What things do you think about during the day? Most of us have thoughts and feelings throughout the day. Some of them are negative, some of them are positive. Unfortunately, people who live with a substance use disorder are prone to negativity and self-defeating behavior that follows it. Letting go of negativity is part of the process of learning to love yourself again.

Listen To Your Negative Thoughts

Do you beat yourself up when you make a mistake? Do you call yourself names such as “ugly” or stupid? It’s time to start confronting the problem, which is your negative thinking. No one is harder on you than you. Negativity can create a cycle of self-abuse. If you don’t believe that you deserve to be treated well, you may put yourself in situations where it comes true.

Take a day or two to write down the negative thoughts as they come. You can get a notebook app for your phone in its app store if you don’t want to carry a notebook around. Listen to your negative thoughts when you scold yourself or call yourself names.

Confront Your Negativity

Confronting your thoughts and letting go of negativity is a process. You won’t stop scolding yourself overnight. Some of the things that we think about ourselves come from trauma and past experiences. In recovery, you learn that you are more than the bad things you did or went through. You’re moving towards healing and positivity.

  • If you find yourself calling yourself “stupid,” it’s time to re-examine that thought. You’re in recovery right now, so you’ve got to be a little smart, right? Write down something you’ve done that took some intelligent thinking. When you learn a new skill at work or finish your fourth step, you’re pretty smart, aren’t you? Challenging yourself is a way to grow your intelligence, after all. Write down an affirmation: I am learning to be smarter and make better decisions one day at a time.
  • If you’re calling yourself a “coward,” start taking baby steps to help yourself become braver. Being brave doesn’t mean being 100% fearless. It means that you are walking through fear, one day at a time. Write this affirmation on the index card and pull it out when you feel anxiety about something.
  • If you scold yourself about food regularly, you may suffer from low self-esteem or even an eating disorder. If you have a bad relationship with food, you may want to seek therapy. You can also write body-positive and food-positive affirmations to help you change your views of your body and nourishment.
  • Letting go of negativity means allowing yourself to be optimistic about yourself. You’re making progress, after all! So why are you so mean to yourself? Get some index cards and write down the opposite of the negative thoughts.

Changing the way you think about certain things won’t come overnight. Like all healing, it’s a process. You deserve to live the best life possible and letting go of negativity is a part of that.

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