The Power of Words
Most people don?t realize it, but as we go about our daily lives we are constantly thinking about and interpreting the situations we find ourselves in. It?s as though we have an internal voice inside our head that determines how we perceive every situation. Psychologists call this inner voice ?self-talk?, and it includes our conscious thoughts as well as our unconscious assumptions or beliefs.
Much of our self-talk is reasonable ? ?I?d better do some preparation for that exam?, or ?I?m really looking forward to that match?. However, some of our self-talk isnegative, unrealistic or self-defeating ? ?I?m going to fail for sure?, or ?I didn?t play well! I?m hopeless?.
Self-talk is often skewed towards the negative, and sometimes it?s just plain wrong. If you are experiencingdepression, it is particularly likely that you interpret things negatively. That?s why it?s useful to keep an eye on the things you tell yourself, and challenge some of the negative aspects of your thinking.
You can test, challenge and change your self-talk. You can change some of the negative aspects of your thinking by challenging the irrational parts and replacing them with more reasonable thoughts.
With practice, you can learn to notice your own negative self-talk as it happens, and consciously choose to think about the situation in a more realistic and helpful way.
this was really helpful, thank you for writing this
A lot of the self-talk that I have isextremelynegative. I try to remain pragmatic and rational. I believe that is the only thing keeping me around. But, at times like these, it's really hard for me. Thank you, though, for bringing this to light and giving it a name for me.
Thankyou for sharing this, it is so true that self - talk can often be negative, so even before we attempt something we put ourselves up for failure.
That's so true, keeping track of the way we describe situations to ourselves can improve how we perceive them.
What helps me is dramatically exaggerating something to myself in a comedic way so it doesn't hurt as much. For example, if I feel useless then I can remind myself that at least I'm inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide for the trees.