Now more than ever it is easy to fall in the negative circle of thoughts. Spending so much time indoors in space that sometimes feels like it is getting smaller and smaller as the days pass, it is not so strange to start to feel nervous, anxious and sad. Social media can be such a great way to escape but it can also bring self-doubt and pity (when it seems like you are the only one not making dalgona coffee, banana bread and playing animal crossing). As normal as it is to feel sad, annoyed and anxious once in a while, wouldn't it just be better to feel happy, cheerful and hopeful once again?
I know that you said "Yes" and I'm glad you did. Firs and foremost, don't be too hard on yourself. Even if you are usually a very positive and bright person, you are not immune to what is happening in the world right now. You are also allowed to feel sad and even have negative thoughts as long as they are not occurring for a long time and are not destructive for you or for those around you. We all have our own ways on how to deal with negative situations and thoughts. While some like to talk it out with their loved ones, others like to deal with it with themselves. I personally belong to ones that like to first settle things with themselves.
ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEEL EMOTIONS
We tend to be hard on ourselves in moments where all we need is understanding and love. Sometimes we forget that even those negative emotions are there for a reason. As cliche as it may sound, they really do make those positive times stand out more. Allow yourself to feel even those say emotions because they also have something to tell you. They signal what is that is bothering you and make you think how you can change that. The problem isn't in negative emotions themselves, it is in trying to push them deep down and never actually dealing with them.
If you are currently feeling nervous, sad or worried, don't pretend like you are actually happy and content. That won't do you any good. Just because you feel sad right now, it doesn't mean that it will last for a long time. Maybe you are just affected by the news you hear on TV or you feel hopeless because you are "trapped" in your home. Those are all valid feelings most of us feel in some way or another and at some point. Remember all the time in the past that you felt a similar way and how in the end it got better.
REFLECT
When was the last time you actually stopped for a second and tried to reflect on yourself? Reflecting is something we tend to neglect. As much as we don't allow ourselves to fully feel emotions, we also don't let ourselves to be mindful about them and try to find the reason behind them. Sometimes that reason is so obvious you don't even need to overly think about it, but other times it is something that requires a deep and mindful reflection. Getting real with ourselves can be scary. While reaching deep down in our emotions and mind we can never fully know what we will end up finding. The thing is, the more you let yourself feel and to face the emotions and thoughts you have, the less scary the journey to your inner self will be. Dealing with problems as they occur is better than dealing with ten of them at once.
So when you start to feel nervous and hopeless think about what actually made you feel that way and is there anything else that might make you feel this way that you may not see right away. Are your thoughts and emotions reasonable or are they overexaggerated? How long have you been feeling this way and what can you do to actively try to take one step toward better direction? Those are just some of the questions you can ask yourself. If you are someone who likes the journal then this is the right opportunity. Sometimes putting our thoughts on the paper makes everything a little bit clearer.
FIND SOMETHING POSITIVE
Believe it or not, there are always more positive things out there than the negative ones. The thing is that we tend to feel negative emotions stronger and they may seem like they are lasting longer. Have you experienced how after a long time of positive thoughts and situations, when the one bad thing happens we forget all the good things? It is the same when after a long time of depression and sadness we start to be more positive, we feel it stronger. After checking the news, a lot of negative emotions and thoughts can occur in our minds. Some of them will just vanish with new information but some will linger. In case you are overthinking it try to find one positive thing.
For example, if you start to feel the side that you are trapped in the house, the positive thing is that you are actually safe in your home and not trapped. Having a shift in your thoughts from negative to positive isn't by any means an easy thing to do. But like everything, practice makes perfect. When you start doing it more regularly you will find yourself doing it uncomely. As soon as you think about something negative you will already have a positive thought ready to replace or at least make that negative one less impactful.
How have you been doing during the self-isolation?
Do you find it hard to deal with negative thoughts and emotions?
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