Using Biblical Wisdom to Break the Cycle of Negative Thinking

We all have a mind that talks to us. The brain uses it to replay experiences (via thoughts that pop up as we go about our day), to help us make decisions, and to guide future choices. These thoughts, however, are not always accurate or true. At times we can fall into a cycle of negative thinking.

In the space between stimulus (what happens) and how we respond, lies our freedom to choose. – Stephen R. Cove

Due to a survival-based trait known as negativity bias, the brain is wired to pay more attention to negative experiences and anything that could potentially be dangerous or pose a threat. As a result, negative thoughts tend to stick with us more firmly, and we may not even notice the many positive things in our surroundings.

Examples of Negative Thinking

Ruminating You get stuck in an unproductive loop of negative thoughts and feelings about past distressing experiences, mistakes, or events, and keep replaying the details repeatedly in your mind

Overgeneralization You assume that because something happened one way, it will always happen that way. So, for instance, a negative experience in one situation is an indicator of a never-ending pattern of defeat.

Mental filtering You discount the good in a situation and see only the bad. You may, for instance, feel as though your accomplishments don’t count, or focus on a negative detail of something instead of a realistic appraisal of the whole.

All or nothing thinking You see everything in extremes of black or white, or good or bad, with no middle ground. One mistake, for instance, can lead you to believe that you are a complete failure.

Jumping to conclusions You think you know what the outcome of things will be and are quick to jump to conclusions, interpret situations, and assume something is true without having all the facts or any evidence that this is so.

Exaggerating You tend to blow things out of proportion instead of seeing them as they really are.

Catastrophizing You tend to see things as more serious than they really are, and to always expect the worst, even when it is highly unlikely.

Blaming You blame yourself for every negative situation, even when you aren’t responsible, or you may overlook your part in it and blame someone or something else.

Emotional reasoning You define what is true by the way you feel about it, even if there is evidence to prove that it is not.

The Choice

You cannot keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair. – Martin Luthe

Negative thoughts cannot always be prevented, nor can you overcome them just by telling yourself not to think about them. You can, however, use your God-given freedom of choice to decide how you will respond to your stressors. Instead of allowing negative thoughts to run rampant in your mind, for instance, you can prevent them from taking root by choosing not to dwell on or act on them.

The key to changing your pattern of negative thinking is to intentionally train your thoughts to mirror the truths in God’s Word, as the Apostle Paul exhorts us to do in the book of Romans:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will. – Romans 12:2, NI

The following are some steps you can take to help break the cycle of negative thinking.

Recognize your cognitive distortions The first step is to become familiar with the cognitive distortions that are responsible for your negative thinking. Until you do so and take action to correct them, your brain will continue to reinforce those beliefs by replaying negative experiences in your mind.

Pause If the negative thoughts and images in your mind are causing you to feel fearful, stressed, or anxious, pause and use a mindfulness technique such as 5-4-3-2-1* that uses your five senses to divert your awareness to your surroundings and ground you in the present moment.

Label your thoughts Acknowledge your distressing thoughts, name them, and accept them as transitory rather than as literal truths. Accepting them enables you to disable them, whereas trying to resist them only gives them more power. Remind yourself that thoughts are not facts, and measure their validity against the truths in God’s Word.

Challenge and re-frame negative thinking patterns.When negative thoughts arise, question their validity and whether there is any evidence for them, try looking at them from different perspectives, and re-frame them with more positive, realistic ones.

Choose your response To break the cycle of negative thinking, you need to intentionally train your thoughts to mirror Biblical truth. Even if you can’t stop negative thoughts from entering your mind, you do have the ability to choose which ones you receive and which ones you reject.

Be patient and persistent Negative thinking is an ingrained habit. Remind yourself that just as it takes time to develop habits, it also takes time to break them. Be patient with yourself and keep pushing through. Whenever a negative thought creeps in, catch it, throw it out, and replace it with a biblical truth.

Ask God to help you. Ask God to help you identify your negative thought patterns, what’s at their root, and help you catch and transform them.

Thought Exercises

Because of its neuroplasticity, the brain is able to change, adapt to new situations, form new pathways, and rewire its connections. When you practice changing the way you think, old negative thought patterns are gradually weakened and wired out, as they are replaced by new, strengthening positive ones. Thought exercises such as the following are designed to help you through this process of rewiring your brain.

Self-observation Self-observation exercises are mindfulness techniques that help you stay focused on the present moment and observe what you are thinking and feeling without judging or trying to change it.

Reflect and assess These exercises help you tune into your negative thinking patterns and reflect on what might be causing them. They help you challenge their validity, question what evidence exists to support them or how likely what you fear is to actually happen, disable their faulty logic, look for alternate perspectives, and re-frame your thoughts in a more realistic, positive way.

Journaling Writing about your thoughts and feelings helps you process them and externalize them onto paper. It also helps you identify triggers and negative thinking patterns, as well as draw connections and identify more realistic, positive, and alternate perspectives.

Cultivating gratitude Look for things to be grateful for as you go about your day, and acknowledge and give thanks for the positives instead of focusing on the negatives.

Cognitive diffusion Cognitive diffusion exercises create space between you and your thoughts and feelings and help reduce their impact by having you observe them from an outside perspective as being separate from you. They also help you recognize your negative thoughts as fleeting, temporary mental events rather than facts.

Christian Counseling to Help Overcome Negative Thinking

If you have questions or need more help than this article on negative thinking could provide, and would like to set up an appointment to meet with me, please don’t hesitate to give our reception team a call.

*5-4-3-2-1 is a mindfulness exercise that engages your five senses to help you ground yourself in the present moment. It involves looking around you and identifying five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.