Anyone who always sees the bad rather than the good can be very stressful in the long run. But there are ways out of this one-way street of thought.
Many people judge themselves much more critically than other people. You should have “more self-compassion”, advises the internist and naturopath Professor Gustav Dobos in the “Apotheken Umschau” (issue B07 / 21).
It can be helpful to write down how you would reassure another person in a particular situation – for example, by listening, comforting, or being invited to dinner. According to the magazine, you can then take a role model for dealing with yourself from how you would react to the other.
Discard negative thought patterns
Expert Dobos also points out that many people have negative thought patterns within them. He describes an example: One person walks past a group of laughing colleagues and is annoyed at not having noticed the joke – while the other is sure that he is the subject of the laughter.
The latter creates a kind of negative reality. Anyone who learns to recognize these false evaluations can change them; there are also therapeutic approaches for this. Psychologists speak of cognitive restructuring.
Write down positive things
Another tip: Hold on to positive feelings so that they take up more space inside. “We recommend keeping a gratitude diary,” says Dobos, director of the Clinic for Naturopathy and Integrative Medicine at the Essen-Mitte Clinic.
In the diary, you record what good things you have experienced in the course of the day and what made you happy. According to the report, studies showed that those who do this regularly become more optimistic. Test subjects also slept better and complained of fewer physical complaints.