WHY NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE ADDICTIVE & OBSESSIVE
“Nothing can stop someone with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal, just as nothing on earth can help someone with the wrong mental attitude.”
“When there is a will, there is a way.”
Negative thoughts are more addictive than drugs or alcohol. They become obsessive and settle in the subconscious mind, resurging with all the undesirable symptoms of a panic attack, rendering us totally dysfunctional; and kicking our defensive mechanism into fight/flight mode, leaving our minds and bodies restless. They interrupt our sleep and leave us in a state of constant exhaustion.
Negative emotions activate both the beta-endorphin and dopamine pathways in the brain, the same pathways that activate pleasure. People addicted to negativity get the same payoff as those who are on drugs, and like any other addiction, this leads to irregular behaviors like cravings, apathy, lethargy, and addictions. Unless the focus and intent are modified, the body’s natural immunity depletes rapidly.
There are 2 parts of the immune system that are closely linked and work together whenever they are triggered for a response. They are:
1. The Innate (non-specific), the autoimmune system one is born with.
2. The adaptive (specific) immune system. This is developed when the body is exposed to viruses, pollutants, or chemicals.
There are many stressors day in and day out. If we are not mindful of them, they disrupt our metabolism. Some of the prominent emotional stressors are fear, anger, loss, anxiety, frustration, helplessness, control, resentment, retribution, etc. They are referred to by psychologists as altered states of consciousness.
“Negativity is the enemy of creativity.”
In the West, 75–90%, or 4 out of 5 patients who walk into health centers suffer from psychological stress with physical symptoms. They are called Psychosomatic disorders. We all have thoughts and feelings about ourselves and important aspects of our lives. Our minds thrive off repetition, so the longer negative thoughts settle in the 10–15cm space between our ears, the harder fighting off the addiction becomes. According to the National Science Foundation, 80% of thoughts that cross our minds are negative, and 95% of them are repetitive. Acknowledging and understanding them is powerful enough to control them and our beliefs, aware that they carry unnecessary weight leaving us anxious with self-doubt.
In another classification, there are physical stressors that are a result of injuries, accidents, hangovers, and other physical traumas. They are treated medically with the required rest. In the case of uncontrollable environmental stressors like toxins, bacteria, viruses, pollutants, and chemicals, they are treated with medication, supplements, vitamins, naturopathy, etc.
“If our thoughts can make us sick, then surely directing one’s thoughts can make us feel better!”
The body naturally finds its balance when the mind is calm. This state is called Homeostasis. It is a reflex mechanism that operates through the nervous system to automatically adjust to any trigger from the mind both negatively or positively. The nervous system is controlled by the Cerebellum, the “Old Brain” located at the top of the spinal cord, beneath the Limbic Brain which is topped by the Neocortex. The Cerebellum (also known as the Reptilian or Lizard) Brain, adjusts the hormone levels channeling them through the body in function of the state of mind. It also regulates them to repair, regenerate, and restore the body to equilibrium and homeostasis.
Provoking the body with the wrong stressor permits it to take charge of the body negatively. This leads to disease susceptibility, illness, and eventual collapse. The Autonomic System can no longer regulate the metabolism efficiently with the stressor in full control.
Whether the danger is real or illusionary, the defensive Autonomic System does its job by expending an enormous amount of energy unnecessarily, knocking the entire metabolism out of whack in anticipation of uncertainty. It releases chemicals from the brain that lead it to believe it is in constant danger and becomes stressful. The thoughts and images of past events or a worse outcome in the future are the stimuli and response conditioning the body in tandem (also referred to as cause and effect, Placebo, and Nocebo). Consequently, stress hormones rush, creating an undesirable imbalance.
“I will not occupy my mind with trash. I will eliminate it with one decision.”
If the Mind/Body connection is reinforced with ruminating thoughts it literally makes one sick. Therefore, by inhibiting the negative thought pattern, the attention and focus are redirected to a positive mental state, and the body will automatically reconnect and revert to Homeostasis, restoring its positive and creative energy. The Automatic nervous system regulates the heartbeat, and the flow of hormones switches on the Neocortex of the brain to project the desired synchronicity as a natural flow manifests progressively every day.
Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is an antibody blood protein that is part of the immune system. The body makes IgA and other types of antibodies to fight sickness. It plays a pivotal role in mucosal Homeostasis in the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and genitourinary tract, functioning as the dominant antibody of immunity in the body.
Detaching from the Cerebellum to the Thinking Neocortex becomes important to sustain this condition through a daily health routine, reverting the regular and healthy biorhythm of Homeostasis.
“We cannot create a new future by holding on to the past.”
“We can only absorb something new by making space for it and discarding the old.”
· Acknowledge them and challenge them.
· Change the current vocabulary from “I should…” to “I can…I will…I shall…”
· Research and reach out to trusted people.
· Focus on the present and take a positive approach.
· Take a decisive approach long-term.
· Keep yourself busy with productive work.
· I have been practicing daily meditation religiously, for the past 20 years. I am faithful to its methodology, incorporating my Faith into it for profound contemplation. It works wonders!
o Select your isolated space. As soon as you wake up, stretch out well in bed. Sit in your space comfortably, focusing on deep and slow breathing with your eyes shut. With deep inhalations of bright white light, imagine mopping up all worries and aches from your body in a dark cloud until you rid yourself of all. Expel them all in a long deep exhalation and stop for a few seconds before repeating the same cycle until you see no darkness within.
When you master it, you can practice it in any position and anywhere.
· Subsequently, allocate 15 minutes to simple physical exercises like flexing or stretching.
· Open a journal or diary and jot down 3 things to be grateful, however small, from the day before, and take 3 affirmative decisions for the current day.
“Thinking cannot be clear until it has expression through speech, writing, or acting out our thoughts. If not, it converts to poison in the body.”
You will find this article relevant and inspiring. Remember that:
“We are the creators, and not the victims, of our lives.”
I leave you with this thought if anyone is an obstacle to your well-being, happiness, and progress: “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with dirty feet.”
Sammy RNAJ
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