Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking

by S.J. Scott

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it’s all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius

Our powerful brains are constantly processing all sorts of experiences and analyzing them in the form of thoughts. Thoughts form what we perceive to be reality.

Your constant inner dialog distracts you from what is happening around you, right here and now. It causes you to miss valuable experiences and sabotages the joy of the present moment.

In fact, nearly every negative thought you have relates to the past or future.

This thinking/judging dynamic infects us with painful emotions. The more fearful, guilt-ridden, regretful thoughts we have, the more stressed, anxious, depressed, and angry we feel. Sometimes our thoughts paralyze us with bad feelings, and it’s those feelings that rob us of inner peace and contentment.

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When life becomes so intense and complicated, our psyches search out escape ramps. Too much input, too much negative exposure, and too many choices can trigger a not-so-healthy coping response.

All of this extraneous stuff and data not only sucks our time and productivity, but also produces reactive, anxious, and negative thoughts.

“To keep our ancestors alive, Mother Nature evolved a brain that routinely tricked them into making three mistakes: overestimating threats, underestimating opportunities, and underestimating resources (for dealing with threats and fulfilling opportunities).”

“The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences but Teflon for positive ones.”

you are hardwired to overthink, worry, and view situations more negatively than they are in reality. You see threats as more threatening and challenges as more challenging.

“There is an alternative to simply identifying with the next thought that pops into consciousness.” That alternative is mindfulness.

Mindfulness requires retraining your brain to stay out of the mental clutter from the future and focus instead on the present moment. When you are mindful, you no longer attach to your thoughts. You are simply present in whatever you happen to be doing.

decluttering your mind requires practice, patience, and a willingness to start small, then grow from there.

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

Peace of Mindfulness: Everyday Rituals to Conquer Anxiety and Claim Unlimited Inner Peace:

We recommend keeping four things in mind while building the focused deep breathing habit: Rather than slouching at your desk or on the sofa at home, sit up straighter to allow more room for your lungs to take in oxygen. Become aware of areas where your body is tense, and mentally “breathe into” those areas, seeing them relax as you breathe. Be conscious of breathing through your nose rather than your mouth. Your nose has defense mechanisms that prevent impurities and excessively cold air from entering your body. Your nose also can detect poisonous gases that could be harmful to you. Viruses and bacteria can enter the lungs through mouth breathing, so let your nose do the work. When you inhale, use abdominal breathing by gently pushing your stomach outward, and breathe through as though you’re filling your stomach. On the exhale, breathe out slowly and allow your stomach to return to its normal position. Pay attention to the difference between shallow breathing (which stops at the chest) and abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing (which fills the lower lobes of the lungs and encourages full oxygen exchange). Abdominal breathing also massages the abdominal organs through the movements of the diaphragm.

One of the best ways to detach from negative thoughts and gain control over your mind is through slow, deep, rhythmic breathing.

Deep breathing helps you feel connected to your body, shifting your awareness away from worry and quieting the inner dialog in your brain. The physiological changes that occur with deep breathing are referred to as the “relaxation response.”

Here’s a summary of what deep nose breathing can do for you: Boost nitric oxide, a powerful immune-boosting molecule produced in the sinuses during nose breathing. Improve the quality of your blood through eliminating toxins and increased oxygenation. Assist the digestion and assimilation of food through a more efficient stomach and digestive system. Increase the health and function of the nervous system by increased oxygenation. Improve the function of the abdominal organs and the heart through increased circulation. Help prevent respiratory problems as the lungs become stronger

and more powerful. Reduce blood pressure and help prevent heart disease as the heart becomes more efficient and stronger and the workload on the heart is reduced. Assist in weight control as extra oxygen burns excess fat more efficiently.

Here is a seven-step process you can use to develop the practice of deep breathing on a daily basis: Determine a time of day to practice deep breathing, preferably after a daily habit you perform consistently, like brushing your teeth. Morning is always a good time to practice, as it sets the tone for your day. However, you may find you want to take a break in the middle of the day, as things get more hectic during your workday. Before bed is another good time, as it promotes a restful state before sleep.

Select a setting for your breathing practice in a quiet space where you won’t be distracted or interrupted. Turn off your phone, computer, and any other device that might disturb you. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Sit on the floor with a pillow in a meditative position, like the lotus position, or in a chair with your spine straight and feet planted on the floor. Let your hands rest gently in your lap. Inhale slowly through your nose until your lungs are filled to capacity, allowing your stomach to push out on the inhalation. At the end of the inhalation, pause for a count of two. Exhale slowly, smoothly, and completely, allowing your stomach to return to its natural position. Pause at the end of the exhalation as well.

“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It’s a way of entering into the quiet that’s already there—buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.” – Deepak Chopra

There are dozens of styles of meditative practices, but most practices begin with the same steps—sitting quietly, focusing attention on your breath, and dismissing any distractions that come your way.

“Meditation is a lot like doing reps at a gym. It strengthens your attention muscle.”

