How to Transform High-Functioning Anxiety by Reframing Negative Thoughts

“Have you ever found yourself spiraling into a vortex of negative thoughts? Maybe you’re stuck in traffic and suddenly your mind is racing with all the things that could go wrong today. Yep, been there, done that. And guess what? We can change that narrative.” ~Dr. Lisa Hartwell

Aloha and welcome,

Do you personally catch and manage negative thoughts? If not, this episode of Anxiety Ease is tailor-made for you.

We’ll delve into reframing and catching negative thoughts with practical steps to help you navigate the complexities of high-functioning anxiety and discover a calmer, more positive mindset.

Changing your mental narrative is like building a muscle. It takes practice and patience but with these tools, taming that vortex of negative thoughts is possible.

Happy Reframing!
Dr. Hartwell

Episode Links:

Stop the Insomnia! Here's it is: Sleep Without Overthinking: A Professional’s 3-Step Mini-Guide to Sleep and Success (even) with High Functioning Anxiety. It includes a training video, guided imagery meditation, and easy tracker system to help you eliminate overthinking. It's time to finally enjoy the peaceful slumber you deserve. Let's unlock the secret to stop the mind chatter as soon as your head hits the pillow. Click here to purchase for only $9 introductory price.

Get your copy of Dr. Hartwell's new book, Cultivating Professional Success: Even When High Functioning Anxiety Drives You To The Edge at www.drlisahartwell.com

Enroll in my FREE Hartwell Anxiety Assessment: www.hartwellanxietyassessment.com

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Transcript

Episode 58: 
How to Transform High-Functioning Anxiety by Reframing Negative Thoughts

Have you ever found yourself spiraling into a vortex of negative thoughts? Maybe you're stuck in traffic and suddenly your mind's racing with all the things that could go wrong today. Yep, been there, done that. And guess what? We can change that narrative. Aloha, and welcome. You're listening to the anxiety ease podcast and I'm your host, Dr. Lisa Hartwell. I'm a Hawaii licensed clinical psychologist, anxiety coach, and retreat facilitator. In this podcast season, I'm going to be sharing mine and other human stories lessons for my fellow brain nerds who love science like I do in our own life's journey to live life with more ease.

Aloha. Hello, my fellow high achievers. I wanted to let you know that I created a really fun little easy three step process for you to help you have better sleep. Success quieting your busy mind at night. Stop that overthinking the minute your head hits the pillow. And I totally get it. And waking up the next day refreshed and ready to go and not feeling so exhausted and possibly not necessarily needing three or four cups of coffee to even get you going in the morning. But a concept, right? So I have a three step process that I walk folks through, and I wanted to create something that was very simple three step mini guide for you, and I'm going to put the link in the show notes for you.

But I honestly, I price it less than a cup of coffee. So, you know, let's walk you through and learn how to reset a new mindset about how to think about sleep. And I included a restful resilience meditation for you, as well as a very easy process that I use of bullet journaling. That's really going to teach you very quickly how to sleep better and get to the core very quickly about why you're not sleeping. This usually takes about an average of three days with my clients that I work with, but I give you about seven days to really work through this process. Go ahead and click on the link in the show notes and happy sleeping. Hey there, lovely listeners. Welcome back to another episode of Anxiety Ease podcast show.

This is where we dive deep into the world of high functioning anxiety and personal growth and professional growth. I'm your host, Dr. Lisa Hartwell, and today we're going to chat about something truly transformative, again, reframing our thinking. And trust me, this is truly a game changer. So let's kick things off today with a question. Have you ever found yourself spiraling into a vortex of negative thoughts? Maybe you're stuck in traffic and suddenly your mind's racing with all the things that could go wrong today. Yep, been there, done that. And guess what? We can change that narrative. We have lots of traffic in Honolulu.

People don't think that. They think we're sitting on the beach all day enjoying the trade winds under the palm trees. But we have lots of traffic here and lots of stress and anxiety as a result of that. But here's what I want you to do. I want you to picture this. Your mind is like a garden. Every single thought is a seed. Some seeds grow into beautiful flowers, while others, well, they kind of turn into pesky weeds.

The trick is to nurture the flowers, and, you guessed it, weed out the negative thoughts. That's where reframing comes in. Reframing is all about shifting your perspective. I want you to imagine you're wearing a pair of glasses that makes everything look dark and gloomy. Now, what if you could swap out those glasses for ones that show the world in vibrant, beautiful colors? That's the power of reframing in an instant. So let me break it down a little bit with a story, and I'm sure this sounds familiar to you, too. You know, a few years ago, I was working on a big project. I was actually writing my book.

