Using Positive Self-talk to Keep Your Stress in Check

By Julie McCormick, Co-Owner | April 23, 2019 | Comments Off on Using Positive Self-talk to Keep Your Stress in Check

Think about how you feel when other people say mean things to you. It’s stressful and you might feel pretty bad for a while. But when the person saying mean things to you is you, that’s even more stressful.

 

Senior Care in Manassas City VA: Positive Self-Talk

Senior Care in Manassas City VA: Positive Self-Talk

 

What Is Positive Self-talk?

Self-talk is how you talk to yourself and what you say. You might not even realize that you talk to yourself, but the running stream of thoughts that go through your head is basically you talking to yourself. If those thoughts are primarily negative toward yourself, such as criticisms of what you’re doing, that’s going to contribute to making you feel bad about yourself. When you switch that stream of self-talk to more positive versions, you can benefit greatly.

 

Use Your Name When You Talk to Yourself

When you think about yourself, you likely use words like “I” or “me” to refer to yourself. That’s not wrong, but it can contribute to your negative self-talk. Using your name when you talk to yourself can help you to step back from the situation a little bit. When you have a little more space, you might be able to be more supportive of yourself. Pretend you’re talking to your best friend.

 

Interrupt the Negative Thought

Start interrupting negative thoughts as soon as you notice them. When you first start doing this, you might find you’ve already had the full thought. The more you start to pay attention you might find you’re noticing these thoughts sooner and sooner. That is a good thing. Eventually, you’ll be able to catch yourself at the very beginning of a negative thought.

 

Neutralize the Language

It’s not unusual when you’re using negative self-talk to choose words that are extremely negative. You might say you’re the worst caregiver or that you hate when you do something in particular. You might not be able to switch the word “hate” to “love” immediately, but you can take it to a more neutral spot. Instead of saying you hate when you do something, say that you don’t like it. Instead of calling yourself the worst caregiver ever, tell yourself that tomorrow is a new day.

 

Make the Situation a Creative Challenge

This is going to feel weird for you at first. You’re changing something that you were doing without thought and now you’re making a conscious effort to do something different. This is a challenge, definitely, but you are up for it.

There’s a lot that goes into helping yourself to stay positive as a caregiver. If you need some time to find ways to change your self-talk patterns, consider hiring elderly care providers to take over for you. They can focus on the daily tasks that can take up so much of your energy, while you focus on you for a little while.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Senior Care in Manassas City, VA, please contact the caring staff at LivinRite Home Care. Call Us Today at (703) 634-9991.

Julie McCormick, Co-Owner
Latest posts by Julie McCormick, Co-Owner (see all)
Posted in Home Health Care in Manassas City VA, Senior Care in Manassas City VA and tagged ,