Throw away your negative thoughts (literally)
Over the past few years, gratitude journalling has become part of many people’s day to day routines. It is easy to see why, as it is quick, focuses your mind on the abundance and positivity in your life, and helps clarify your priorities and thought processes. It is also a physical diary of your progress, and it can be helpful to look back on your gratitude diary from time to time to look for patterns. It would be logical to think that the opposite would be true in terms of your negative thoughts, and that writing them down would in some way ‘cement’ them and bring them into fruition.
However, many experts believe[1] that the act of writing down your negative thoughts can serve to specifically identify and order the thoughts, rather than carrying around an unspecified sense of anxiety and fear. It can also provide significant immediate relief from the anxiety that the thoughts are creating as you no longer have to hold them in your brain, and creates a level of distance between you and the negative thoughts, so you can look at them with new eyes and see any patterns that may be emerging.
Once you have done this, you can either keep a record of them if you are comfortable with that, or you may chose to dispose of them, as the act of disposing of them can create a further distance between you and the thoughts. If you are able to do so safely, you may chose to burn the paper that you wrote them down on, or you may simply chose to rip the paper up into tiny pieces and flush them down the loo or dispose of them.
In summary, the act of writing the negative thoughts down can be therapeutic, and let you see your fears and anxiety in a new light.
(ps if you would like a copy of my bespoke journalling prompts for free, drop me a line).
