Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs): 4 Simple Ways To Clean Your Mental Chatter

Amongst the umpteen thoughts that we have every day, a majority of them seem to be negative and they pop up out of the blue. These are labeled to be automatic negative thoughts (ANTs).

It is a human tendency to be predominantly negative. As a part of evolution, our ancestors survived by constantly being on the lookout for threats and problems. And imagination lets us think about all sorts of potential threats and issues so as to enable ourselves to solve them before facing them.

Although they are here to safeguard us, ANTs are actually holding us captive in a vicious cycle of misery. They can lead to chronic stress, speed up our brain’s aging process, shrink the brain’s size and deplete beneficial hormones like serotonin and dopamine.

Here are some ways to kill those ‘ANT’s:

1. Face them boldly and start talking to the negative thought- When you have negative thoughts, the first thing to do is recognize them and let your internal voice convey loudly that it is not true. Also when you recognize ANTs, you tend to question if having that thought is of any purpose. If there is an explanation for it, or if there’s another way of looking at things. Doing so will help suppress negative thoughts pretty quickly.

2. Embrace positivity- Try being around positive people, getting positivity physically, i.e. when you get to hear and see positive things, it can boost optimism around you. Also, take small steps to enforce positive thoughts such as making mental shifts. Reframe those negative thoughts into something uplifting. Tell yourself that it is okay to feel sad or anxious and give yourself a break. You will see yourself moving past your negative thoughts soon.

3. Recognize your ANTs to be boring- When you find something boring, you will automatically tune it out pretty soon. So why don’t you try that with your own thoughts? So, the next time you recognize an ANT, tell yourself 'Ah! there comes this BORING thought again' and you will see yourself getting over it quickly.

4. Try meditating- Nothing can beat meditation in healing your mind and mastering negative thought patterns. You will not only learn to recognize ANTs but also dismiss them without getting emotional. You could also try mind-body exercises like tai chi, yoga or qi gong for similar results.