Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress

Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you’re optimistic or pessimistic – and it may even affect your health. The positive thinking that usually comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Positive thinking doesn’t mean you keep your head in the sand and ignore unpleasant situations

• It means you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way
• Self-talk is the stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head
• If your thoughts are mostly positive, you are an optimist

Focusing on positive thinking

Identify areas to change

• Find a way to put a positive spin on negative thoughts
• Be open to humor
• Follow a healthy lifestyle
• Surround yourself with positive people
• Practice positive self-talk
• Don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else
• Think about things you’re thankful for

Practicing positive thinking every day

Eventually, self-talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Increased life span

• Lower rates of depression
• Higher levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Improved cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Coaching skills during hardships and times of stress

Negative thinking

Filtering – magnifying negative aspects of a situation and filtering out positive ones

• Personalizing – automatically blame yourself when something bad happens
• Catastrophizing – anticipates the worst
• Polarizing – sees things as either good or bad
• No middle ground

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