rewire brain for positive thinking

[SirCanSir]

There are people who get caught up in it and continuously have surgeries because they are never satisfied with how they look since they're so focused on negatives.

I definitely dont agree with that behavior, but anything you take too far can be unhealthy. Too much focus on the negatives is unhealthy on its own. Anyway, im not interested in monitoring what people do with their bodies, i used plastic surgery as an example of an option available. If used properly it can add to the benefits of having a better looking body. But i agree its better if used in moderation. Lets not get stuck to what can go wrong with it since that is a separate topic.

 

[Mind Maverick]

I definitely dont agree with that behavior, but anything you take too far can be unhealthy. Too much focus on the negatives is unhealthy on its own. Anyway, im not interested in monitoring what people do with their bodies, i used plastic surgery as an example of an option available. If used properly it can add to the benefits of having a better looking body. But i agree its better if used in moderation. Lets not get stuck to what can go wrong with it since that is a separate topic.

Exactly, the bolded...and that's what the OP stuff is trying to remedy.

 

[SirCanSir]

Exactly, the bolded...and that's what the OP stuff is trying to remedy.

So you view plastic surgery as an unhealthy option because some people may take it too far ? I dont think that everyone with an negative focus would abuse that specific option. It seems like a more subjective preference than that. Thats why i still consider it to be a viable option.
Or is your intention here to highlight the danger? Because like i said i agree with that.

 

[Mind Maverick]

So you view plastic surgery as an unhealthy option because some people may take it too far ? I dont think that anyone with an negative focus would abuse that specific option. It seems like a more subjective preference than that. Thats why i still consider it to be a viable option. Or is your intention here to highlight the danger? Because like i said i agree with that.

No. I haven't addressed the plastic surgery topic because it's a different one. I'm basically just trying to centralize the focus onto the original post's meaning because I keep seeing the conversation veer off-topic a bit.

 

[agentwashington]

Sometimes it must be forced if retraining the brain; not because it's inauthentic, but because some people haven't developed the habit of paying attention to what there is to be grateful for and they habitually focus on the negative right away. The "force" involved only comes from shifting what your focus is on if they think of things they're genuinely grateful for. They're basically just changing their habits.

I guess that's true, it's not like I'm grateful for every single thing that I should be grateful for.

 

[Mole]

We live in an authoritarian society based on authority, which by necessity suppresses feeling. At the same time we are waking up to our feelings, we are woke.

We want authority to listen to our feelings, but they can't listen to our feelings or even their own, so we go a little crazy, we become narcissistic, we blame the authority, and God help us, we even take authority to Court.

Perhaps the hardest thing we have to do is to simply leave authority, and build a reasonable world based on evidence, where our feelings can find free and safe expression.

 

[Tomb1]

suppose its like moddin' an engine

 

[Mole]

We seek free and safe expression of our feelings by asking authority to listen to our feelings, and also we seek free and safe expression of our feelings by liberating ourselves from self destructive behaviours.

We can be lucky with authority, and we may find an authority who will listen to our feelings, usually a psychotherapist or a social worker. Unfortunately we usually go to the wrong authority to listen to our feelings.

We can also start on the path of liberating ourselves from self destructive behaviours. And the less self destructive we become, the more able we are to express our feelings freely and safely.

 

[Mole]

There are no wires in our brain, so re-wiring our brain is simply a metaphor.

And we ask of a metaphor that first it suspends our disbelief, then it gives us a new perception.

 

[LillyRoar]

I mean, I would love to help science along. I will try this experiment on my extremely pessimistic, critical martyr of a “friend”. I’ll get back with the results if I can make him do it.

 

[Lady_X]

man i feel like if i could literally have a month of shadowing someone and having them say out loud every negative thought and let me help them reframe it or give them my positive thoughts in the same moment with them so that they could contrast their experience with mine that it would/ could potentially help them learn to rewire their thoughts.

i have had the desire to do this already. i live with an infp who, imo could use it.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

EMDR can help re-wire the brain towards peace and positivity.

Negative self-talk can be a protective strategy so one isn't blindsided by insults and verbal bullying from people who have relational significance. If you beat them to the punch and show you already 'own it', it can be oddly empowering. I think this is an important consideration to change the negative self-talk because it needs to be replaced with talk that doesn't leave one feeling vulnerable. I've worked on this in my life - it's that feeling of 'well I may be funny looking but I'm not too stupid to know it". Self talking into thinking you are attractive to be later shot down to feel ugly and 'stupid' can feel like too much.

I think it helps to have positive self-talk that cuts through all that and focuses on intrinsic acceptance. "I'm worthwhile in the world whether I'm beautiful or ugly. Appearance doesn't define my value" type of approach.

 

[The Cat]

Way best to rebrain for sopitive wire thinki...?...not with hammer.

 

[Maou]

It actually does work, but it is far more complicated than doing therapy exercises and requires extreme introspection and self awareness, more than it does a routine. The most effective way that I found that works, is internalization. Similar to how you learn to lucid dream over the years, you can use the same techniques to change your thinking patterns and "internalize" positivity. If it doesn't work, it is because the person themselves deny/reject that way of thinking/positivity. Exercises are meaningless, unless you actually see the value in them. You cannot go into the exercises thinking it will help you just by diligently doing what you are told. You need to understand the concept behind them. Coincidentally, people try to learn lucid dreaming and fail the same exact way. These repetitive exercises... end up failing at learning to lucid dream.

