Always thinking of your imperfections?

總是糾結於自己的不完美？

Constantly thinking something will go wrong?

一直覺得事情進展會不如預期？

That no one loves you?

認為世界上沒有人愛你？

Losing your mind over criticism?

總在批評聲浪中失去鬥志？

Spending hours telling yourself how worthless you are?

花上數個小時數落自己？

And comparing your life to others?

喜歡與他人比較？

Are you missing out on opportunities due to your pessimistic thoughts?

因為負面想法所以常常錯失機會？

Is your life spiraling down, due to this?

你的人生因此跌落谷底？

Well, I, too, have been there.

其實我也曾是如此。

Since I was about nine years old, all I could think about was bad things and it eventually became a habit of mine.

從我 9 歲開始，我能想到的都是負面的事物，而最終這成為了一個習慣。

Each morning, before school, I would get killer cramps, diarrhea, and, sometimes even vomited before the school bus came to pick me up.

每天上學前，我總是會出現嚴重肌肉抽搐、腹瀉，有時還會伴隨著嘔吐。

My body reacted to my never-ending negative thoughts and I eventually developed irritable bowel syndrome.

我的身體因為我無止盡的負面想法最終導致我患上大腸激躁症。

So, I am here to tell you my tips and tricks that I used to overcome this bad habit of mine.

所以我現在要來教你一些幫助我克服這個壞毛病的一些小秘訣。

I would like to explain, from a psychology point of view, how negative thinking effects you.

我想試著以心理學的角度來說明負面想法對你造成的影響。

When you think pessimistically all the time, your brain slow down and decreases activity in the cerebellum.

當你負面思考時，這會使你的大腦變得比較遲緩，進而降低你小腦的運作。

When the cerebellum slows down, you will have difficulties solving problems.

如果小腦運作不活躍時，你的處事能力就會下降。

Another area that becomes affected is the frontal lobe, because it decides what is important according to what you pay most attention to.

另一個會受影響的是前額葉，因為它是決定要將你的注意力聚焦在何處的部位。

Therefore, more neurons will be created to support your negativity.

因此，當你很負面時，前額葉就會使多數的神經元專注在其之上。

The thalamus also perceives your negative thinking.

此外，你的丘腦也會接收到你的負面想法。

The problem is that the thalamus can't differentiate negative thoughts from danger, increasing your blood pressure and affecting your mood.

問題在於你的丘腦沒有辨別好與壞的能力，因此它會使你的血壓升高且會影響你的情緒。

When stress is produced from overthinking it can increase your chances to develop mental illnesses, like depression, anxiety, and personality disorders.

當壓力成為你過度思考下的產物時，可能會使你更容易患上憂鬱症、焦慮症與人格障礙。

Not only that, but it can also affect our health in ways such as headaches, digestive problems, weight gain, muscle and jaw tension, decreased sex drive, back pain, fatigue, lowering the immune system, and affecting blood sugar.

不僅如此，它還會導致我們有頭痛、消化不良、體重下降、肌肉緊繃、性慾減少、背疼、疲倦、免疫系統功能下降和血糖問題等等。

But don't worry, thankfully, the brain has the capacity to rewire through training.

但別擔心！謝天謝地，你的大腦是可以通過訓練改善其問題的。

This can be done by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

只要讓正面思考取代悲觀想法就可以了。

This is easier said than done.

但說來容易，做起來難。

It will take practice, and lots of patience to control your pessimistic thinking.

這會耗費許多時間與耐心來控制你的悲觀想法。

Here are my tips and tricks that I used.

以下是我所使用的小秘訣。

Notice your body language.

留意你的肢體語言。

Are you grinding your teeth?

你在磨牙嗎？

Are your muscles and shoulders tense?

你的筋肉和肩膀很緊繃嗎？

Do you have back and neck pain?

你有背痛和頸痛的困擾嗎？

Are your hands relaxed or in a fist?

你總是緊握著拳頭嗎？

Are you frowning?

你眉頭緊皺嗎？

This is important, because your body can tell you a lot about your mental state.

這個很重要，因為你的肢體語言會顯示出你的心理狀態。

Relax your body, and then you can calm your mind.

放鬆身體你就可以冷靜下來。

Use affirmations.

使用肯定句。

Affirmations are statements that you tell yourself to motivate, and influence your mind and body.

肯定句是用來激勵你，而後對你的思想與身體產生正面影響。

I tell myself affirmations everyday.

我每天以此激勵自己。

You can look these up online, or buy a daily affirmation book and read one, repeating it throughout the day.

你可以上網搜尋，亦或是購買一本心靈小品，從早到晚重複其句子。

Examples of these are：

以下是幾個範例：

"I am filled with positive thoughts."

「我的生活充斥著正能量。」

"I welcome positivity in my life."

「我接受正能量進入我的人生。」

"Today is a new day, a new opportunity."

「今天是嶄新的一天；充滿著無限的希望。」

"I forgive myself for past mistakes."

「我原諒過去自己所犯的錯。」

Mindfulness.

正念。

Be conscience of your thoughts. Witness them, and give them names, or physical appearances—then say "no."

留意你的想法，正視它，給它起個名字或是將其擬人化，而後對它說「不」。

And let them go.

勇敢放手。

This trick helped my immensely because I could identify negative thoughts through observation.

這個方法效果極佳，因為我能從觀察中察覺到哪些是負面的想法。

I noticed how they were making me feel, and by giving them names, I was able to let them go.

我意識到它們會影響我的情緒，將其命名後我就可以勇敢地放棄這些想法。

Know your triggers.