Here is a simple 11-step process you can use to build the meditation habit: Select a quiet, calm space for your meditation practice where you can close the door to be completely alone. Determine a specific time of day for your practice. If you’ve begun a deep breathing practice, you can use this as your trigger (and starting point) for your new meditation habit. Or you can choose another trigger and practice meditating at another time of day. Decide whether you want to meditate sitting on a pillow on the floor or in a straight-back chair or sofa. Try not to recline as you meditate, since you might fall asleep. Remove all distractions and turn off all digital devices or other devices that make noise. Remove pets from the room. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Sit comfortably either in a chair or cross-legged on the floor with a cushion. Keep your spine erect and your hands resting gently in your lap. Close your eyes, or keep them open with a downward-focused gaze, then take a few deep cleansing breaths through your nose—we recommend three or four breaths at a time. Gradually become aware of your breathing. Notice the air moving in and out through your nostrils and the rise and fall of your chest and abdomen. Allow your breaths to come naturally, without forcing them. Focus your attention on the sensation of breathing, perhaps even mentally thinking the word “in” as you inhale and “out” as you exhale. Your thoughts will wander a lot in the beginning. Every time they do, gently le...

Buddhify has over 80 custom guided audio meditation tracks on various topics. Omvana, with dozens of guided meditations by very famous authors, teachers, and spiritual celebrities. Headspace has a series of 10-minute guided exercises for your mind.

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way, you are right!” – Henry Ford

Start by becoming aware of your thoughts. Separate your “self” from your thoughts, and just observe what is going on in your mind. The trick here is to do this in an impartial manner where you’re not judging any particular thought. Simply be conscious of yourself as a detached witness to your thoughts.

Observing your thoughts rather than attaching to them disempowers the thoughts and the emotions they foster.

Another way to separate yourself from your thoughts is by mentally acknowledging that they are nothing more than thoughts—not your reality.

When you catch yourself in mental looping or worry, simply say, “STOP!” out loud (vocalizing reinforces the interruption), and then visualize a heavy metal wall slamming down in front of your runaway thoughts.

Wear a rubber band on your wrist. Whenever you see it, stop and notice your thoughts. If you are stuck in negative thinking, put the rubber band on the other wrist or gently pop it on your wrist.

Often, overthinking and negativity are triggered by a person, situation, or physical state. Pay attention to common worries and anxieties you brood about.

Break the cycle using distraction. Do something that will occupy your mind so there’s no room for the negative thoughts. Immerse yourself in a project that involves focus and brainpower.

Interrupting cluttered thinking is only part of the process of retraining your brain and learning to disassociate from negative thoughts. Your mind abhors a vacuum, so you need to fill the void with constructive thought so you don’t careen back into old patterns.

You may notice that many of your thoughts are wildly exaggerated. They are not the truth, or at least not the whole truth. You might think, “I’m a loser, I can never do anything right.” In the moment, you certainly feel like a loser, but if you examine the thought, you recognize that it’s not entirely truthful. You’ve done plenty of things well and have been successful on many occasions. Rather than allowing “all or nothing” thinking to have a free pass, challenge these negative thoughts whenever they occur. This simply means coming up with a concrete example that contradicts the thought by reminding yourself of a positive event or previous “win.”

Using positive reminders might feel awkward at first, but eventually you’ll train yourself to interrupt those cycles of negative thinking. This habit helps you take control of your reality and puts a roadblock in front of the never-ending highway of self-sabotaging beliefs.

The truth is that there are times when you’ll feel like it’s impossible to maintain a positive outlook. However, it’s also true that the thoughts and feelings about these challenging situations are often far worse than the situation itself. You can’t completely eradicate your troubled thoughts during hard times, but you can lessen them through acceptance. When you struggle against the reality of a bad situation, you’re adding another layer of suffering to your psyche. You can’t worry or guilt yourself into a solution. Instead, you need a clear head and a calm mind.

Acceptance of a situation doesn’t mean you avoid action. It means you don’t blindly fight and claw to escape. You put yourself in a state of mind that allows you to take correct and useful action.

Overthinking is usually a pointless activity,

When your thoughts are cluttered, do something positive that will distract you from negative thoughts. Just about anything that requires some brain power and focus will do the trick, but we suggest you take mindful action—action that focuses on your values, goals, or priorities. A quick way to do this is to define your goals, which is something we discuss in the next section. In fact, one of the first mindful actions you could take is to define your values and priorities for the next year.

Some other ideas that you might try include: Writing Practicing an instrument Constructing something by hand Painting or drawing Working on a complex problem Studying Memorizing something Practicing a speech Designing something from scratch

You can’t completely break the worry habit. There will be times when you’re flooded with such powerful negative thoughts that no amount of self-talk or distraction works.

Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and allow yourself to stress over whatever enters your mind. Get it all out! Take this time to express all of the bottled up feelings and thoughts. In fact, during your “worry time,” you might even write down your thoughts in a journal. Writing in longhand helps you process your thoughts and can often lead to a creative solution to your problem.

One of the challenges of modern living is figuring out what’s truly important and differentiating those from the obligations that seem important at first, but really don’t matter when you take the time to examine them. If you’re like most people, then you might find that it’s increasingly difficult to minimize, organize, or bypass the deluge of information you encounter on a regular basis.

They were clear on how to prioritize their time, with less money and fewer choices to entice or confuse them.

A strong work ethic coupled with a focus on family, faith, and patriotism defined this generation

One of the simplest ways to eliminate mental clutter and live a more fulfilling life is to define your values and guiding principles for your life. Now, more than ever, we need these principles to help us clarify how we want to spend our time, energy, and money.