The best way to deal with negative thoughts is not to pretend they are not there.
I know that because I have tried.
I have tried to push them down.
Tried to laugh them off.
I tried to tell myself I was fine when I knew I wasn’t
It worked for a while.
Until it didn’t.
It could be anything: a word, a look, clutter, anything
A moment that should not have mattered as much as it did.
And suddenly all those buried thoughts, all that hurt, all that anger, all that disappointment came rushing out at once. Sometimes toward someone who did not deserve to receive what I had refused to deal with.
That is the danger of burying things.
They do not stay buried.
Negative thoughts are not always the enemy. Sometimes they are messengers. Sometimes they are telling us there is something we have not faced, something we have not grieved, something we have not forgiven, something we have been carrying too long without admitting how heavy it has become.
The first step is to deal with them.
Not while you are in the middle of the fire.
Not while your emotions are loud and your judgment is clouded.
But when you can sit with yourself honestly.
When you can ask, Why did that hurt me? Why did that thought come back? What am I afraid of? What am I still holding onto?
There is strength in being able to sit alone with your thoughts.
But there is also wisdom in knowing when not to sit with them alone forever.
There is nothing wrong with talking to someone.
For me, it took A counselor.
Someone safe enough to hear you without making you feel small.
I know sometimes that sounds like a lot. Especially when you are used to keeping things to yourself. Especially when silence has become a kind of armor. But silence can also become a prison if we never let anything out.
Negative thoughts are like poison when they stay trapped inside you.
They change you
They make love feel suspicious.
They make peace feel temporary.
So the best way I know to deal with negative thoughts is to stop pretending they are harmless just because no one else can see them.
Name them.
Sit with them.
Let the emotion pass long enough for you to think clearly.
Then deal with what is underneath.
And when it becomes too heavy, talk to someone.
That is not a weakness.
That is maintenance of the soul.
Please like, comment, and share
Resources for Hard Times
If you’re looking for practical help, food support, or community resources, you can visit the Salt, Ink & Soul Resources Page.
Salt,Ink, & Soul 