09 Dec 5 Self-Reflection Questions to Bolster Your Mental Health
Happiness and good mental health isn’t always having all the answers.
More often than not, it’s having good questions …
via Psychology Today by Alice Boyes
KEY POINTS
- When people feel down or weary, they often start to think negatively.
- To combat our natural tendency to think more negatively when feeling flat, try some question prompts to think more positively.
- One prompt to help you think more positively is, When have you observed the best aspects of humanity lately?
Source: Xan Griffin/Unsplash
When people feel down or weary, they often start to think negatively. This sets off a spiral. You feel worse and then behave in ways that create a further downward trajectory. For example, if you feel lonely, you’re more likely to expect social rejection or hostility and therefore insulate yourself from others. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy and more loneliness.
To combat our natural tendency to think more negatively when we’re feeling flat, you can use question prompts to think in more positive ways that support your mental health. Try the following options. (Note: These questions aim to avoid toxic positivity, like falsely believing only positive things will happen to you, or vacuous positive affirmations, like “I’m perfect.”)
If any of these questions don’t appeal, skip them. I encourage you to answer the questions that naturally interest you. If you find that these questions backfire and only make you think opposite and negative thoughts, that may be a sign you need to do more extensive work on your mood.
1. What have you done lately that worked out much better than anticipated?
You can think small for this and be specific. For example, I recently bought silicone baking cups for muffins. I’ve made banana chocolate chip muffins weekly for years but using paper cups that stick badly. I didn’t expect the silicone baking cups to work so flawlessly and couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to try them.
By coming up with specific examples, this question will help you get out of the habit of anticipating only negative experiences.
2. Who have you thought fondly about that would probably enjoy hearing from you?
Research shows that people underestimate how much people they know (including only causally) would enjoy hearing from them. If you’ve thought about a fond memory, you shared with someone, or you’ve been wondering about someone you lost touch with, get back in contact.
If you’re unsure about whether the person will want to hear from you, the research evidence is that they probably will!
For example, a few months ago, I gave a talk to a city government in Colorado. Just last week, I watched a travel video on that city that had been newly released by a YouTuber I subscribe to. I wondered if my contact within that city government had seen it. I could reach out to her to share it…
… keep reading the full & original article HERE