For example, you want to stop calling yourself stupid. You cannot just keep reminding yourself that you are smart, you are smart, you are smart etc. How do you internalize the idea of being smart? You must try to have faith in yourself. You become what you think. So when you find yourself doubting yourself, when you find yourself being made fun of, when you find yourself struggling with an intellectual problem. You simply change your thoughts from something like "I am stupid" to something like "I will get it eventually. I will figure it out. I will be able to do something about this." This type of thinking is building potentialin your thought process. Your brain will wire itself around improvement, and not be static black(negative) or white(positive). Your mind builds up walls and cages for its thoughts. You are the jailer, and the prisoner. To internalize positivity, is to internalize the potential to change yourself, simply by thinking you are capable of change.

 

[Alice Unchained]

This is the greatest bs psychology can come up with. I hope it doesn't work. Negativism and dissatisfaction are caused by actual life situations as a drive towards chance. By trying to re-wire your brain without doing anything about your situation, you ignore reality. The world is a terrible place and as a product of it, you are not designed to be happy and in peace most of the time. Only people in truly horrible situations (struggling with diseases, wars, etc.) should be using these techniques, not a bunch of spoiled, overweight, self-absorbed, bored brats. (Not implying that people here are such but people who resort to such self-help strategies generally are.)

Jung was warning us some 60 years ago against the danger of adopting Eastern philosophy in the West. Eastern philosophy is meant for people who lead a completely different lifestyle, who don't indulge but devote to selflessness as a means to see things as they are. They are not supposed to re-wire to make themselves happy but the happiness comes from the discovery of finding oneself as a part of the Universe. They commit to sacrifices.

If one needs to remind themselves how much better they have it in comparison with the children of Yemen or children with rare diseases that die in their teens, never able to experience anything but pain and dissatisfaction, or Jews in the concentration camps, I find it hard to sympathize. May be such person just have to know that they are an idiot to do something about it.

 

[Luminous]

This is the greatest bs psychology can come up with. I hope it doesn't work. Negativism and dissatisfaction are caused by actual life situations as a drive towards chance. By trying to re-wire your brain without doing anything about your situation, you ignore reality. The world is a terrible place and as a product of it, you are not designed to be happy and in peace most of the time. Only people in truly horrible situations (struggling with diseases, wars, etc.) should be using these techniques, not a bunch of spoiled, overweight, self-absorbed, bored brats. (Not implying that people here are such but people who resort to such self-help strategies generally are.)

Jung was warning us some 60 years ago against the danger of adopting Eastern philosophy in the West. Eastern philosophy is meant for people who lead a completely different lifestyle, who don't indulge but devote to selflessness as a means to see things as they are. They are not supposed to re-wire to make themselves happy but the happiness comes from the discovery of finding oneself as a part of the Universe. They commit to sacrifices.

If one needs to remind themselves how much better they have it in comparison with the children of Yemen or children with rare diseases that die in their teens, never able to experience anything but pain and dissatisfaction, or Jews in the concentration camps, I find it hard to sympathize. May be such person just have to know that they are an idiot to do something about it.

Depression, anxiety, ocd, etc are mental illnesses. Not reflections of reality.

 

[Hermit of the Forest]

Does anyone know if there is any validity to the claim that if you do an exercise wherein you write down three things for which you are grategful/three positive things about your life, for 21 days, that it will "rewire" your thinking from positive to negative?

I saw this in an instagram and wondered if there was anything to it or if it was an invention of social media.

Focusing more on the good things in one’s live rather than bad can be helpful in breaking the down spiraling of anxiety. I don’t know that it will rewrite your brain, but it might lean to a more comfortable mental state.

 

[RadicalDoubt]

This is the greatest bs psychology can come up with. I hope it doesn't work. Negativism and dissatisfaction are caused by actual life situations as a drive towards chance. By trying to re-wire your brain without doing anything about your situation, you ignore reality. The world is a terrible place and as a product of it, you are not designed to be happy and in peace most of the time. Only people in truly horrible situations (struggling with diseases, wars, etc.) should be using these techniques, not a bunch of spoiled, overweight, self-absorbed, bored brats. (Not implying that people here are such but people who resort to such self-help strategies generally are.)

Jung was warning us some 60 years ago against the danger of adopting Eastern philosophy in the West. Eastern philosophy is meant for people who lead a completely different lifestyle, who don't indulge but devote to selflessness as a means to see things as they are. They are not supposed to re-wire to make themselves happy but the happiness comes from the discovery of finding oneself as a part of the Universe. They commit to sacrifices.

If one needs to remind themselves how much better they have it in comparison with the children of Yemen or children with rare diseases that die in their teens, never able to experience anything but pain and dissatisfaction, or Jews in the concentration camps, I find it hard to sympathize. May be such person just have to know that they are an idiot to do something about it.

