Too often we fixate on the negative and this in turn just brings us down, stuck in a rut over what ifs and sometimes convincing ourselves that things are in a way the possibly are not. When you think of the possibilities you free room for thoughts about what could be and give yourself space to see the positive. When we reflect are we pulling the negative from the situation or are we also able to see the positive? I feel like being a strong person means you can overcome the negative and start to see the positive again, even if it’s a situation we have no control over changing, we are able to move forward anyways. 

It is said that “Being fixated on the negative, or negativity bias, is the brain’s natural tendency to prioritize threats, mistakes, and unpleasant events over positive ones.” [1] We do this when we ruminate replaying these scripts in your head of negatives. 

What if we changed those scripts to positives and let those positive thoughts replay in our minds instead of negative ones. There are always ways to figure out how to rid yourself of things that bother you but don’t give up hope. It’s that repetitive thinking and dwelling on negatives that can cause us anxiety and depression and worsen existing conditions. 

It’s called a cognitive distortion when we “catastrophize” or magnify minor mistakes while ignoring positive information. [2] It when we are in a “depressed mood” we ruminate “more likely to “remember more negative things that happened to us in the past and interpret situations current to our lives more negatively, and this can in turn make us feel hopeless about the future.” [3] 

Reference:

[1] fixated ok the negative – Google Search

[2] https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/rumination-a-cycle-of-negative-thinking

[3] https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/rumination-a-cycle-of-negative-thinking