When you're in crisis it's easy to succumb to dark thoughts. Unfortunately, dark thoughts can become daily thoughts. How can you turn them around? Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley, authors of Teen Grief Relief, describe a technique they call "thought-stopping." It's a way to control dark thoughts and grief. "Simply tell yourself to stop [these thoughts] for a period of time," they write. Of course, this is easier said than done and the Horsleys tell teens to wear a rubber band or bracelet on their wrists and snap it when they need to concentrate on something like a test. "Thought-stopping" is an attitude adjustment and there are others. "Self-Help for Skeptics, " and article in the August 28, 2012 issue of "The Wall Street Journal" describes how we can train ourselves to be self-compassionate. The article is written by Melinda Beck. According to Beck, humans have the ability to train their minds to be positive. "It's possible to change your cognitive bias by training the brain to focus more on the positive than the negative," she writes.
I learned how to do this years ago. After I lost my elder daughter and three other family members in 2007 I had to practice positive thinking each day. When a negative thought came into my mind I immediately thought of a positive one to counter it. Affirmation-writing also helped me. Are you in crisis now? Does life seem dark and hopeless? Try "thought-stopping," positive thinking, and affirmation-writing because they work. You have themental to adjust your attiude. Use it.