About this episode
Quote of the Day Real courage is moving forward when the outcome is uncertain. Michael E. Angier Many people when they wake up have a ton of negative thoughts going through their heads. The questions of self worth, confidence, anxiety, and more all seem to be right there when you wake up. So, I wanted to give you a quick bit of advise and discussion on how you can manage and eliminate these thoughts quickly. What would you give to get rid of depression, anxiety or negativity in your life in order to experience more joy, happiness and peace of mind?? Do you have a strategy? What are your proven solutions and strategies for dealing with these things, because you will deal with them your entire life…and if you are not prepared, they will overwhelm you at times. I’ve read a lot lately from a gentleman names Dr Daniel Amen. He has written several books on How to Optimize your brain in order to create a better life. He has several great books with tons of information and strategies you can use to get rid of depression, anxiety, or just have a healthier and better functioning mind… One of the topics that he mentions that really stood out to me is the concept he created called ANTs…Automatic negative thoughts that “we all” experience. He teaches people how to identify and eliminate these ANTs in their thoughts and in their life because they are the biggest cause of depressions, anxiety and negativity. Every single time you have a thought, your brain releases chemicals. Every time you have a sad, hopeless, mad, cranky, unkind, judgmental, or helpless thought, your brain immediately releases chemicals that make your body feel awful. Your hands get cold and wet, your muscles get tense, your heart beats faster, and your breathing becomes shallower. Additionally, the activity in your frontal and temporal lobes decreases which negatively affects your judgment, learning, memory. The opposite is also true – whenever you have a happy, hopeful, loving, kind, or positive thought, your brain releases a completely different set of chemicals. Your hands get warmer and dryer, your breathing becomes deeper and more regular, your muscles relax, your blood pressure decreases, and your brain works better. So, if you want to eradicate depression, anxiety, and negativity from your life, you need to work on disciplining your mind to get rid of the ANTs and developing an ANTeater to patrol the streets of your mind. (Amen clinics article) The first step in dealing with these thoughts is to: IDENTIFY AND LABEL THE THOUGHTS YOU ARE HAVING... Here are just a few of the thoughts to watch out for... FORTUNE TELLING Predicting worst case scenarios…leading to panic attacks. MIND READING Interpreting others thoughts, actions, or messages. Major issue in relationships. GUILT BEATINGS Words like should, must, have to. Guilt is not a good motivator. Robbins talks about using words like “I should” instead of “I must or I will”. BLAME Blaming puts you in the victim role where you are powerless. Take responsibility. LABELING Calling yourself or someone else a derogatory name. This diminishes your ability to see situations clearly and labels are very harmful. So what do we do about these ANTs? Dr Amen gives us some advise... Whenever you find yourself feeling mad, sad, nervous, or out-of-control, write down what you are thinking. Then identify which ANT species is infesting your mind and talk back to it. Challenging negative thoughts (killing the ANTs) takes away their power and gives YOU control over your thoughts, moods, and behaviors. We discussed this when we talked about The Untethered Soul Book. Remember to be patient with yourself. We are naturally hardwired to have negative thoughts. Analyzing the worst case scenario is a self preservation mechanism we have genetically. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn to manage it. Just be patient with yourself and start today. Learning how to kill the ANTs and develop an internal ANTeater (as Amen says often) has been shown in scientific studies to be as effective as antidepressant medications to treat anxiety and depression! I hope this has helped you to identify maybe some patterns of negative thoughts you might be having and it’s my hope that you will develop a FOCUS on identifying them and a STRATEGY you can use to combat them. George Wright III