it again, more mists in our mind fade away. We become more aware of the central issue or point. We no longer are bothered by the mess and clouds around our thoughts because we are able to see the essential parts of what we wrote.


I highly recommend this intimate, highly private way to understand ourselves with raw honesty. We face our own words. We face our own demons. We face our own truths and only us are able to see what we have written. We remain feeling safe with identifying with truly our own person.

 

[amy88]

I actually journal in part for that purpose - just to see where my head is at, if I notice any trends/patterns in when I feel particularly anxious, and things like that.


Plus, it's just a therapeutic, relaxing thing for me to do. I find that getting my thoughts and feelings out on paper often helps me make sense of a lot of things I feel - sometimes I don't even know I am feeling a certain way until I get out my pen and notebook and just start letting my stream of consciousness spill out onto the page.

 

[djordjem87]

I think that negativity is a part of our everyday life and that we have to accept it but probably ignore it. We shouldn't say it is not there and there is no negativity around us. I have several friends who are 'happy' all the time. It looks unnatural to me and like they are doing it by force. They have that slogan, "Your life is you thoughts." That is cool but it really looks like kids escaping from the reality. As I said, clear your thoughts and think positive but be aware of negativity since balance is all around us and it is needed. You cannot go around 100 percent of your life smiling. It is not normal if you ask me. One way to keep the negativity out is putting it somewhere deep in the brain chambers. Something like Sherlock does when he's going through his mind palace. That is a legitimate thing actually and it is very good and useful.

 

[MissTea]

I have a little technique that I use to help me keep track of my thoughts. It's called 'Notice what you're noticing' It's really great for helping me become aware of what is going through my mind. A lot of negativity is going into our minds every day from a lot different avenues and we have to be vigilant in how we weed out what thoughts do not belong there. It really works wonders in reducing your anxiety.

 

[SirJoe]

Just fact that when ever there is a negative thought that pops into our head and realising that it's us that creates it is half way to finding a solution. I have been in countless situations were I start having negative thought about something and realizing that I am making a mountain out of a mole hill. It does take a lot of training but it is possible to switch from a negative thought to a positive one.

 

[CrepesforDapes]

I used to do this thing where every time I felt bad, I'd write down the things that happened in the day leading up to me feeling bad. This wouldn't be just necessarily thoughts, it would be pretty much everything that happened in the day. How many hours I slept, who I talked to, what I saw that could have triggered my anxiety/sadness, and so on. I've been trying to figure out what triggers the certain ways I feel for a few years now, but I haven't been able to find anything. Days where I feel perfectly fine for a few hours can randomly turn into be being extremely anxious, and vice versa. According to the "data" I've collected over the years, it seems like there's nothing specifically that triggers my anxiety. I could be having a perfectly fine day, and then boom, I start feeling extremely anxious and want to avoid everyone. It's extremely annoying because I was hoping that by keeping track of everything that happens, I'd be able to find and avoid the thing that triggers my anxiety, but I haven't found it yet.

 

[Alex]

I personally use a journal, but some people struggle with that and don't want to record the dark and negative thoughts. For me it's a way to get it out, but also I can look back and see how I was and if I am better, or I can see what may have triggered it. It may not be comfortable reading, but it is part of you and by accepting facing what has happened can only make you stronger.


Some days the thoughts will be muddled and incoherent and that is fine, I think it's better as it shows that you were working through those thoughts. But, I don't think one should feel pressure to write it all down, only if you wish to and have the energy. I can go for days and weeks without writing anything personal, and that doesn't matter because it's only for you and no one else.

 

[justsayyes]

I do catch myself sometimes observing my thoughts and i realized the thoughts i have in my head are quite boring and repetitive. If it's not negative thoughts i have for myself, it's worrying about the future and thinking of the embarrassing things i've done 10years ago lol. I read this book called 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle, it's very insightful and it's about staying present. I tried to apply what the author is saying but it's really hard, but it thought me how to pay attention to my thoughts.

 

[janemariesayed]

My head is filled with negative thoughts mostly every day. I've often thought to myself that I wish I could buy a dictaphone that would record my thoughts as they run so fast in my mind. It is difficult to catch them at times yet I know that they are negative and bad.