I get where you're coming from here, but I think there's a stark difference between learning to see the positives that do exist in life and ignoring any sort of dissatisfaction that comes your way and being blatantly satisfied with something that is unsatisfactory. A person who lives a relatively satisfactory life and can handle their problems consistently to a reasonable degree is not going to be drawn to such a technique because they don't need it. Some people are quicker to overwhelm, some people possess mental illness, some people find themselves so cynical and angry with the world that it is that dissatisfaction that they literally cannot act. To be frank, lots of people are incredibly self absorbed and unwilling to take responsibility for their own problems, telling them that doesn't actually change anything, especially if they are that self absorbed. As basal or silly as those without those particular issues might see it, those are real issues that "rewiring the brain" to be more attentive to the positive can benefit from. Looking outwards can probably even help the self absorbed be a little less self absorbed and maybe can help those that are so filled with negativity reduce their load so that they can act and begin to work on their life further.

I agree that people should be more grateful of what they have, especially compared to those in dire straits and there are self absorbed individuals that need to learn to deal with problems in life as they come rather than waiting for someone to solve it for them, but even philosophers haven't agreed on the appropriate way to live ones life or whether or the appropriate way to derive happiness. Over focusing on the extremes of suffering also tends to be dangerous in it's own light, causing people to minimize their own suffering and, again, not deal with their problems. Comparing to negatives helps figure out what problems are relevant and what to act on, looking at the positives in life helps bring worth to life and provide incentive for moving forward so that you can handle those problems, calling either technique useless to anyone who is not in dire straights doesn't make sense.

 

[Tomb1]

This is the greatest bs psychology can come up with. I hope it doesn't work.

if you believe it is all bs, then you don't have to "hope it doesn't work." its not supposed to work if its "the greatest bs..."

Negativism and dissatisfaction are caused by actual life situations as a drive towards chance.

whether true or not (i don't think it is but for the sake of argument), the above is not mutually exclusive with "rewiring brain for positive thinking"

By trying to re-wire your brain without doing anything about your situation, you ignore reality.

That is a mischaracterization (strawman) of the position that you are attempting to argue against.

nobody said anything about ignoring reality or that positive thinking coincides with doing nothing about "your situation."

application is a different topic.

The world is a terrible place and as a product of it, you are not designed to be happy and in peace most of the time.

This sounds like a projection of your worldview.

Only people in truly horrible situations (struggling with diseases, wars, etc.) should be using these techniques, not a bunch of spoiled, overweight, self-absorbed, bored brats.

Wait, i thought these 'techniques' were the "greatest bs psychology could come up with." if its bs the "techniques" cannot be utilized by anybody

(Not implying that people here are such but people who resort to such self-help strategies generally are.)

This is a statement of broad conclusion. Please provide facts, data, studies in support thereof.

Jung was warning us some 60 years ago against the danger of adopting Eastern philosophy in the West.

I'd ask for you to provide the quote, but I think its a moot issue given that eastern philosophy is wholly unrelated to the topic

Eastern philosophy is meant for people who lead a completely different lifestyle, who don't indulge but devote to selflessness as a means to see things as they are.

Assuming that Eastern philosophy was not a red herring (it is), the above is an Ad Hominem.

They are not supposed to re-wire to make themselves happy but the happiness comes from the discovery of finding oneself as a part of the Universe. They commit to sacrifices.

Assuming that Eastern Philosophy was not a red herring (it is), this is an oversimplification.

You have to remember that Eastern philosophy encompasses many different and competing ideas/systems of belief.

If one needs to remind themselves how much better they have it in comparison with the children of Yemen or children with rare diseases that die in their teens, never able to experience anything but pain and dissatisfaction, or Jews in the concentration camps, I find it hard to sympathize.

That is a mischaracterization (strawman) of the position that you are attempting to argue against.

May be such person just have to know that they are an idiot to do something about it.

Ad Hominem

 

[ceecee]

This is the greatest bs psychology can come up with. I hope it doesn't work. Negativism and dissatisfaction are caused by actual life situations as a drive towards chance. By trying to re-wire your brain without doing anything about your situation, you ignore reality. The world is a terrible place and as a product of it, you are not designed to be happy and in peace most of the time. Only people in truly horrible situations (struggling with diseases, wars, etc.) should be using these techniques, not a bunch of spoiled, overweight, self-absorbed, bored brats. (Not implying that people here are such but people who resort to such self-help strategies generally are.)

Jung was warning us some 60 years ago against the danger of adopting Eastern philosophy in the West. Eastern philosophy is meant for people who lead a completely different lifestyle, who don't indulge but devote to selflessness as a means to see things as they are. They are not supposed to re-wire to make themselves happy but the happiness comes from the discovery of finding oneself as a part of the Universe. They commit to sacrifices.

If one needs to remind themselves how much better they have it in comparison with the children of Yemen or children with rare diseases that die in their teens, never able to experience anything but pain and dissatisfaction, or Jews in the concentration camps, I find it hard to sympathize. May be such person just have to know that they are an idiot to do something about it.

So your philosophy is - why bother? No reason to even think about being the change you want to see. Cool.