What are the five types of negative self talk?

Some common forms of negative self-talk include: Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all the positive ones, Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself, Catastrophizing, Blaming, Saying you “should” do something, Magnifying, Perfectionism, Polarizing

5 Strategies for Challenging Negative Self-Talk and Building Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is our sense of worth and value. It is the foundation of who we are and how we think, feel, and act. Learning how to challenge and reduce negative self-talk is a powerful tool for improving self-esteem. Here are 5 effective strategies that you can use to challenge and reduce negative self-talk and build a stronger sense of self-esteem:

1. Identify Your Negative Self-Talk.

The first step in reducing negative self-talk is to simply become aware of what it is. As you go through your day, try to become aware of the thoughts and judgments you make about yourself. Whenever you catch yourself having a negative thought about yourself, jot it down and start to pay attention to these negative thoughts and their impact on your self-esteem.

2. Assess Your Negative Self-Talk.

Once you’ve identified the negative self-talk, assess what it is that you’re saying to yourself. Are you saying something completely untrue? Are you exaggerating the situation? Are you putting yourself down or not giving yourself credit for any successes? Challenge your negative thoughts and bring into question whether they are founded or not.

3. Exercise Self Compassion.

Now that you’ve identified and questioned your negative self-talk, it’s time to start replacing it with kinder and more realistic thoughts about yourself. Instead of judging yourself harshly and criticize yourself for mistakes, be gentle and understanding towards yourself. Remind yourself that it is okay to make mistakes and that you are still a valuable person even if you make mistakes.

4. Change Your Perspective.

Another strategy for challenging your negative self-talk is to challenge and question your perspective on the situation. Instead of looking at the situation through a critical lens and judging yourself, try to consider the situation objectively. Ask yourself questions such as: what could I learn from this experience? What was a positive thing that came out of it?

5. Take Positive Action.

The last step is to take some positive action. Identify small, achievable goals that you can work towards that will make you feel better about yourself. This could be anything from going for a short walk to writing in a journal about things that you are proud of about yourself. Taking small steps towards improving your self-esteem can help to reduce your negative self-talk and boost your confidence and self-esteem.

Next Steps

Once you have familiarized yourself with these 5 strategies you may want to take additional steps to further your understanding of the topic. Here are some steps for further exploration: