It’s normal to have concerns in certain situations. Healthy concerns help us recognize what’s truly going on and solve problems when needed. Negative thoughts are different from healthy concerns in that they tend to be unhelpful and exaggerated. Those are the ones we need to learn how to deal with.

Common negative thinking traps include:

• All or nothing thoughts. These are extreme thoughts that leave no room for grey areas and include words like “never” and “always.” (e.g. I’ll never get any help, I always miss out).
• Should and must thoughts. These occur when you assume that things must be done a certain way. (e.g., After all I have done for you, you should be thanking me).
• Catastrophizing. This is believing that something is far worse than it actually is.
• Personalizing. This is believing that you are the cause of problems or that all difficulties are directly related to you.

How to recognize them:

• Pay attention. Notice what you’re thinking about when you experience strong negative feelings such as sadness, anxiety, and being overwhelmed.
• Look for triggers. See if a certain situation caused those feelings. If it did, take note of what you told yourself when the situation occurred.
• Keep track. List the situation and negative thoughts in your MoodHacker journal so you can become aware of them.

How to avoid them:

• Be mindful. It might be challenging, but try to recognize and accept negative thoughts as unhelpful and then let them go. If that is too difficult, start by setting negative thoughts aside and revisit them later when you can process them with more perspective.
• Take a positive action. When negative thoughts surface, do a positive activity, like calling a friend or taking a quick walk. Or think about something you’re grateful for or something that went well that day. Focusing on anything positive will help you take control of your thoughts and get them back to a better place.

When we feel down, negative thoughts seem to pop up more often. And the more negative thoughts we have, the worse we feel. This cycle can rob us of good times and twist our perspective so things appear bleaker than they really are. Recognizing negative thinking traps is half the battle. And countering them with mindfulness or a positive action will help you move past them.