Do you feel that negative thoughts often overwhelm you? Not knowing how to release negativity can end up causing you to feel trapped, leading to decreased mental health and an inability to perform everyday tasks. In excess, this negativity can also be dangerous to your physical health.
Negative thoughts can crowd your mind during tough times and tire you out. So how can you get rid of these terrible emotional states and finally find the happiness you deserve? Here are three ways to release negativity and be happy again.
1 – Release Negativity By Getting Rid Of Things That Bring You Down
There are a lot of things that can affect everyday mood and bring you down. Unfortunately, most people choose to ignore or bear with these things, not feeling interested in taking the initiative to reduce their severity proactively. In a world filled with things outside your control, why aren’t you taking steps to control what you can – especially if those things bring you down?
Release negativity by releasing these bad things in your life. On top of that, taking the first step to take your world into your own hands can be a powerful way to reclaim your life. This can further help you to release negativity as you rediscover your capabilities, strength, and potential. Here are some ways that you can get rid of what brings you down:
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Clear Clutter to Release Negativity
One of the most poetic ways to release negativity is by clearing clutter. As you tidy up a messy space, you’ll also feel your mind begin to clear up. For example, have you ever noticed that entering an overly cluttered room can make you feel exhausted? By making your living and working environments a little bit clearer, you’ll be able to improve your well-being, according to studies.
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Cut Out Toxic People
Toxic relationships can be an incredible drain on your life. If there are people who always make you feel fatigued, bring down your mood, and make you feel awful, you can release negativity by cutting them loose. Your dynamics with friends, family, and loved ones should be stable, positive, and enjoyable instead of stressful and barely tolerable. Unfortunately, negative people also tend to rub off on you, causing you to become more harmful to match their energy.
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Determine And Remove Tolerations
As their name suggests, tolerations are things that you merely tolerate in life. Some tolerations are harmless, but many add little stress to your everyday experience. Unfortunately, these things add up, and multiple minor tolerations can cause heaping negativity on you. Some may even be the straws that break the camel’s back!
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Drop Toxic, Negative Thoughts From Your Self-Talk
There are all sorts of ways that you perpetuate your negative thinking. You may constantly judge others or complain nonstop. You may have a strong inner critic who continually talks down on you. Maybe you diminish your successes, amplify your flaws, and even resent others because of your insecurity. When you commit to improving how you think of yourself, your life, and others, you drop the most toxic elements of day-to-day negativity to be free and happy.
2 – Practice Relaxing Techniques and Routines That Release Negativity
It can seem somewhat cliche to practice standard techniques for relaxation, but there’s a reason that they’re common – they work well for releasing negativity! They’re not cure-alls, but they can help to take the edge off your worst emotional states. Here are some techniques to try and use so you can see what works for you:
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Breathing Techniques to Release Negativity
There are loads of breathing techniques that you can use to relieve stress. A lot of them center around the idea of imagining that you release negativity with each exhalation. You can find many examples of breathing exercises online, including those based on yoga practices and those commonly used by those with anxiety. Even just stopping to breathe in general during a stressful time can release negativity!
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Release Negativity By Establishing Positive Morning Routines
Starting the day right can set the tone for yourself and the rest of the day. You can release negativity from the previous day and remind yourself that today is a brand new day. Get a filling, nourishing breakfast, make some time for some exercise, do something you love, dress up nicely, or listen to good music to get yourself going. If doing chores in the morning tends to stress you out, do them the night before so you can start each day on the right foot.
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Mindfulness Can Overcome Negative Thoughts
Mindfulness means living in the present moment by fully experiencing it in its entirety. You do this by engaging your senses to notice and appreciate all the little details in the world around you, including the things you interact with daily. In addition, it allows you to get deeper in touch with yourself during different emotional states, teaching you to be a nonjudgmental witness to your feelings instead of a thrall of them. Research shows that this can help to improve mental health – and physical health, too!
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Get Moving
People often discount the effectiveness of exercise on overall happiness and the release of negativity. Moving your body to get your heart rate up can burn off stress effectively and help relieve tension. Again, it’s not a cure-all, but it can certainly help! You can go for a walk, turn on some music and dance, do yoga, hit the gym, or go out to do some gardening. If it gets you moving, it’ll get the job done.
3 – Actively Seek Out Good Things to Displace Your Negative Thoughts
Our brains naturally notice negative thoughts and things first and foremost. It’s easy to pick out everything wrong instead of seeing the good things. Most people take good things for granted and don’t notice them, so they fade into the background, and you don’t notice them until they’re gone. And that’s quite a shame, as these things can greatly increase your happiness!
If you’re looking to release negativity, looking for good things is a great way to start. It replaces negative thoughts with positive ones! This doesn’t mean forcing toxic positivity – it means not wasting your energy on excessive pessimism to the point that you lose sight of the good parts of reality. Here are some tips for actively seeking out good things in life:
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Point Out Lessons
There isn’t a single moment of life that you can’t use as a teachable moment. Sure, you probably don’t want lectures all the time, but in tough times, you can release negativity by turning that negativity into something to learn from. Ask yourself what you can learn from each situation. How can you prepare for or avoid this in the future? What can you do differently? How can you help the situation now? If you can’t help the situation, how can you allow yourself to feel better?
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Fill Your Life With Positive People
You can always count on a sound support system to uplift you or be there for you when the going gets tough. When you’re having trouble finding positivity in your life, the people who love and care about you can help you to release negativity. Whether they offer you a listening ear, show you the good side of life, or make you feel less alone, having a secure and positive social circle is an incredible tool for happiness.
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Find The Silver Lining
You can overturn negative thoughts by seeking out even the smallest silver linings. This gives you something to hold onto that keeps you going, like a small beacon in an otherwise dark world. It’s nice to know that, even in your worst moments, there is a little silver lining – and this is a reality you can always rely on if you need it.Â
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Use Positive Affirmations
Using repetitive phrases and mantras to psych yourself up and get yourself in the right headspace can initially seem silly. But positive affirmations are research-backed ways to improve happiness and release negativity. You can make them as straightforward or as complex as you like, as long as they’re in the present tense and inspire you. For example, you can say, “I am a confident and capable person,” or “I find happiness in the world around me.”Â
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Use Humor
In difficult times, humor can be an effective coping mechanism, and studies show that it can reduce stress levels when used mindfully. In addition, it can help you better process negative emotions, and laughing can release negativity and tension quickly.Â
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Express Gratitude
Verbalizing the positive things around you is a positive way to internalize happiness. Studies show that the more you practice and express gratitude, the easier it will be for you to find more reasons to be grateful. Start by expressing appreciation for those you love and thank the people who do things for you every day, even if you’re paying them – baristas, servers, and cashiers, for example. You can also keep a gratitude journal where you list things you’re grateful for daily – a common means of improving positive thinking!
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Create Positivity
If you have trouble finding positivity in the world around you, you can release negativity by creating it yourself. For example, do random acts of kindness, put on music or shows that make you happy, and engage in hobbies you love. The more opportunities you create for positive moments, the happier you’ll be.
Final Thoughts On Some Ways To Release Negativity And Be Happy Again
Everyone deals with negativity sometimes. However, knowing how to manage these experiences in a healthy, positive, and realistic way is essential to your overall well-being. So get rid of what brings you down, practice calming techniques, and seek positivity in the world around you to bring yourself back up again!
If you need help releasing negativity and negative thoughts, don’t be afraid to seek help from counselors, therapists, or other mental health professionals. They can teach you great techniques that will help to encourage positive thinking, allowing you to find happiness once more. There is no shame in needing this additional perspective; you deserve to be happy.
