Be a good friend to yourself and catch yourself in the middle of negative self-talk

Negative self-talk can be limiting and harmful to you. But you can overcome it. There are many effective ways you can overcome negative self-talk and improve your mental health. The first step in dealing with negative self-talk is to be aware of when you are doing it. You will not be able to do anything about your mind if you constantly get lost in your thoughts. To be more mindful, all you need is a little practice. Try to stop and notice your thoughts and feelings a few times during the day. To make this more effortless, you can also practice mindfulness meditation regularly. Next, try to notice the words you use to speak with yourself. One good guideline you can use to determine whether you are being too negative is to ask yourself whether you would say the same things to your good friend. Often, we say such cruel things to ourselves that we would not even speak to our most hated enemies. In all this, self-compassion is the key. To stop negative self-talk, you must love yourself enough to put in the effort. Without self-compassion, you will not bother with improving your mental health. But the fact that you are here reading this article means you already have some self-love. For that, you can give yourself a pat on the back. So try the strategies mentioned above. Take the time to stop and notice what you are thinking. Then ask yourself whether you are treating yourself kindly like a friend would. You will often fall into negative self-talk. But know that you have the power to overcome it.