What causes us to have negative thoughts

[Methen]

I am plague by having all kinds of negative thoughts and it seems that no matter what I do I cant be free of them I was wondering if anyone here goes through similar problems and what they have done to shield them self's from them ?

[LightBeam]

There are many reasons behind constant negative thoughts. You are the only one who can identify the reason and you have to make efforts to analyze your life and understand the source. Then you need to threat the source in order for a shift to occur. Forceful efforts to replace negative with positive won't work because you are only trying to mask the symptoms instead of treating the actual source of the problem. That applies to any area of life.

Here are a few examples I can think of that may cause negative thoughts, and possible treatments of the sources. Nothing may apply to you personally, but you can still identify your own source if you have a strong intent and listen to your inner voice.

-Going through a personal challenge that causes emotional or physical health. It's hard to keep positive when you are hurting. Quiet your mind and ask what is the lesson behind this challenge. What is there that the inner instinct is telling you need to change in order to learn and end the challenge. Don't try to blame external reasons for your challenges. admit that there is something YOU need to learn and change and take actions. On the other hand we should realize that challenges and us setting them up and creatin them have nothing to do with putting the blame on ourselves, but to understand that this was the choice of our higher self to go through this as necessary to learn. Focus completely on the challenge, the pain. bring it completely to surface, sit quietly and observe it. Honor the feeling, let it take your mind and body and ask to understand the reason behind it. Acknowledge it completely and then start to let it go. If you have understood the reason, release the pain completely.  It may take a few sessions and it may take time until the release manifests into the physical.

-When we don't forgive sincerely others for their wrong doings, we only torment ourselves. Our spirits can be truly free of burden when we forgive even without repentance. We have to understand that all spirits take up on different characters even those that hurt others in order to learn and create tools for others to learn as well. If we understand the real reasons behind pain and suffering, we will be able to forgive.

-When we focus too much on the news, world troubles, social media, watch movies and TV that contain negative elements, read books that contain murder, violence, etc, play video game that contain violent elements, etc. all that makes you focus whether you realize it or not most of the time on negative emotions. And that becomes habitual and automatic for your mind. We have to focus on doing things that give us joy and make us happy. watch comedies, laugh, watch love movies, adventures, superhero movies, anything that will boost your mood. Don't watch the news, don't spend too much time on your devices, walk in nature, get a pet, start a routine that will better yourself physically and mentally. When you interact with other people choose topics that elevate the mood. Stop and change the topic of they start talking about something negative. The world and the multiverse is absolutely beautiful but only if you focus on the beauty. You will not see the beauty of a flower even if you stare at it but your mind is blinded with despair. On the other hand, you can feel happy even if you live in a hut with little resources but you choose to be grateful for what you have and see the beauty of life. And don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway lol. It's a game that we have chosen to play. you are the one that chooses the next adventure and lead the character either towards the dark dungeons or the highest tower.

-Some medications may trigger depression and anxiety. discuss with a doctor.

-All substances that affect the brain eventually in a long run will cause disruption of the normal brain function including production of serotonin and dopamine (the happy hormones). It's not worth harming you health for momentum bursts of highs.

-chemical and hormonal imbalances, mental illnesses. discuss with a doctor.

-Feeling stuck in your life with a job that you may not like, lack of money, lack of love, abusive partners, parents, friends, dissatisfaction with who you are, low self esteem. To me the only way out of is to start with gratitude. Start thinking every day and repeat what are you grateful for. even it's just the fact that you can breather, you should be thankful for. If you have a bar of soap, you should be grateful that you have it. For centuries, billions of people had very little to eat, slept on the floor, worked 18 hours per day just to earn enough to feed their families bread and butter. When your mind conditions of being grateful for what you currently have, the energetic barriers will dissolve to make ways for progress and abundance.

But the most important thing is to carry universal love towards everything and everyone. Love is the greatest magnet for joy.

[EscapeVelocity]

I think that LightBeam expresses the idea well, in both principle and by examples, what is often referred to as the Law of Attraction. Simply put- What you focus on is what materializes as your experience.