I poured my heart and soul into it. And when I presented it, at first, the feedback was, you know, a little less than stellar. And I was really intent on making it better than my last couple books. And my first reaction was, huh? I don't know, do I melt down or do I just figure out what to do from there? Or do I jump back into it and say, never mind. But what was happening was the feedback was from somebody who I respected and someone who wanted to make it better with me. And I never felt like a failure. I never felt like I wasn't going to get it right. It just felt like it was daunting to try and go back to the drawing board.

But I kind of took a step back and decided to reframe the situation. And I didn't really see it as a failure. I always look at these things as a learning opportunity, and what could I improve? How can I make this better to really get what's in my head onto paper and so I can actually help more people? That's really what I was grounded and anchored in. And you know what? That simple shift in perspective changed everything. I was able to kind of just sit up in here and what were the next steps that need to make this book better? So how do you even do this? How do you start reframing your thoughts, because I kind of go through the same process every single time I catch myself starting to spiral. And the first one I always talk about is just really catching those negative thoughts, becoming aware of those pesky negative thoughts as a way. Kind of like catching a fly in your house. You can't swat it if you don't see it, right? You have to catch it.

The second one is question your thoughts. So ask yourself, is this thought really true? Is there another way to look at this? You know, often we find that our negative thoughts are based on assumptions, not facts. So it's always important to question your thoughts. And then if it is or isn't, then if it's not helpful, replace with positive alternatives. Once you've caught the thought and question the negative thought, it's time to replace it. So instead of thinking, oh, I can't handle this, I've tried and I've tried and I've faced challenges before, but you know what? I can come out stronger. I can do this. And then finally, practicing gratitude.

And I know it sounds cliche, but it definitely works wonders when you start practicing gratitude and weaving that into your every single day, multiple times a day, if possible. When you're grateful, it's kind of like adding sunshine to your garden. It helps the flowers of positive thoughts bloom. So let's. Let's think about this for a little bit. Imagine your negative thoughts are those annoying pop up ads on the Internet. You wouldn't sit there and read them right. You'd close them quickly and move on.

I kind of want you to do the same thing the next time a negative thought pops up. Pops up. Just mentally hit that close button and shift your focus quickly to something positive. I always talk about, it's, you have to be careful what you're reinforcing in our brains, because that rewiring will take place subconsciously if you're spending too much time on one thing. So the idea with negative pop ups is you want to close it quickly and move on. Close it quickly and move on. And remember, though, that reframing is really a practice. It's like building a muscle, a new habit.

The more you do it, the stronger it gets. Some days are just going to be easier than others, and that's okay. You do have to be gentle on yourself and hopefully with others. And one of the things I'd like to do before I kind of wrap up today is I want to leave you with a little bit of a challenge. Over the next week, try to catch and reframe at least one negative thought each day. Just start small and then write it down if it helps. You don't have to be fancy. You can put it in your phone on a notepad.

I have not notes that I have in my written daytimer for my scheduling. And then on the flip side, don't forget to celebrate your progress, no matter how small. Even catching a negative thought is progress, and I hope you find these kind of simple tips helpful. Uh, it's a little bit easier sometimes to shift things when you're just taking little, small bites of things to to move that needle. And if you're feeling inspired just to start reframing your thoughts, it's a great place to start. And I just always want you to remember that you do have the power to change your narrative and create a calmer life with ease. And again, just as a reminder, if you enjoy these episodes, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone you know who might need a little extra encouragement today as well. And sometimes I always find it's good to partner with people when you're trying to change habits.

So maybe you could find an accountability buddy and and just keep each other in check and say, hey, maybe we could reframe that negative thought. How can I help you do that? Sometimes that's a little bit easier. And as always, feel free to reach out anytime with questions or share your own stories of reframing because I love hearing from you folks. Until next time, keep tending to your mental garden and remember, you got this. Okay, that's a wrap for this week. The Anxiety Ease podcast is produced by myself and the music is provided by Pixabay. For more episodes or to get in touch anytime, you can visit my website, www.drlisahartwell.com. and if you do like the show, please leave us a review on iTunes.

It really helps us out a lot of lot. Also, if you want to see where you fall in the continuum of your high functioning anxiety, head on over to the link that's found in the show notes www.hartwellanxietyassessment.com.