By Dr. Michael Quartararo, The Wellness Doc

There is no mistake, positive thoughts create positive things. The mind body connection is powerful and we try to teach our patients to use that to improve thier health and lead them toward healthy lifestyle choices.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Self-talk is the endless stream of thoughts that run through your head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information. If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist -- someone who practices positive thinking.

Living longer and happier through positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

Decreased negative stress
Greater resistance to catching the common cold
A sense of well-being and improved health
Reduced risk of coronary artery disease
Easier breathing if you have certain lung diseases, such as emphysema
Improved coping ability for women with high-risk pregnancies
Better coping skills during hardships
You can learn positive thinking

Instead of giving in to these kinds of negative self-talk, weed out misconceptions and irrational thinking and then challenge them with rational, positive thoughts. When you do this, your self-talk will gradually become realistic and self-affirming -- you engage in positive thinking. You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it takes time and practice -- you are creating a new habit, after all.
Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else.

Examples of typical negative self-talk and how you might apply a positive thinking twist include:

Negative self-talk                                      Positive spin

I've never done it before.                           It's an opportunity to learn something new.

It's too complicated.                                  I'll tackle it from a different angle.

I don't have the resources.                         Necessity is the mother of invention.

There's not enough time.                           Let's re-evaluate some priorities.

There's no way it will work.                         I can try to make it work.

It's too radical a change.                             Let's take a chance.

No one bothers to communicate with me.     I'll see if I can open the channels of communication.


Have fun being more positive, you will feel and function better.  For more information go to aacfamilywellness.com