I am only somewhat confident that this is correct because I, admittedly, have not fully understood very well this principle myself; in fact, I have struggled with negative thoughts and resulting depression most of my life, beginning from early childhood. Maybe it has to do with the Physical Reality time-delay between thought and consequence, between cause and effect. It's just never been easy to see the effects of my thoughts on the environment around me.

As a child, I felt overwhelmed and "steam-rolled" by early negative experiences which resulted in much negative thinking on my part. I never seemed to catch a break or a moment's rest before the next wave of negative experience came along, much less time to build a reservoir of positive thought to swing the tide around in my favor. Like a heavy surf, the waves just kept coming. As a child, I fell into the trap of unceasing doubt and nearly endless thought-trains of self-criticism. Slowly, I realized to first stop the negative self-criticism and thoughts and then to replace them with positive ideas and affirmations. For some years, this method felt nearly useless and foolish as the surge of negative experiences continued to smash my feeble efforts. But slowly, I recognized at first moments, then just a day or so, of breaks in the clouds and some small sunshine burning through. By my late teens, I had the idea that enough positive thought could somehow engineer enough positive days that a kind of momentum or inertia could be created that would carry the positive energy forward for some time- I certainly felt aware of the opposite effect of negative momentum and how far it seemed to carry!  The ensuing forty years have resulted in days of sunshine as well as days of darkness; times where I fall back into depression and negative self-talk and I have no choice but to swim back to the surface on my own. I can only speak for myself and say the battle carries on.

For me, it did become as simple as first eliminating the negative thoughts, one by one; replacing them with silence if I knew of nothing better.
Then I began my day with a few simple affirmations; nothing complex, just positive. Recited them again at noon and in the evening, if I remembered (which was its own battle).
Sometime later when the negative thought came, I replaced it with its positive opposite or a better thought.

Over time, the clearing of negative thoughts created space to consider the nature of challenges before me, as LightBeam has pointed out. I could not contemplate these ideas until I had cleared that space.

Time to consider/contemplate the nature of my challenges created perspective which allowed additional psychological space and importantly, a kind of psychological distance that I didn't have before between me and my negative situations. This "space/distance" is a subtle but important concept to achieve. It then allows action in other areas-

This next concept to understand is to Get Outside of Yourself. In other words, quit focusing so tightly, so narrowly upon your self, your personal world. Take action by doing small favors or services for other people. This helps you to forget about your own difficulties by concentrating on the difficulties of others. Actions along these lines gradually engender the sense of Universal Love that LightBeam spoke of.

There is no guarantee that all your difficulties shall cease at any moment but actions along these lines will earn you moments of reflection and then insights which will guide you further from the negative and towards the positive- the Light!

Some ideas from a fellow traveler of similar roads...

[LightBeam]

As a child, I felt overwhelmed and "steam-rolled" by early negative experiences which resulted in much negative thinking on my part.

Oh dear, it's particularly hard to enter this world straight to a turmoil, EV.  A child's mind is molded according to the environment. The fear and negativity are accepted as what life is and become habitual. Even when adulthood is reached and some other aspects of life are observed, it's still difficult to shake off the shadow of the past. These are hard lessons. I always think of characters that have it particularly hard in this life as incredibly brave souls. Well-deserved rewards are awaiting maybe here maybe in another place and time.
Understanding creation and our part in it, I think is one of the greatest lessons, after understanding unconditional love.

The top tools on my list to transform the energies in general that anyone can benefit from are below. That is not specifically for you, EV. I know that you are aware of it all. But perhaps this can help anyone who feels lost at the moment. At least it's a start.

-Gratitude. Set up your alarm twice a day to spend 5 minutes thinking of the things that you are thankful that you have. Don't think of the things you don't have. Let your hart start fluttering with joy when you think of what you have. It could be the simplest things, but remember many people don't even have those.

-Forgiveness and letting go. Every night before you fall asleep start saying the names of people that had caused you pain. go back as far as your childhood. Release them and let go of the pain. Understand their own paths and know that all spirits are equal on a grand scale and we are all parts of each other. To forgive others and love others is to love and forgive yourself.

