Negative self-talk can be found at the root of many mental health difficulties
Challenging unhelpful thoughts can be an act of self-care – here’s a practical exercise to try
If you are struggling with your mental health, find a therapist
Be careful how you talk to yourself because you are listening.
—Lisa M. Hayes
…when it comes to your negative self-talk, you can challenge what you say to yourself – you can question how reasonable, logical and helpful your thoughts really are.
In any one situation, ask yourself, ‘Are these thoughts helping me?’ Ask yourself, ‘Is what I’m thinking helping the situation?’ Think whether your thoughts make you feel good or bad and do or don’t get you what you want.
Try to remember a difficult, stressful event or situation you experienced recently. Maybe you lost something? Did someone criticize you or let you down? Perhaps you had a long travel delay? Maybe an event got cancelled, or you had a frustrating phone call with someone at a call centre – an insurance company, TV and broadband, gas or electricity provider. Whatever your thoughts were, did they in any way help and make the situation easier?