瞭解會觸發你情緒的人事物。

Pay attention to what affects your thinking.

留意哪些是會影響你情緒的東西。

Could it be a past situation?

有可能是你的過去發生的事嗎？

Could it be toxic people putting bad things in your mind?

也許是那些讓你陷入泥沼的人？

Is it a current situation?

是你現在的處境嗎？

A bad relationship?

是一段糟糕的關係嗎？

I personally sat down and wrote everything I believed to trigger my negativity.

我個人的做法是靜下心坐下來寫下那些會影響我的人事物。

And then did something about it.

進而想一些對策。

For example: I was surrounded by people who did no good to my thinking, so I stayed away from them.

舉例來說，我周遭的人對我的思想毫無幫助，因此我選擇遠離他們。

Distract yourself.

分散注意力。

Watch a movie.

欣賞一部電影。

Play a video game.

打打電玩。

Watch funny videos.

看搞笑影片。

Go on a hike.

出門走走。

Do your favorite hobby, or draw.

做一些你有興趣的事，或是畫畫也行。

Basically, anything that entertains you.

反正就是可以使你心情愉悅的任何事物。

I love Netflix, and to color while I listen to music.

我很愛看 Netflix，或是在聽音樂時塗鴉，

The purpose of this is to quiet your mind for awhile, until you relax, and are able to handle your thinking better.

這麽做的目的就是使你靜下心，這樣你就可以更好的掌控你的思緒。

Find a trustful person.

找一個值得信任的人。

It can be a friend, partner, parent, teacher, or counselor.

可以是朋友、伴侶、家人、老師或是諮商師。

Anyone who is willing to listen to you and give you their point of view.

任何一個願意傾聽和給予意見的人都行。

I personally have three trustful friends, who I can tell what's on my mind, and they can help me think more positively because they are seeing my situation from a different point of view.

我有 3 位可以吐露心聲的知心好友，他們的觀點能夠引導我回到正向思考的軌道上。

Exercise.

運動。

You may hear this all the time, but honestly, this has helped diminish my negative thoughts.

你可能時常聽到這點，但老實說這的確有幫助我消除負面思考。

When you exercise, you release endorphins, which are chemicals that energize you, and moderate your bad thoughts.

當你在運動時，你體內會釋放內啡肽，這是一種使你充滿精力的化學物質，它將會緩和你的負面想法。

I go on a walk, and jog early in the morning.

我每天早上都會出去散散步。

This boosts me to start my day with a positive mind.

這讓我得以美好地開始新的一天。

Daily journal.

日記。

I have a journal where I write anything positive that I did during the day.

我有一本寫滿正面話語的日記。

It doesn't matter if you had a bad day, just find one thing.

不論你那一天有多糟糕，至少寫下一件好事。

For example: eating a healthy meal.

像是吃了一頓健康餐。

The purpose of this is to train your mind to find positivity in the negative.

這是要訓練你在不論多糟糕的處境中都能找出其中的好。

Not only that, but when you were down, look at your journal and see how far you have come.

不僅如此，當你很沮喪時你就可以打開你的日記看看你的成長。

I sometimes even draw in my journal to help bring good thoughts.

有時我甚至會在我的日記中作畫，這可以帶來正面的效果。

Self-talk using a mirror.

跟鏡中的自己談話。

This one may be silly.

這可能聽起來很蠢。

But thanks to it, I have the confidence to overcome stressful thoughts.

但因為如此，我才有自信戰勝那些壓迫著我的想法。

I look at myself in the mirror, and tell myself good things like : "I am beautiful." or "It will all be okay."

我會看著鏡中的自己，然後說說正面的話語，例如：「我今天很美麗」或是 「一切都會沒事的」。

I find it powerful to look myself in the eyes and have a good talk.

我發現自我談話是很有幫助的。

Be aware of misreading.

不要過度詮釋。

Misreading any situation could provoke negative thoughts.

過度解釋事物很有可能造成悲觀想法油然而生。

For example : if you call a friend and they haven't called back, don't draw conclusions.

舉例來說，如果你的朋友沒有回電給你，不要輕易下結論。

It could be that they are busy, or simply not in the mood to talk at that time.

他們很可能在忙，或是他們正在經歷一些低潮期所以沒心情。

I learned this the hard way.

我是經歷慘痛的教訓才了解這點的。

In the majority of the time, I created situations in my mind that were distorted.

大多數的時候，我總是會曲解事物。

Don't apply your perspectives to someone else.

不要把你的想法加諸在他人身上。

This one is very important.

這點很重要。

Each of us has different perspectives and ways of handling situations.

每個人都有不同的觀點和解決事情的方法。

For example : If you think "Why did they say that? That's something I wouldn't have said.", you will only bring negativity to your thoughts.

比如說你在腦海中想著「為什麼他要說那種話？如果是我，我就不會這樣。」這種想法只會讓你變得悲觀。

So if you can change this, you will be able to relax more.

所以如果你能改變這點，你就能變得更輕鬆。

Well, I hope this tips can helped you as much as they've helped me.

那麼我希望這些小秘訣能夠對你有幫助。

Keep in mind that your thinking won't change quickly.

記住，要改變你的思考方式不容易。

It will take time and discipline.

這會花上一段時間，而你也必須持之以恆。

If you feel like your mental health is getting worse due to negative thoughts, then maybe a counselor or therapist can help you as well.

如果你覺得你的心理狀況越來越糟，也許你可以找諮商師或是治療師談談。

Happy thinking.

保持樂觀！