-Volunteering to help others without expecting anything in return. Your compassion will grow even more and from there greater love will be planted in your hart. This may trigger some sadness when watching others in pain, but the warmth in your hearth that you helped them ease their pain will overtake and it will make you feel good.

-Do things that make you happy. If you don't have money to travel for example, don't complain. Work with what you have and choose something that you can currently do. Because if you start complaining that you don't have this and that, then that lack will keep reappearing.

-Every night analyze your day. Did you feel happy and optimistic more than 50% of the time? If not, what events happened during the day that triggered negative thoughts and emotions. Did you read/watch the news, did you watch something on TV, did you have negative experience on social media. Did you have negative interaction with someone? If any answer is yes, then the next day make changes. Avoid focusing on the news of the world, because the media only reports the negative events. That can trigger a false perception that the entire world is a very dark and violent place. If you find videos of happy events and world achievements, nature's beauty, miracles, etc then you will see the world in a different light. If you like social media, chose to watch videos that make you happy, anything about your hobbies, funny animals, and your feed will change. Don't get into arguments about politics, religion and other topics because no one can change the opinion of another. It's a complete waste of time and energy. Everyone must walk their path regardless if we think the paths are wrong. It's their lessons. We can only present our opinion once if anyone comes to us for guidance. If you have conflicts with other people, send them genuine love and forgive them regardless if they deserve it in your opinion or not. Ask to be released from their vicinity. Once your vibration starts to defer from theirs by you raising your love and light within, then naturally the circumstances will change and you will part ways. Life will attract more people that resonate with your own energy.

[Lumaza]

I am plague by having all kinds of negative thoughts and it seems that no matter what I do I cant be free of them I was wondering if anyone here goes through similar problems and what they have done to shield them self's from them ?

Admitting and recognizing that there is a problem is the first step to fixing a problem The next step is as Lightbeam and EV said here, changing your mindset. For when you change your mindset on something, you in turn are changing that reality or your reality on said circumstance or situation.  

We all have negative thoughts. You learn to realize them for what they are. When it becomes an issue though is when you either act on them or become fixated by them. Lightbeam and EV have given you some great insight on how to change your reality. Now it's up to you to apply to them!  

[Volgerle]

Currently I also work hard on this and am making progress. Stepping out of oneself, out of the anger, the fear, the self-pity, the being upset about things (personal and world events). It is difficult but the inner alarm clock of the inner (or outer) observer is working for me and the anger times are reduced now.

When "it" happens:

Breathe in. Breathe out. Stop All Thought-
Focus. On. The. Now.

It's work but it works. 

[Lumaza]

Currently I also work hard on this and am making progress. Stepping out of oneself, out of the anger, the fear, the self-pity, the being upset about things (personal and world events). It is difficult but the inner alarm clock of the inner (or outer) observer is working for me and the anger times are reduced now.

When "it" happens:

Breathe in. Breathe out. Stop All Thought-
Focus. On. The. Now.

It's work but it works. 

Almost every single person I know right now has some kind of stress in their lives. Moreso than usual! Why now? Most likely because we are going through a change. Remember, "from chaos comes order".

Volgerle, yes, the 10 second rule applies here too. Just taking those 10 seconds to calm and "re-center" yourself, is sometimes all it takes! 

[tides2dust]

One visualization technique I've always enjoyed is luring the negative thoughts in my translucent bubble. Once the shadow penetrates my atmosphere, it is consumed and transmuted into the ingredients that make up my bubble. They dissipate into nothing, or become my shapeshifting/reaching transparent shield. It's like flexing my wings.

I have also realized it is more so a childish mind that lashes out in negative thoughts- like automatically cussing out God when making the effort not to cuss out God. Have you ever been through something like this? You can fight it, and you can overcome it. You can also talk to it, and realize it is but a shallow thought- how often do we realize the foods we consume, the environment we find ourselves in, the external stimulus we're addicted to, the hormones our bodies are producing- all have something to do with our attitude?

Notice, acknowledge, and have patience- treat your self with kindness. Ask your self questions. You will craft your own resolve... It will happen, so long as you believe in your self.