Mindfulness is a form of meditation that calls attention to the present moment – the smells, the sounds, body sensations, and your thoughts and emotions – and asks you to experience them without judgement. You don't try to fight your negative thoughts, but you do not engage them, either. You acknowledge their existence (try naming them – "anger," "fear," etc.) and try not to react or judge.  The benefits of mindfulness include reduced rumination (dwelling on negative thoughts), reduced stress, and improved cognitive flexibility, making it easier for you to break out of old thought patterns.  Mindfulness will help you focus less on the "what-if's" of the future and "should-haves" of the past, and instead engage you in the present moment so you can fully participate in your life. Your negative thoughts may fill you with such anxiety that you walk around with your body tensed and don't even realize it. Learning to relax your muscles will help you feel the difference between your relaxed muscle and tense muscle, which can help you identify when you are becoming anxious and tense during the day. Progressive muscle relaxation can help you lower overall tension and stress, improve sleep, and reduce stomachaches and headaches related to anxiety. You can change your physical and emotional response to stress by practicing focused breathing. This is an easy technique for adults and kids alike, and can take as little as six seconds to halt your stress response.  When you begin to feel stressed, start by closing your eyes and relaxing your shoulders.  Imagine holes in the bottoms of your feet. Take a deep breath in and imagine hot air entering your body through the holes and flowing upwards to fill your lungs. Relax each muscle as you imagine the air passing through – your calves, thighs, stomach, etc.  Exhale and reverse the visualization, imagining the air flowing back out of your body and exiting through the holes in your feet. This can be an especially effective short-term tactic if your negative thoughts are related to loneliness.  Researchers have found that physical warmth can help serve as a substitute for emotional warmth.  Don't let warm drinks become a substitute for human interaction, but if you need a quick pick-me-up a cup of tea might be quite helpful. When you experience fear, stress, or negative thoughts, return to method one and do the work in your thought diary. Identify the unhelpful thinking style, test the verity of the thought, and challenge what it's telling you. Negative thoughts don't just stop – everyone has them, and you can't control what might randomly pop into your head. But addressing and challenging these thoughts, as well as practicing mindfulness and other coping strategies, will allow you to see that they are just thoughts, not truths, and dismiss them so you can go about your day.
تدرب على التيقظ. جرب استرخاء العضلات المستمر. استخدم أساليب التنفس العميق لمواجهة التوتر. تناول مشروباً دافئاً. استخدم ما تعلمتَه.