Circle Activity for Negative Thoughts
Do you often find yourself trapped inside your own negative thoughts? Are these thoughts often negative thoughts towards you? Often times, a person may be trapped inside negative thoughts, whether putting themselves down due to past experience, hearing voices of those who have hurt them in their conscious, or putting themselves down to build someone else up. When we fall into these patterns, it is hard to see how negative thought have infiltrated into your mind. The Circle Activity for negative thoughts will help you learn how to identify these negative thoughts and how to reframe them into positive thinking.
CIRCLE ACTIVITY
First, draw a big circle on a sheet of paper. Next, draw a horizontal line separating the top and bottom of the circle. On the top of the circle, write down all of the positive words or phrases that come to mind when you are thinking of yourself or what other people have described you as, such as determined, hilarious, considerate, and/or anything else that comes to mind. After you have spent some time on the positive thoughts and phrases, then use the bottom half of the circle to write about the negative words and phrases that you can recall. Again, keep in mind your past, as well as your present experiences. Make sure you include words that reflect the negative words that you have called yourself, as well as phrases you have been called by others, such as “not smart”, “unattractive”, and/or “not worthy”. Write down words that first come to mind.
Reflection
When you finish writing in the circle, I want you to think about how you felt while doing this exercise. How did it feel to recall the positive words and the memories associated with them? What about the negatives? Read each word or phrase individually on the paper. What feelings are you evoking as you come across each one? Then take note of where each of these words came from? Are they words you have been called by someone else? How is your relationship with that person? Is the word attached to a specific experience or memory? What does this trigger for you? Are any of these words created by you? Far too often, negative words or phrases are used internally to define ourselves in an effort to put ourselves down. Take account all of your feelings during this exercise.
Reframing
After you have spent time reflecting on the activity, first look at the positive words you have used to describe yourself and see if you can reframe them into negative phrases. After doing so, reframe the negative half of the circle. For each word on the list, try to find the positive reframe of the same word. For example, if you put that you are a workaholic, you can reframe that to passionate and dedicated to your career. If you say that you are stupid, try and think about why you called yourself that. Are you “stupid” because someone made fun of you for not knowing about a certain topic? Give yourself permission to gain knowledge on that topic by reading up and learning about it. You are not stupid, you just were not aware, and now you will be. Every negative word can be reframed with patience and the dedication to work on loving yourself.
Did you find it easier to reframe the positive or the negative words and thoughts? Some people have an easier time seeing the glass half full, while others see it as half-empty. It is important to frame yourself in a way that gives you permission to grow and make mistakes, such as the aforementioned example of giving yourself the ability to learn new things instead of calling yourself stupid for not being aware.
What does it all mean?
The purpose of this exercise is to help you understand your thoughts and feelings about yourself. With continued use of this activity, you will get you into the habit of using positive self-talk instead of putting yourself down. Remember that conditioning yourself to not only identify yourself in a positive manner, but also believing it takes time, so make sure after doing this activity, you enlist in a close friends family members to help you reframe your list when you get stuck. Having a support system to guide you into decreasing your negative thoughts is crucial, and at The Center for Growth, we offer support groups and individual therapy, which both focus on giving yourself permission to love who you are, and help you on your journey.
You can self schedule an in-person or virtual therapy session at the Center for Growth by calling (215) 922- LOVE (5683) x 100.
Our Guarantee: If after your first session you are not sold that you are working with the right therapist, do not hesitate to call our intake line at 215 922 5683 x 100 or Alex at (267) 324-9564 and ask to be rescheduled with another therapist. The choice of how you want to proceed is yours. Our only goal is to support you in becoming the best you possible.
For your convenience, we have brick and mortar offices and work with clients virtually in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Physical Therapy Office Locations:
Ocean City Therapy Office 360 West Ave, Floor 1, Ocean City, NJ 08226
Mechanicsville Therapy Office 9044 Mann Drive, Mechanicsville Virginia, 23116
Society Hill Therapy Office 233 S. 6th Street, C-33, Philadelphia PA 19106
Art Museum / Fairmount Therapy Office 2401 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 1a2, Philadelphia PA 19130
Providence Therapy Office 173 Waterman St. Providence, RI 02906
Fayetteville Therapy Office 101 Devant Street #606, Fayetteville GA 30214
Santa Fe Therapy Office, 2204 B Brothers Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505
Telemedicine Therapy Locations: We have therapists who are licensed to work in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia and Pennsylvania
Therapy Services Offered in Fayetteville, Ocean City, Mechanicsville, Philadelphia, Providence, Santa Fe:
Individual Counseling and therapy
Couples Counseling and marriage counseling
Teen Therapy and Adolescent Therapy and tweens and child counseling
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Art Therapy and Counseling no art skills needed
ADHD Therapy and ADD, Dyslexia, Autism, Tourettes counseling
Anxiety, Panic, OCD Therapy and worry and fear support
Breaking the cycle of Codependency and being your own person
Overcoming Chronic Illness and Chronic Pain .
Depression Therapy and sadness, gloom, and upset support
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Therapy is a particular style of therapy designed for people with problems affecting their nervous system, how the brain and body send and receive signals.
Grief Therapy and loss, End of A Relationship, rejections, pregnancy and loss and therapy
Mindfulness Based Therapy and spirituality based therapy
Narcissistic Abuse Recovery child of, parent of, spouse of, sibling of a narcissist.
Sex Therapy and sexual function & dysfunction, sex addiction, sexual orientation and gender identity support
Trauma Therapy both emotional and sexual abuse, complex trauma, PTSD counseling
Divorce support
Affairs, Infidelity, Unfaithful, Cheating counseling
Parenting therapy
Personality disorder treatments Narcissist, Borderline, Histrionic
Setting Boundaries and identifying ones own Core Beliefs
Just name some of the Mental Health issues that we work with. Our goal is to help you Change and Achieve Your Dreams
