The Toxic Effects of Negative Self-Talk

The Toxic Effects of Negative Self-Talk Stress Management Situational Stress Print The Toxic Effects of Negative Self-Talk By Elizabeth Scott, MS twitter Elizabeth Scott, MS, is a wellness coach specializing in stress management and quality of life, and the author of 8 Keys to Stress Management. Learn about our editorial policy Elizabeth Scott, MS Updated on January 20, 2020 PeopleImages /Getty Images More in Stress Management Situational Stress Effects on Health Management Techniques Job Stress Household Stress Relationship Stress We all have an inner critic. At times this little voice can actually be helpful and keep us motivated toward goalsâ€"like when this critic reminds us that what were about to eat isnt healthy or what were about to do may not be wise. However, this little voice can often be more harmful than helpful, particularly when it gets into the realm of excessive negativity. This is known as negative self-talk, and it can really bring us down. Negative self-talk is something that most of us experience from time to time, and it comes in many forms. It also creates significant stress, not only to us but to those around us if were not careful. Heres what you need to know about negative self-talk and its effects on your body, your mind, your life, and your loved ones. Read on for valuable strategies for recognizing and changing any negative self-talk habits you have. What Is Negative Self-Talk? Negative self-talk can take many forms. It can sound grounded (Im not good at this, so I should avoid attempting it for my own personal safety, for example) or it can sound downright mean (I can never do anything right!). It may take on the feel of being a realistic appraisal of a situation (I just got a C on this test. I guess Im not good at math.), only to devolve into a fear-based fantasy (Ill probably fail this class and never be able to go to a good college.). The musings of your negative self-talk, or inner critic, may sound a lot like a critical parent or friend from your past. It can follow the path of typical cognitive distortions: catastrophizing, blaming, and the like. Basically, negative self-talk is any inner dialogue you have with yourself that may be limiting your ability to believe in yourself and your own abilities, and reach your potential. It is any thought that diminishes you and your ability to make positive changes in your life or your confidence in your ability to do so. Because of this, negative self-talk can not only be stressful, but it can really stunt your success. Consequences of Negative Self-Talk Negative self-talk can affect us in some pretty damaging ways. Studies have linked negative self-talk with higher levels of stress and lower levels of self-esteem. This can lead to decreased motivation as well as greater feelings of helplessness. This type of critical inner dialogue has even been linked to  depression, so its definitely something to fix.   Those who find themselves frequently engaging in negative self-talk tend to be more stressed. This is in large part due to the fact that their reality is altered to create an experience where they dont have the ability to reach the goals theyve set for themselves. This is both due to a lowered ability to see opportunities around them as well as a decreased tendency to capitalize on these opportunities.  This means that the heightened perception of stress is due both to mere perception and the changes in behavior that come from them. The following are more negative consequences of negative self-talk. Limited Thinking: You tell yourself you cant do something, and the more you hear it, the more you believe it.Perfectionism: You begin to really believe that great isnt as good as perfect, and that perfection is actually attainable. (In contrast, mere high achievers tend to do better than their perfectionistic counterparts because they generally less stressed and are happy with a job well-done rather than picking it apart and zeroing in on what could have been better.Feelings of Depression: Some research has shown that negative self-talk can lead to an exacerbation of feelings of depression. If left unchecked, this could be quite damaging.Relationship Challenges: Whether the constant self-criticism makes you seem needy and insecure  or you turn your negative self-talk into more general negative habits that bother others, a lack of communication and even a playful amount of criticism can take a toll.? One of the most obvious drawbacks of negative self-talk is that its not positive. This sounds simplistic, but research has shown that positive self-talk is a great predictor of success.?? For example, one study on athletes compared four different types of self-talk (instructional: where athletes remind themselves of specific things to do to play better, motivational: self-talk that keeps people on-task, positive, and negative) and found that positive self-talk was the greatest predictor of success.?? People didnt need to remind themselves how to do something as much as they needed to tell themselves that they are doing something great and that others notice it as well.   