Stop Spiraling Negative Thoughts

Ways to stop an anxiety spiral.

- Himshikha Shukla

Anxiety is a reaction designed to protect you from threats. It can make you more alert and focused. But when you're anxious, decisions will often be limited to 'fight-flight-freeze' reactions. Your vision narrows and you lose access to the more creative parts of your brain. In addition, your breathing might become shallow.

Anxious moments happen to everyone. But they don't have to take over. Having strategies to calm yourself down and re-center can make all the difference, whether you're dealing with an anxiety disorder or an extra-stressful time in life. The problem isn’t that something made you feel bad for a little bit of time, but that it isn’t healthy to have it impact your entire day, or have it cause a domino effect of negative thoughts that aren’t related at all.

When you catastrophize, you actually do two things: first, you predict the worst possible outcome; second, you assume that if this outcome transpires, you won’t be able to cope and it will be an absolute disaster. And, as anyone who’s ever let a simple rejection letter give way to thoughts about not being good enough in general knows, it’s easy to fall into this spiral.

What to do when you start the spiral?

Ready to learn how to stop negative thinking from ruining your day? Here’s a few suggestions based on research to calm anxiety:

Recognize it: