How Do You Talk To Yourself?

Self-talk is the conversations you have with yourself. How do you talk to yourself when you’re running late? Or when you let a plate fall? Or if you dirty your clothes 5 minutes after putting clean clothes on? Are you being supportive or critical?

We can be so hypercritical of ourselves and can talk to ourselves with dislike, anger or even hatred. When we do something for so long, it becomes the norm, and we don’t realise we’re treating ourselves in a less than positive way.

Negative self–talk sounds something like this “I’ve never done it before” or “It’s too difficult”. When we talk positively to ourselves, we say things like “I can try to make it work” or “I’ll give it another try.”

Positive self-talk helps boost self-confidence, self-trust and self-esteem. It introduces optimistic thoughts that can help to counteract depression, anxiety and stress. It can make it easier to get things done each day. To train the mind to positive self-talk takes practice as attitudes and thoughts do not change overnight.

Pay attention to your thoughts for one week. Are you your own personal cheerleader, or are you constantly knocking yourself? If you catch yourself talking negatively to yourself, try to change it to something more positive. Be patient and compassionate with yourself as you re-train your mind to positive self-talk.

To find out more about positive thinking through journaling, meditation and yoga classes visit www.relaxfromstress.ie, contact Tracy on 086-2202734 or email tracy@relaxfromstress.ie.

Published in the Connaught Telegraph Newspaper on 6 Dec 2016