What About Addictive Thinking?

by Margaret
(San Diego, CA, USA)

Can a person get rid of addictive, unhealthy thoughts by simply replacing them with healthier ones?

The main problem is that I do this negative thinking at night, and I punish others by thinking that they're going to have problems too.

Fortunately, those people don't live with me, but I don't like the fact that I'm thinking extremely mean, and evil thoughts.

Perhaps I need to get something else to occupy my mind, but the thinking at night is especially bad.

Why would I be so mean to these people in my mind? Why can't I let go of this negative thinking?

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You can't erase negative thoughts by replacing them with positive ones because the negative will simply resurface somewhere else.

It sounds like these people really have upset you and you feel powerless about not being able to do anything about it.

When you are busy during the day, you have other things to occupy your mind, so the obsessive thoughts will come in when you have 'down time' at night or in your dreams.

Don't be alarmed by them. Tell yourself that you can't change what has happened in the past, but you can change how you feel -- and these thoughts truly upset you. Don't put so much energy into the past.

Focus on the good things in your life today. Stay in the present and look toward the future. This will help break the obsessive thinking and enable you to move on.