How  to Minimize Negative Self-Talk   There are different ways to reduce the self-talk in your daily life. Catch Your Critic   Learn to notice when youre being self-critical so you can begin to stop. For example, notice when you say things to yourself that you wouldnt say to a good friend or a child.   Remember That Thoughts and Feelings Arent Always Reality Thinking negative things about yourself may feel like astute observations, but your thoughts and feelings about yourself can definitely not be considered accurate information. Your thoughts can be skewed like everyone elses, subject to biases and the influence of your moods. Give Your Inner Critic a Nickname There was once a Saturday Night Live character known as Debbie Downer. She would find the negative in any situation. If your inner critic has this dubious skill as well, you can tell yourself, Debbie Downer is doing her thing again. When you think of your inner critic as a force outside of yourself and even give it a goofy nickname, its not only more easy to realize that you dont have to agree, but it becomes less threatening and more easy to see how ridiculous some of your critical thoughts can be. Contain Your Negativity If you find yourself engaging in negative self-talk, it helps to contain the damage that a critical inner voice can cause by only allowing it to criticize certain things in your life, or be negative for only an hour in your day. This puts a limit on how much negativity can come from the situation. Change Negativity to Neutrality When engaging in negative self-talk, you may be able to catch yourself, but it can sometimes be difficult to force yourself to stop a train of thought in its tracks. Its often far easier to change the intensity of your language. I cant stand this becomes, This is challenging. I hate... becomes, I dont like... and even, I dont prefer... When your self-talk uses more gentle language, much of its negative power is muted as well. Cross-Examine Your Inner Critic One of the damaging aspects of negative self-talk is that it often goes unchallenged. After all, if its a running commentary going on in your head, others may not be aware of what youre saying to yourself and thus cant tell you how wrong you are. Its far better to catch your negative self-talk and ask yourself how true it is. The vast majority of negative self-talk is an exaggeration, and calling yourself on this can help to take away the damaging influence of negative self-talk. Think Like a Friend When our inner critic is at its worst, it can sound like our worst enemy. Often well say things to ourselves in our heads that wed never say to a friend. Why not reverse this and--when you catch yourself speaking negatively in your head--make it a point to imagine yourself saying this to a treasured friend. If you know you wouldnt say it this way, think of how youd share your thoughts with a good friend or what youd like a good friend to say to you. This is a great way to shift your self-talk in general.   Shift Your Perspective Sometimes looking at things in the long term can help you to realize that you may be placing too great an emphasis on something. For example, you may ask yourself if something youre upset by will really matter in five years or ten. Another way to shift perspective is to imagine that you are panning out and looking at your problems from a great distance. Even thinking of the world as a globe and of yourself as a tiny, tiny person on this globe can remind you that most of your worries arent as big as they seem. This can often minimize the negativity, fear, and urgency in negative self-talk. Say It Aloud Sometimes when you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts in your mind, simply saying them aloud can help. Telling a trusted friend what youre thinking about can often lead to a good laugh and shine a light on how ridiculous some of our negative self-talk can be. Other times, it can at least bring support. Even saying some negative self-talk phrases around under your breath can remind you how unreasonable and unrealistic they sound, and remind you to give yourself a break. Stop That Thought For some, simply stopping negative thoughts in their tracks can be helpful. This, unsurprisingly, is known as thought-stopping and can take the form of snapping a rubber band on your wrist, visualizing a stop sign, or simply changing to another thought when a negative train of thought enters your mind. This can be helpful with repetitive or extremely critical thoughts like, Im no good, or, Ill never be able to do this, for example. Replace the Bad With Some Good This is one of the best routes to combating negative self-talk: replacing it with something better. Take a negative thought and change it to something encouraging thats also accurate. Repeat until you find yourself needing to do it less and less often. This works well with most bad habits: replacing unhealthy food with healthy food, for example, and its a great way to develop a more positive way of thinking about yourself and about life.