Tuning Your Brain to Peace and Positivity

Finding peace and positivity is essential to combatting triggers and distressing thoughts throughout mental health and addiction recovery. Many people with a substance use disorder (SUD) or mental illness might have an overly pessimistic view of themselves and the world around them. A positive frame of mind can help you continue with your recovery after leaving rehab in Hawaii and can pull you out of the challenges along the road ahead.

You might engage in negative self-talk, which could hold you back from achieving your goals in recovery. Many people struggle with automatic negative thoughts that appear beyond their control. You can change your negative self-talk with some of the techniques used in neurolinguistic programming (NLP). 

By changing how you speak to yourself, you can use your inner voice to lift you instead of pulling you back down in negative thoughts. You can become your own cheerleader throughout your recovery and while facing any challenges in your life.

Changing negative self-talk is one of the most critical aspects of NLP. You can start to change negative self-talk to foster inner peace and positivity with the following tips:

Actively listen for your self-talk to become aware of the types of thoughts you have, especially when you are doing something new or challenging. Awareness of your inner voice is the first step to making changes. Listen for specifics, like what is being said and the tone of your inner voice.

When you hear negative self-talk, start to change this inner voice to diminish the impact. For example, if you hear an inner critic telling you that you can’t do something, change the tone to a higher pitch, like a cartoon character or lower the volume of these negative messages.

Once you listen for your self-talk, you might notice repetitive phrases and themes. Write down some of the most common negative messages you hear in your own head.

When you hear recurrent negativity, change these messages into positive statements that empower you in your recovery. Often, negative self-talk is a voice that seems to be outside of yourself, saying “you” instead of “I.” Change the negative messages to uplifting “I” statements. For example:

When negative self-talk begins, actively replace the old phrases for your new ones. Repeat positive messages to yourself when you are going through something challenging to encourage yourself.

Mindfulness and meditation can also help you find inner peace. When your mind is racing and fighting negative thoughts, you could experience anxiety or feel overwhelmed. Sometimes, you might remain frozen in action due to the noise in your own head. When you try to fight all these thoughts, you reinforce the negativity. Instead, you can use mindfulness to acknowledge your thoughts and let them pass by.

Finding something to direct your focus is the cornerstone of mindfulness activities. During meditation, you can focus on your breath, concentrating on taking full, deep breaths and exhaling completely. When negative thoughts come up, you don’t try to fight them. Instead, you acknowledge their existence without judgment and return to focusing on your breathing. 

The purpose behind mindfulness is to allow your thoughts to exist while redirecting your focus to the present moment. You can get out of your own head by staying present when negative thinking disrupts inner peace and positivity. Mental health and substance use disorders can change how your brain thinks. Mindfulness and meditation can help you restructure your thought processes throughout your recovery.

Not everything in life will be positive, and sometimes, you need to acknowledge negative emotions to grow and change for the better. When you always try to put a positive spin on everything, you could be in danger of toxic positivity. Attempting to shade everything with rose-colored lenses can lead you back to unhealthy behaviors.

The negative emotional consequences of mental health disorders and addiction help you learn what behaviors aren’t helpful to your health and well-being. When you try to rewrite the history of your past behaviors by making them positive no matter what, you might start to think that things weren’t so bad during your struggles. 

Finding balance is crucial throughout your recovery. You want to encourage yourself while also being realistic about the pain you are leaving behind by moving forward in recovery.

Finding inner peace and positivity during your recovery can help you overcome the challenges you face throughout treatment and life. Fostering a positive state of mind begins with awareness of your thought patterns. You might have a negative inner voice that you can change to a positive one by taking control of your self-talk. You can also use mindfulness and meditation to simply acknowledge negative or distressing thoughts while letting them go as you return your focus back to the present moment. Sometimes, you might be tempted to put a positive spin on everything. It is essential to be careful not to change the past or diminish the negative impact of unhealthy behaviors. If you are struggling in your recovery after rehab in Hawaii, you could benefit from additional supports and services to regain the positive momentum you need to thrive. Call Hawaii Island Recovery today at (866) 390-5070 to learn more.