{"id":13298,"date":"2016-02-11T11:00:41","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T11:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=13298"},"modified":"2023-03-11T18:54:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T18:54:57","slug":"negative-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/negative-thoughts.htm","title":{"rendered":"Negative Thoughts – The Secret Cause of Your Low Self-Esteem?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"holiday

photos by David Garrison at Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s true we all experience negative thoughts when life gets challenging<\/a><\/span> and we feel overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the thoughts that do the most damage aren’t the big despairing ones. But the constant stream of negative thoughts you might be having on a daily basis without even realising it. <\/em><\/p>\n

Are negative thoughts really a big deal?<\/h2>\n

Constant negative thinking<\/a><\/span> can be so ingrained that we don’t even notice we are doing it, unless we take the time to listen through a practise like mindfulness<\/a><\/span>. Because we are used to negative thinking, it’s easy to assume it’s therefore benign. <\/strong><\/p>\n

But negative thinking leads to negative emotions, leads to negative choices in life (known as a negative thinking loop<\/a><\/span>). So the more negative your thoughts, the more likely it is you aren’t taking actions that lead to the life you actually want.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And negative thinking also leads to low moods and often depression<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

One of the main reasons for this is that negative thinking creates a perfect environment for low self-esteem<\/a><\/span> to flourish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Negative thinking patterns that damage your self-esteem<\/h2>\n

Once you start to listen to your thoughts, these are the most common esteem-lowering negative thoughts you will likely catch first:<\/p>\n