Negative Thoughts Can Trigger Mental Disorders, Here's How To Overcome It
Are you the type of person who gets sad, angry, and frustrated easily when you have a lot of thoughts? Take it easy, you are not alone. Naturally, people who are having a lot of thoughts will show it with negative emotions like those aforementioned. But be careful, negative emotions that are left too long can make you susceptible to disease, you know. Not only physically, negative thoughts that are not managed properly can also trigger mental disorders. How could that be? Here’s the explanation.
Recognize two forms of emotion first
Emotions are reactions shown to someone or something. Emotion itself is divided into two forms, namely positive emotions and negative emotions.
When you feel happy, grateful, hopeful, or proud, these can indicate that you are feeling positive emotions that make you feel better in the mood. On the other hand, the form of negative emotion itself can be anger, disappointment, sadness, fear, or other negative feelings that create mood You drop and not excited.
Why can negative thoughts trigger mental disorders?
Negative thoughts and emotions are usually easy to come up with when you are feeling stressed out about something.
It’s easy like this. You feel stressed because your work has piled up and you just got scolded by your boss. All these problems certainly make you think all day long and ultimately make you easily angry with everyone. In fact, you certainly know that these people are not wrong.
Another example, you are arguing with your partner because you feel they are no longer loyal because they have an affair. These negative thoughts may carry over the day. You also become stressed, sad, and not eager to do activities.
From these two examples it is clear that all the negative feelings and thoughts will make you easily stressed out. If not managed properly, this prolonged stress can trigger mental disorders.
Quoted from Psychology Today, a study revealed that the more negative emotional pressure you feel, the greater the risk of depression that can occur. This is because stress and prolonged sadness will release a lot of the hormone cortisol, aka the stress hormone, in the body.
The amount of stress hormones in the body can disrupt the hormonal balance in the brain. Over time, this can lead to mental health disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and so on.
Other research from the University of California, Berkeley, also supports this. People who are under severe stress tend to have more white matter (white matter) rather than gray matter (gray matter) on the brain. The more white matter in your brain, the harder it is for you to calm down and you are at risk for depression.
Having negative thoughts is fine, as long as they can be managed properly
Actually, negative thoughts are something that everyone naturally exists and does. But with a note, you should not let it drag on and must be managed properly.
You don’t need to pretend to have a cheerful face to cover up your negative emotions. No matter how hard you try to avoid negative thoughts, they can actually backfire on you. It can even cause you more stress.
The best way to manage negative thoughts is to accept them. Let negative thoughts sit on your mind for a while, absorb them, and find solutions immediately – not by avoiding them.
Instead of harboring negative thoughts, try to express all the emotions you feel so that your mental health is maintained. At the very least, share all of your complaints with the person you trust the most or write them in a journal so that your feelings are channeled.
So, to keep your hormone levels in balance, channel your emotions with things that are fun and soothing for you. For example listening to music, drawing, massage, exercising, or doing your hobbies.
That way, negative emotions won’t eat away at your mental health. You can also live your life well even though problems keep coming and going.
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