If you are struggling with substance use disorder, you have probably heard about negative thinking and how it can prevent recovery. Recovery professionals often identify negative thinking as a component of substance use disorder, preventing recovery and sobriety.
But what are negative thinking patterns? Everyone feels negative at times, especially during difficult periods in life. How does perpetual negative thinking contribute to substance use disorder? Read on to learn more about the dangerous nature of negative thinking in substance use disorder, and how changing thinking patterns can support sober living.
Table of Contents
- What Causes Negative Thinking Patterns?
- Why Negative Thoughts Keep Coming Back
- 4 Strategies for Breaking Negative Thinking Patterns
- Changing Thinking Patterns: Investing in Yourself
- Persistent Negative Thinking: When To Seek Professional Help
What Causes Negative Thinking Patterns?
Life is hard, and everyone can fall into a negative mindset at times.
However, negative thinking patterns are more complex and pervasive than an occasional bad mood. Negative thinking patterns are recurring, automatic thoughts of pessimism, self-loathing, and catastrophizing that distort reality. What causes negative thinking patterns varies from person to person, but they are usually rooted in trauma and low self-esteem.
Negative thinking patterns create a self-perpetuating cycle and can be very hard to break out of on your own. Negative thinking or “stinking thinking” is associated with substance use disorders because it generates the false belief that nothing is ever going to get better, so why bother trying? This kind of thought pattern can keep you in a place of substance dependence. That is why changing thought patterns is such an important step in recovery.
Common Types of Negative Thinking
The first step to breaking negative thinking patterns is identifying them. Each person has a unique pattern of thinking, but there are several common types that can perpetuate substance use disorder and prevent people from seeking recovery. Here are a few common types of negative thinking:
- Catastrophizing: Assuming that every mistake or slip-up will result in the worst possible outcome. In recovery, this can mean assuming a relapse is the end of the road to sobriety.
- Labeling: Negative self-talk that labels you as only your mistakes, as opposed to a whole person capable of redemption. Examples include calling yourself a junkie, a loser, a waste, etc.
- All-or-nothing thinking: Recovery from substance use requires seeing the world in shades of grey, not just black-and-white. All-or-nothing thinking tells you that if you mess up, you are ruined forever.
- Personalization of situations outside of your control: A common negative thinking pattern is the assumption that all bad things happening are your fault. such as a family breakdown or layoff from your job. Breaking this pattern of negative thinking is crucial to success, as you need to identify what is inside your sphere of control and what is not.
- Seeing the future: Negative thought patterns can make you believe that you can see the future, and that it must be bad. This is an offshoot of catastrophizing, and can negatively impact recovery from substance use because it perpetuates the cycle – if you assume that you cannot get better, then you won’t. You have to break the negative thinking patterns by acknowledging that you do not know the future or what will happen.
- Ignoring the positive: Negative thinking patterns tell you that the positive doesn’t matter as much as the negative. This discounts all progress being made and anything that stands up against the negative thinking patterns.
The Impact on Mental and Physical Health
Negative thinking patterns are often poor coping mechanisms developed early in life and carried into adulthood. These thinking patterns may once have been in place to shield you, but now can create and perpetuate negative impacts on your mental and physical health, such as:
- Raising stress levels
- Perpetuating the cycle of substance use by increasing defenses against sobriety
- Impacting sleep and the ability to rest
- Increasing symptoms of depression and hopelessness
Why Negative Thoughts Keep Coming Back
If you could simply wish away negative thinking patterns, it wouldn’t be a problem! The truth is that breaking negative thinking patterns, especially in the throes of substance use disorder, can be very difficult and often requires the help of a certified therapist or counselor.
Negative thinking patterns in substance use disorder are perpetuated by a complex cycle of cognitive habits that build neural pathways over time. The inherently negative cycle of substance use only adds to negative thinking patterns.
Changing negative thought patterns is a critical component of substance use recovery and sober living. That’s why Recovery Cove offers mental health services in addition to substance use treatment – this two-pronged approach treats not only the physical aspects of substance use disorder but the underlying negative thinking patterns that make sobriety difficult. By treating both, Recovery Cove can give you or a loved one a real shot at a clean, sober life.
Can the Negative Thinking Cycle Be Broken?
Yes! Negative thinking cycles may feel permanent and inescapable, but they are not. With the proper emotional tools, you can escape negative thinking. Many people find professional therapy to be extremely beneficial in recovering from negative thinking cycles, as therapists are trained to point out thinking fallacies and patterns that you may be unaware of.
4 Strategies for Breaking Negative Thinking Patterns
#1: Mindfulness & Self-Awarenes
A key component of breaking negative thinking patterns is practicing mindfulness and self-awareness. Here are some examples of using mindfulness to combat negative thinking:
- Journaling thoughts and being able to review patterns
- Noticing and identifying negative thinking, without judgement or anger
- Using mindfulness techniques like meditation and breathing exercises
#2: Building Support Systems
Having a strong social support system is critical to substance abuse recovery. Social circles also assist in changing thinking patterns by:
- Talking to trusted friends and family members
- Feeling safe and supported while trying to change thinking patterns
Seeking therapy or sobriety support groups like the kind offered at Recovery Cove
#3: Daily Habits & Goal-Setting
Negative thought patterns tell you what you cannot do. Breaking these thought patterns can be accomplished by setting achievable goals and scheduled habits, such as:
- Setting regular, achievable goals
- Making cleaning or self-care schedules and sticking to them
- Acknowledging and celebrating progress
- Dedicating time to positive social support
#4: Cognitive Behavior Techniques
If you are struggling with negative thinking patterns that you cannot break out of, it may be time to look into CBT therapy, aka Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Working with a licensed therapist, CBT therapy helps:
- Challenge distorted thoughts in a safe place
- Gently identify fallacies in thinking
- Suggest tools for combating negative thought patterns
If you are overwhelmed by negative thinking, getting sober can feel impossible. That’s why it is so helpful for people to seek a substance abuse recovery center with mental health services like Recovery Cove Center in Easton, PA.
Changing Thinking Patterns: Investing in Yourself
Changing a negative thinking pattern can take time. Remember to be patient and kind with yourself, and trust the process. Consistent, sustainable change is incremental.
If you are struggling with changing your thinking patterns, consider trying some small positive steps such as:
- Creating healthy daily rituals, like morning gratitude journals, meditation, and exercise
- Setting up schedules for things like chores and sticking to them
- Reframing setbacks as opportunities for growth
- Reaching out to your social network for support
Persistent Negative Thinking: When To Seek Professional Help
How do you break negative thought patterns? You ask for help.
If you are ready to start a new chapter of your life, free from substance use disorder and negative thought patterns, it may be time to reach out for help.
Take the Next Step Toward a Healthier Mind at Recovery Cove in Easton, PA
There is nothing stronger than asking for help when you need it. Most people think they can “tough it out” on their own, but that kind of isolationist thinking only contributes to self-blame and negative thought patterns.
If you are ready to be free from substance abuse and the accompanying negative thinking spiral, reach out to Recovery Cove today. We offer individual therapy, group therapy, outpatient therapy, and behavioral health treatment to help you get on the path to a happier, brighter tomorrow.
The content in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
