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.
Negative self-talk can come from a place of depression, low self-confidence, and anxiety and be part of a more significant mental health concern. However, you may also have habits that are causing negative self-talk. Some of these habits include: Not addressing relationship problems.
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.”
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.
A pessimistic attitude isn't very hopeful, shows little optimism, and can be a downer for everyone else. To be pessimistic means you believe evil outweighs the good and that bad things are more likely to happen. So pessimistic people are usually pretty negative.
Negative self-talk can have some pretty damaging impacts. Negative-self talk has been found to “feed” anxiety and depression, cause an increase in stress levels while lowering levels of self-esteem. This can lead to decreased motivation as well as greater feelings of helplessness.
In brief, almost all negativity has its roots in one of three deep-seated fears: the fear of being disrespected by others, the fear of not being loved by others, and the fear that “bad things” are going to happen.
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 Behavior Defined
Hostility or aggressiveness. Narcissism or lack of accountability or responsibility. Rudeness, disrespect or bullying toward colleagues or clients. Actions or statements that undermine team motivation or business goals.
Whilst everyone experiences negative thoughts now and again, negative thinking that seriously affects the way you think about yourself and the world and even interferes with work/study and everyday functioning could be a symptom of a mental illness, such as depression, anxiety disorders, personality disorders and ...
A negative attitude is a disposition, feeling, or manner that is not constructive, cooperative, or optimistic. It can affect anyone, just about anywhere. For some of us, it's at home. Perhaps you know of someone who has a bad attitude about doing chores. Or maybe it's happened to you at work.
Regular or even constant negative thinking can also be a sign of anxiety, depression, stress or low self-esteem. This sounds a bit strange, but negativity can also be contagious.
Spiraling negative thoughts can be a result of overthinking. This tends to happen when we have few distractions – which is why lying awake at night churning things over in our mind is a familiar feeling to many. At the time, negative thoughts may seem completely rational and logical. So we believe them to be true.
It's a tactic that can work when we reflect on both positive and negative experiences. In negative situations, it can help us cut through worry and fear to get to the learnings from our experience—the things we'll actually carry with us as we move forward in life.
It can sound like “I'm never going to be able to do this”, “I'm no good at this”, or “I've tried everything — nothing works”. Negative self-talk can be repetitive and often does not reflect reality. It can lead to rumination, which is repetitive with intrusive negative thoughts.