When I first started reading this book, I became bored because some of the biological terms were difficult for me to understand. Therefore, I decided to put this book down. However, by chance, the fourth chapter’s subtitle, “Enchanting positive thought patterns and strengthening connections,” caught my attention, and I was tempted to read this chapter. Thus, I decided to try it. I was surprised when I started reading. Why the hell had this never occurred to me before? I wondered.
Each of us has gone through a math class where we had no idea why we were even there. But why on earth do schools and universities not offer a positive thinking course in their curricula? Let’s get on to the main issue. However, let’s get to the subject. Today, we’ll discuss how to change negative brain patterns to positive ones. Before diving into it, it’s important to understand a little bit about the limbic system, the area of the brain that controls positive and negative thoughts.
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Limbic system:
I won’t waste your time with the biological language. We should get right to it. A tiny portion of your brain, around the size of a walnut, is called the limbic system. Your ideas, both positive and negative, are controlled by this area of the brain. If your limbic system is less active, you’ll be tranquil and optimistic; if it’s more active, you’ll tend to be more emotional—and not in a good way. Healthy sleep and appetite may be experienced if your limbic system is less active. If your limbic system is more active, on the other hand, you start to have trouble falling asleep and having a good appetite.
To translate our emotional state into physical feelings, we need the deep limbic system. Consequently, we feel some bodily sensations like the body experiencing increased heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, hands and feet cooling off to divert blood from the extremities to the large muscles, and dilated pupils. Have you ever seen someone react negatively and despondently to every circumstance? The emotional filter is tainted by negativity when the limbic system is more active in the individual. Your limbic system is more active if you experience the feelings listed below.
- Feelings of sadness.
- Moodiness.
- Negativity.
- Low energy.
- Irritability.
- Decreased interest in others.
- Feelings of hopelessness about the future.
- Feelings of helplessness or powerlessness.
- Feeling dissatisfied or bored?
- Excessive guilt, suicidal feelings.
- Crying.
- Lowered interest in things usually considered fun.
- I blame destiny.
- Sleep changes (too much or too little).
- Appetite changes (too much or too little).
- Low self-esteem.
- Decreased interest in sex.
- Negative sensitivity to smells and odors.
- Forgetfulness.
- Poor concentration.
Here are the actual step-by-step “thinking” principles that the author of this book, who is also a psychotherapist uses in his psychotherapy practice to help his patients heal their deep limbic systems.
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1. Thoughts are real:
The first step to relaxing your limbic system is to acknowledge the reality of every thought you have. You’ve got a thought. Chemicals are released by your brain. The electrical signals in your brain are transmitted. You become conscious of your thoughts. Genuine thoughts do exist, and real thoughts do affect how you feel and act.
a) Notice how the negative thoughts affect your behavior:
Did you know that when you experience emotions like anger or sadness, your brain releases a chemical, and your deep limbic system is activated, both of which have an impact on your body? When a person exhibits a negative mental process, they typically look tense, sweat, and have many other symptoms. Every negative thought causes a response in your body. Research has demonstrated that while someone’s limbic system tends to be chilly when they are happy or normal, it becomes slightly hotter when they are angry.
b) Notice how positive thoughts affect your body:
Your brain releases chemicals that make your body feel good and cool down your limbic system whenever you’re joyful, motivated, or relaxed. Your heart beats regularly, you don’t perspire, and you feel relaxed when you’re happy. Your body responds to positive thoughts as a result.
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2. Your body reacts to every thought:
Your body started to express whatever concept had arisen in your mind. That is why officials are employing lie detectors to uncover the truth. When someone is fitted with a lie detector and asked, “Did you steal the car?”, they respond truthfully. His brain will exhibit a stress response if he is the guilty party. His muscles tighten, his respiration quickens, his blood pressure rises, his hands begin to sweat more, and his hands become colder. Instantaneously, the response occurs. It is the deep limbic system’s job to convert our emotional state into physical sensations.
His body would have responded with a “relaxation” response if he hadn’t stolen the car. His hands will warm up, his blood pressure will drop, his respiration will slow down and grow deeper, his muscles will relax, and his hands will become warmer. This occurs regardless of whether you are being questioned about telling the truth or not; your body responds to every idea you have, whether it is about your job, relationships with others, your loved ones, or anything else.
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3. Think of bad thoughts as pollution:
Keep in mind that every cell in your body is impacted by your thoughts. The way your mind and body feel depends on the thoughts you are having. Because of this, we experience headaches when we are anxious or agitated. Did you know that some doctors believe that individuals who frequently think negatively are more susceptible to developing cancer? Negative ideas are similar to pollution. Negative changes in your limbic system have a similar impact on your mind and body as pollution has on the environment and people.