Sometimes all I'm thinking about is one negative thing after another and it annoys me. I'm hoping that therapy will help me to change the way I think. Maybe the negative thoughts are bringing me the bad luck and bad feelings I have.

 

[Natasha0717]

I probably should, but I don't. Sometimes my anxiety meds make me forget half the day anyway, so maybe it would be a good idea to start jotting some things down, like in a journal or maybe even a diary. WITH A LOCK ON IT, of course. When I saw my first therapist at the age of 11, she wanted me to make a "worry box" and put all of my fears in there. I never did it for some reason. I can't remember why. But I guess as a child I maybe thought it was stupid or something. I knew putting my worries in a box wouldn't make them go away. I didn't stay with that doc too long, she said I was being uncooperative. I think a lot of it had to do with that worry box, looking back on it now...

 

[Danes]

I used to try keeping track of my thoughts until I realized that it was making me crazy (..er) and a mentor of mind showed me a process called 'Find the better-feeling thought' which involves not trying to keep track of your thoughts, but rather noticing when you are thinking a negative thought and then asking yourself - "What would be a better feeling thought?" This helped me a lot and now I think mostly positive thoughts. The negative thoughts still crop up but it's easier and quicker to change them to positive thoughts these days.

 

[Hope Matthew1128]

For my creative writing class in middle school, I had to keep track of my thoughts. My teacher saw it and thought it was fake with so many negative words and feelings, that she told me to stop playing the victim and redo it properly. I haven't wrote down my negative thoughts down on paper since because it brings back bad memories. I do have a mental list in my head of all the negative words that run on repeat in my head. I think it's better to write down the positive words in my head and then pin them up because they tend to get drowned out by the negative words in my head.

Your teacher played the role of a judge. She was out of line. She was out of touch. As an English teacher and couching creative writing to budding writers, she should have explored the inner landscape of your soul, heart and mind. Your own journey was yours, and you were willing to bare your soul to her in your writing. She missed the greatest opportunity of a lifetime in her couching career.
Nevertheless, let not that bad experience with that teacher hinder you from that creativity you have there. Somehow, had her rejection of your creative inner self made you strong? You can make that bad experience of disappointment in to good.

Ann Frank during the Holocaust, as a young girl was in danger for her and family's life, did not give up. Her work as an author is widely read and inspiring. Her father survived the Holocaust in Germany while they were hiding from the Nazis. And later on published his daughter's writings in America.

 

[Danes]

That's really good advice. It doesn't matter what is going on in your head, writing it down is always a good idea because writing clarifies thinking and once your thoughts are clearer and you know what you want, solutions find their way to you easier.

 

[Tuğçe]

Hi, i am turk. I had had a trauma (not sexual abuse etc.) I am using some medicines (prozac and rexapin). I've had a shaking on my head and body. It was so terrible for me. Thanks to the medicines, this shaking decreased significantly. But i look pale, strange (my mom and siblings say it). And that's why i feel so bad, i cannot stare the faces of anyone. Do you think that i can die by taking too much of the medicines that i am using? Does it work?

 

[Concernedgal]

Yes . You can die from taking too much medication. However, looking pale isn't a sign of it however. I will do research on the 2 drugs you are taking and see if there are any drug interactions. I can't really find an interaction between the two though. Please do research on food interactions and desease interactions. Make sure you always understand risk /benifit of each drug. Please speak with your doctor. You say that shaking has decreased.. well, that tells me that the prozac is helping. And as far as rexapin is concerned. . I'm thinking that drug may be causein your paleness. Like I mentioned earlier there are no drug interactions so you won't die from the drugs you are taking because, the only way you can die from taking meducations is if you overdose on them. In that case it would be called serotonin syndrome which has more severe side effects. And you do die from serotonin syndrome. Tell your doctor about all of your concerns and see if he can prescribe something that won't cause paleness.

 

[Pravish]

Keeping a track of thoughts is very important in my opinion. I have always been keeping a track of my thoughts from a very long time to help upgrade the way I think over the years. It started 4-5 years ago when things in my life started to go wrong horribly. That's the time, I started to wonder why it was happening. So before I would sleep each day I would just recall the day about what I did and why I did it. I would then analyze, what could have been done better with a little more thought added to it. Till this day I have been continuing doing that and trust me, the results are exceptional. I can say, I am very well in control of my thougts and I am more able than before to make better decisions to a given situation.