Negative Self-Talk: Tips To Overcome It And Boost Your Confidence

Life keeps throwing curveballs, but how we face them is up to us. It seems logical since positive thinking is well known to improve stress management and our mental well-being. But with our current lifestyle, it is easy to feel low and dwell on the difficulties ahead. At this point, decide whether you want to be a pessimist or an optimist, as your decision can be the factor behind your mental health condition.

We present to you #BeAQuitter, a 15-day program till 19th January 2024, specially curated to help you create a healthier and happier new year for yourself. Learn from experienced mental health, fitness, and nutrition experts how to quit unhealthy habits and adopt a healthy lifestyle in the new year. In this blog, mental health expert Shreeya Ghag from Mpower, an initiative by Aditya Birla Education Trust, will guide you on how to quit negative self-talk.

What you need to know:

Understanding negative self-talk
Impact of negative self-talk
Techniques to overcome negative self-talk

Understanding negative self-talk

Self-talk is a conversation with yourself, which can profoundly motivate or bury your self-esteem six feet under. Positive self-talk does not mean ignoring unpleasant situations but facing them positively. This keeps your mind at ease and can help you find practical solutions. Negative self-talk triggers your inner critic and makes you pessimistic and unfairly critical. It undermines your self-esteem and lessens your self-efficacy. Negative self-talk may be a result of a mental health condition, like depression, stress, or anxiety, or a catalyst for it.

Impact of negative self-talk

Negative self-talk shapes our behavior, attitude and beliefs negatively. In addition to having a detrimental effect on our motivation and increasing stress levels, it also affects our cognitive processes, performance and creativity. Some common impacts of negative self-talk are:

Low confidence
Feeling worthless
Diminishing social skills
Inability to connect with others or forge meaningful relationships
Increase in stress, anxiety and fear
Feelings of boredom and regret

Techniques to overcome negative self-talk

Here are some insights into how to quit negative self-talk:

Breathe

If you feel overwhelmed, taking deep breaths can calm you and offer clarity by eliminating negative thoughts. Try slowly inhaling and exhaling when consumed by negative thoughts, as it can work wonders.

Practise self-compassion

Be kind to yourself. Negative thoughts can become overbearing sometimes, but instead of giving in, think of the advice you would give to a friend in similar trouble. This will help you think rationally.

Challenge negative thoughts

Any idea will hold true if it goes unchallenged. The same goes for your inner voice. When dealing with negative self-talk, find ways to cross-examine and challenge these thoughts. Try to realize whether your thoughts are rational or reckless to mitigate any damage that may ensue.

Positive affirmations and reframing

Be around people who give you a positive vibe and offer genuine advice in times of crisis. Do things that motivate and energize you. Pick up a hobby, be with friends and family if you feel low, travel or exercise. Indulge in activities that impact you positively.

Stop expecting perfection

The pursuit of perfection can be a hurdle in achieving your goals. The best you can do is put in your best effort to gain the best outcome possible. Chasing unrealistic outcomes can be highly demotivating.

Deliberately choose to quiet those thoughts

Once you acknowledge the problem, the most critical aspect of eliminating negative thoughts is to focus and filter them out. Identify negative thoughts and try to throw out what seems reckless or irrational. The voices are in your head, and only you can silence them.

Self-talk is usual, but there are various strategies to eliminate negative self-talk. The trick is to identify what is more effective in your case.

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