By Dr. Angela Lim
Medical Doctor, Ceo and Co-founder of Clearhead.
Sometimes our minds can get stuck on the same old thought patterns. It can be a past memory replaying in our head, the unhelpful things we say to ourselves, or worries we have about the future. It is very normal to experience negative thoughts from time to time, but sometimes when we don’t address them, they can begin to manifest into something bigger and begin to negatively impact on our lives.
Having anxiety or depression can also contribute to these thoughts, which in turn affect our mood and wellbeing, feeding into a vicious cycle. These thoughts are difficult because they often keep us awake at night or prevent us from being present and enjoying the moment.
Below is a super-simple and effective way to help you interrupt the negative thoughts you have, or to reduce any repetitive thoughts that go around and around in your mind.
The first step is that you need to catch yourself when you are engaging in negative, repetitive thinking. Building self-awareness can be tricky, but you can use Clearhead’s online platform, which is free to use for all Restaurant Association members, to guide you to build that skillset in yourself.
Once you have developed the self-awareness to distinguish when you are engaging in this type of thinking, you can implement the following S.T.O.P technique:
S.T.O.P.
- Bring to mind a symbol that to you means STOP. It could be a stop sign, a brick wall or the palm of a hand held extended. (S)
- The next step is to take a moment (T). Bring yourself into the very present moment by reorienting yourself to what is happening around you, rather than what is going on in your mind.
- The third step is to observe your breath (O). Focus your mind to solely observe your breathing. You may choose to do a couple of long slow breaths while you are here. Deep breathing will help activate the part of your nervous system that will calm you down.
- And then proceed (P). Proceed while staying in the present moment. You can change the P to ‘proceed with gratitude’ if you like by taking the time to think of three things you are grateful for in that moment.
This technique helps you to change your thinking pathways and resets your thinking. The more you practise this, the easier it will be for you to recognise when your mind is ‘stuck’ in negative thinking and the quicker you will get at switching your mind to a more positive track.
Give this technique a go, and if you need some extra mental health and wellbeing support you can always lean on Clearhead.
Clearhead is a digital mental health and wellbeing tool that is FREE to use for all Restaurant Association members. Clearhead has a selection of quick tools and lessons that you can work through to help improve your wellbeing. Find out more