Negative self-talk is when your inner voice is excessively negative, sounding more like an inner critic. It is pessimistic and focusses on the bad. It erodes your confidence and stops you from reaching your potential. It can make you feel like you are going to fail before you start.
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 we're not careful.
Overview. Negative thinking refers to a pattern of thinking negatively about yourself and your surroundings.
Some examples of negative self-talk include: “I can't do anything right. I shouldn't even try.” “Nobody likes me, I should stop trying to make friends.”
Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you. Think about things you're thankful for in your life.
Studies have shown that negative self-talk also often goes hand-in-hand with mental health struggles and personal relationship problems. Focusing on negative self-talk can lead to feelings of hopelessness and depression. And when we're depressed, our inner dialogue can become more negative, creating a vicious cycle.
Why Do We Engage In Negative Self-Talk? Negative self-talk is a defense mechanism. It helps to cushion our minds against disappointment. It's less depressing to fail when you didn't think you could do it anyway.
Negative self-talk can also harm existing romantic relationships, as it can be very difficult and overwhelming to see your loved one speak and think so little of themselves. The partners of individuals with low self-esteem are often a source of constant reassurance, which places a great burden on a partner.
Negative self-talk is a stressful and often involuntary form of self-criticism. These are thoughts that can be self-deprecating and may even contribute to or stem from mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
What do I mean by NAS? NAS is a state of psychological difficulty suffering characterized by the preponderance of negative moods and emotions that impair adaptive functioning and well-being. If this sounds very broad, it is.
People with PPD often believe that others are trying to demean, harm or threaten them. People with paranoid personality disorder often don't think their behavior and way of thinking are problematic.
Gossip, which is talking about someone behind their back, is wrong. And wrong actions have bad or negative consequences.
scandalmonger. noun. someone who tells people bad and shocking things about other people, especially things that are not true.
The most common individual ego defense mechanisms employed by medical students were Rationalization (6.43 ± 2.34), Anticipation (6.34 ± 2.44), and Undoing (5.93 ± 2.67). The least commonly employed mechanisms were Devaluation (3.62 ± 2.52), Displacement (3.94 ± 2.87), and Denial (4.14 ± 2.79) (table 1).
Researchers estimate that we think about 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day – and that about 80% of those thoughts are negative. That is a crazy amount of negative self-talk!
Narcissistic Defenses. It's the defense mechanisms used by narcissists to protect their vulnerability that make relationships with narcissists so difficult. Common defenses they use are arrogance and contempt, denial, projection, aggression, and envy.
Negative self-talk stems from the downward spiral we let our thoughts go into. Stumbling over your words in an interview turns into: “I'm such an idiot, I will never get a job.” But putting these negative thoughts in perspective can help us find out what really went wrong.
A critical inner voice may develop during times of extreme stress. It's also sometimes seen in mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression. In such cases, your mind may engage in negative self-talk by criticizing the way you work, socialize, participate in family circles, and more.
But receiving, internalising and reinforcing any negative comments can increase stress, anxiety, frustration and worry, says Lucia Macchia, a behavioural scientist and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics.
Negative self-talk is a mental habit in which we react to outside circumstances and events by internalizing them and blaming ourselves.
Self-talk doesn't just impact anxiety; it can exacerbate depression too. According to a study published in the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, people who engage in negative self-talk experience more intense feelings of depression.
The most common mental illnesses in Australia are Anxiety Disorders, Affective Disorders (such as Depression) and Substance use disorders (ABS 2022a).