9 Powerful Ways To Stop Toxic Thoughts In Their Tracks

Are you in control of your thoughts or are they in control of you? It can often feel like you aren’t in control of your thoughts, and they come and go as they please. But you have the power to stop toxic thoughts and decide which ones you allow into your mind and which ones you don’t. 

When you have toxic thoughts, you feel bad. You are stressed, anxious, depressed, and worried. This isn’t an enjoyable place to be. You may not even be aware of why you are feeling this way.

The information that you take into your mind is powerful and choosing different thoughts means having a different experience. 

When you choose thoughts that feel good, you feel good. Things in your life flow better. You are more confident, energized and enjoy your life more. This is why’s it’s very important to clear away toxic thoughts when they come up.

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9 Powerful Ways to Stop Toxic Thoughts in Their Tracks

1. Recognize When You Are Having Them 

The first thing to do is to become aware of when you are having toxic thoughts. If you aren’t aware, then you can’t stop them. 

Be very interested in how you feel and what you are thinking during your day. Notice the thoughts that enter your mind.  

Try keeping a journal for a couple of days and record the thoughts that you are having throughout your day. Do this for a few days to get a really good idea of what you are thinking.  

Often, you have no idea what you are actually thinking as you are so used to the same thoughts entering your mind on autopilot. These thoughts are likely the same thoughts you had yesterday and the day before. They feel normal to you, and they may not even feel toxic if you’ve had them for a while.  

Also, notice if you can see a pattern in the types of thoughts you are having. If you see a pattern of negative thoughts, then it’s a good idea to work on clearing those ones.

2. Feel Your Thoughts & Then Release Them 

Feeling your unwanted, negative emotions can be difficult. But it is what you must do if you want to release them from your body. If you never feel them, they will stay stuck within you. Recognize them, feel them, and then release them as a way of healing them.

You don’t need to stay stuck in your emotions, just notice what they are here to show you. Do they have a message for you?  

Once you feel like you’ve got all the information you need out of them and you’ve felt them, then let them go. Send them into white, healing light to be healed. Allow them to leave your mind and your body.

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3. Replace Toxic Thoughts with Empowering Ones 

After you’ve gone through the steps of recognizing your toxic emotions, feeling them, and then releasing them, it’s time to replace them with more positive thoughts. Now that the thought is out of your body and mind there is room to put in new more empowering thoughts. You likely didn’t have room before if you were mainly focused on your negative thoughts. 

Ask yourself, “what kind of thoughts can you replace them with that feel good?” You want your mind to believe what you are telling it and not immediately dismiss it. So, make sure that it’s a level or two up from your previous thoughts and not 10 levels higher. 

For example, if you are feeling depressed, you likely won’t be telling yourself that you are elated. But you might go up to feeling neutral or content. 

Begin to say that thought from now on. Anytime you notice new toxic thoughts popping up, go through these steps again: recognize, feel, release. Then replace them with something more positive. 

4. Stop Toxic Thoughts in Their Tracks 

If you’ve already recognized, felt, and released your toxic thoughts yet they are popping back up, you can move on to the next step of stopping them in their tracks. Your mind is used to one way of thinking and it’s not always easy to change it overnight. It’s important to be aware of what you are thinking so that you can stop it. 

This isn’t as easy as it sounds but it can be done with some effort. Now that you’ve become aware of the thoughts you are thinking you can change them. You couldn’t change them before when you weren’t aware of what they were. 

As soon as you notice a negative thought, stop it and replace it with a more positive one. It’s important to do this before it gets too much momentum. The more momentum it has, the harder it will be to stop. 

You can also do a pattern interrupt if you notice that you are having negative thoughts. A pattern interrupt is something that immediately changes where your thoughts are going so that they can’t keep going down a toxic route.

A great pattern interrupt is to say “STOP” or “CHANGE” whenever you catch yourself having toxic thoughts. This will stop them immediately in their tracks and change your energy. 

5. Figure Out Why You Are Having Toxic Thoughts & Take Action to Change Them 

Your toxic thoughts are coming up for a reason and usually, there is something deeper going on. If you don’t acknowledge them or figure out why you may be having them then it will be harder to get rid of them. Understanding why something is happening is one of the best ways to heal it. If you don’t know, then you don’t know what to heal. 

For example, if you are having negative thoughts about finding a partner and feel like you’ll be alone forever, it’s worth it to look at your self-worth. How much do you value yourself? If you are having a hard time loving yourself, then that reflection will be coming back to you from the outside world.

6. Meditate to Stop Toxic Thoughts

Meditation allows you to move through your emotions in a safe way. When you meditate, you release what isn’t serving you and make space for new, more empowering thoughts.  

Meditation clears your mind and raises your vibration. When you are tense, you are more likely to have toxic thoughts. Meditation helps you to relax and see things from a different perspective. 

My favorite meditation program is iAwake. Click HERE to get 6 Free Tracks.

7. Do a Journaling Brain Dump 

Your head may be full of toxic thoughts with nowhere to go. If they keep piling up and you don’t release them, then they will be your default thoughts that you always go to. This is because you don’t have room to find a more empowering thought.  

This is where a brain dump comes in. A brain dump is essentially journaling out all your thoughts onto paper. Literally put everything that is on your mind on the paper, no matter how bad it may feel to write it. This helps you to release everything and pull it out of your head.  

Try it once every day for a week and notice how you feel. You should feel much lighter and freer. You will also feel more in control of your thoughts, instead of letting them control you.

8. Live in the Present (Vs. the Past or Future) 

When you feel depressed it is because you are focused on something in the past. When you feel anxious, it is because you are worried about something in the future. However, if you are in the present moment, you aren’t feeling those negative emotions. You are in the here and now and likely not feeling regret or worried about what will happen. 

If you can, try to bring yourself to the present moment whenever you notice toxic thoughts start to show themselves. Ask yourself, “are you in the present, or are you focused on the past or future?” Focus on what is happening around you in your now moment and notice if you feel better when bringing yourself back to the present moment.

9. Be Compassionate with Yourself 

If you are having toxic thoughts, the most important thing is to be compassionate with yourself. You are doing the best you can and sometimes it takes a bit of effort to shift your mind. However, it can be done.  

Loving yourself through this process will help you to shift your mindset and clear your negative thoughts. Judging yourself or your thoughts will only make it worse, and it will be harder to change. Do your best to see your thoughts as messengers and not as something that is wrong with you. 

By noticing when you are having negative thoughts and then practicing to stop your toxic thoughts a little at a time, you will start to clear them out of your head. This is one of the best things you can do to feel happier and more empowered each day. 

~Meghan