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4. Automatic thoughts don’t always tell the truth:
You’ll have a lot of thoughts pop into your head without even realizing it. Have you ever wondered why you suddenly had this on your mind? Thoughts are automatic unless you intentionally pay attention to them. Your thoughts are not all accurate. They do lie to them sometimes. A college student who thought he was stupid was once treated by the author. But when he saw the test results, he was astounded to see that the youngster had an almost genius-level IQ. Every thought that enters your head does not have to be true. However, if you never question your thoughts, you will just “think” them to be true.
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After learning about your thoughts, you can reprogram them to be constructive. Finding out when your ideas are bad and responding to them, as I’ll explain below, is one method for learning how to change your thoughts. If you simply imagine a negative thought without confronting it, your mind will believe it and your body will respond to it. Negative thoughts lose their influence over you when you correct them.
5. Exterminate the ANTs:
Your relationships, your self-esteem, and your power will all be ruined if you don’t stop the automatic negative thoughts or ANTs. Writing them down and responding to them is one approach to squashing these ANTs. Write down your thoughts.
For instance, if you find yourself thinking, “My husband never listens to me.” Afterward, jot down a logical response, such as, “He’s not listening to me right now; perhaps he’s preoccupied with something else. He gives me a lot of attention. Negative ideas lose their power when you write them down and respond to them, which helps you feel better. Do not forget that, occasionally, your thoughts will tell you lies. Before you blindly believe them, it’s crucial to check them out!
Here are five different ways your ideas can deceive you and make things appear worse than they are. Imagine the five ways as various (Automatic Negative Thoughts) ANT species or sorts. If you can identify the type of ANT, you can begin to reduce its influence over you.
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ANT 1: “Always/never” thinking:
This happens when you believe something will “always” happen again. For example, if your partner is irritable and upset, you may think to yourself, “She’s always yelling at me,” even if she yells only every once in a while. However, just thinking “She’s always yelling at me” makes you sad and upset. It stimulates the limbic system.
Consider the following examples of “always/never” thinking: “He’s always chastising me.” “There will never be anyone who loves me.” “I’ll never be promoted.” “Everyone makes use of me.” “My children never pay attention to me.” If you catch yourself thinking in absolutes, stop and force yourself to recall examples that disprove your all-or-nothing mindset.
ANT 2 (red ant): Fortune-telling:
This is where you foresee the worst-case scenario for an event. You might assume, for instance, that your spouse won’t be interested in what you have to say before you share a significant issue with them. You’ll feel nervous just thinking about it. Fortune-telling is what I refer to as a “red ANT,” because when you foresee bad things, you contribute to them happening. Your chances of feeling good are seriously harmed by ANTs that tell fortunes. Remind yourself that you would be a lottery billionaire right about now if you could see the future.
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ANT 3 (red ant): Mind reading:
When you think you can read someone else’s mind, even if they haven’t told you, you are said to be practicing mind reading. You know that you are mind reading when you have thoughts such as “She’s mad at me.” “He doesn’t like me.” “They were talking about me.” You can’t read anyone else’s Enhancing Positive Thought Patterns.
You never know what others are thinking unless they tell you. You will still not understand your partner, even in close partnerships. Make inquiries to get clarification on anything you’re unclear about. Never use ANTs that can read your mind. They have high contagiousness.
ANT 4: Thinking with your feelings:
When you never question your negative feelings, this is what happens. “I feel this way, so it must be so,” you tell yourself. Feelings are extremely intricate and frequently rooted in potent memories from the past. Sometimes, feelings will lie to you. Feelings don’t always correspond to reality. They are merely emotions.
I sense that you don’t love me, for instance. ” I feel foolish, I feel like I’ve failed. “I feel nobody will ever trust me.” Whenever you experience a powerful, unpleasant emotion, examine it. Look for the proof behind the feeling. Do you have those feelings for those reasons? Or are your emotions influenced by things that happened in the past? What is real and what is just an emotion?
ANT 5: Personalizing:
When you give personal significance to neutral events, this is known as “personalizing”: My manager didn’t talk to me this morning. I guess she’s upset at me. Or, “My kid crashed the car. I ought to have given him more time to learn how to drive. It must be my fault.” There are many other reasons for others’ behavior besides the negative explanations an abnormal limbic system picks out. For instance, your employer might not have spoken to you because she was busy, upset, or pressed for time. You can never fully understand why someone does something. Try not to take other people’s actions personally.
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Your thoughts are important. Your deep limbic system may benefit or suffer as a result. If ANTs are not controlled, infection will spread throughout your entire body. You must eliminate ANTs whenever you spot them, or they will negatively impact your relationships, your job, and your entire life. To start, you must be aware of them. If you can catch them at the moment they occur and correct them, you take away the power they have over you. When a negative thought goes unchallenged, your mind believes it and your body reacts to it.
