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How to Exterminate Mental ANTs

Written by: Todd Linaman

Article Overview: Have you ever had your day ruined by ants crawling around in your head? No, not the insect type, but rather the Automatic Negative Thought (ANT) variety. Everyone is bugged by ANTs at one time or another, but some people have more trouble holding off the infestation than others.

How to Exterminate Mental ANTs

Have you ever had a picnic ruined by ants? Just having them around is enough to annoy and irritate you, but watch out when they start biting! Those pesky little red or black creatures can really sting and end up driving you nuts. Whenever I spot one at my house I immediately grab the Raid and let him have it because where there is one, many more are sure to follow.

Now, have you ever had your day ruined by ants crawling around in your head? No, not the insect type, but rather the Automatic Negative Thought (ANT) variety. Everyone is bugged by ANTs at one time or another, but some people have more trouble holding off the infestation than others.

If you’re anxious, sad, frustrated or hurt and if these emotions are lingering and causing regular distress, stop and check for ANTs creeping in. Feelings are a byproduct of thoughts, which means if you are bothered by a painful or negative emotion you are probably being invaded by one or more ANTs.

Some people are so plagued by Automatic Negative Thoughts that they have well-established mental ANT farms, where the pests live, grow and multiply. If this is you, don’t despair. There are thinking and behavioral “insecticides” available that are safe, effective and environmentally friendly.

Here are 7 useful strategies to help you exterminate your ANTs and keep them away.

1. Acknowledge that your ANTs are lying to you.

Automatic Negative Thoughts are filled with distortions of the truth, making them unreliable, irrational and powerful.

2. Your ANTs only have the power you choose to give them.

Automatic Negative Thoughts will only stick around if you provide a friendly environment for them. Once they are gone the painful emotion will go with them.

3. Identify your ANTs.

Examples: “I’m a failure.” “I look foolish.” “I’m not smart enough.” “Something bad is going to happen.” “I will never recover.” “People only want to hurt me.” “I’ll never find love again.” “This pain will never go away.”

4. Stop your ANTs.

Once you have identified your Automatic Negative Thoughts it is important to squash them. One of the best ways is to either think or speak out loud the word, “STOP!” This may sound silly, but it really works. This technique is what we call a thought stopper. In other words, it interrupts the thought process and allows you to challenge and replace your ANT.

5. Challenge your ANTs.

Once you stop the Automatic Negative Thought and are no longer focused on it you can now refute or challenge it. For example, “If I were a complete failure I wouldn’t have achieved as much as I have in life.” When you take a close look at your ANTs with the magnifying glass of rational thinking, they’ll go up in smoke.

6. Replace your ANTs with rational and positive thoughts.

Once you challenge and exterminate your Automatic Negative Thought it is critical that you fill the vacuum with rational and positive thoughts. For example, “I may have yelled at my child, but that doesn’t make me a bad parent. Even the best parents can do that once in awhile.”

7. Take preventative measures to keep your ANTs away.

Make a list of what you’re grateful for and things that reveal the positive possibilities for your life. Keep it on your nightstand and meditate on it right before you go to sleep and again first thing in the morning. Do this for at least 30 days and it will become a habit. Add to your list on a regular basis as things come to mind. This works a lot like the poison that ants take back to their nests to share with the rest of the colony, often stopping other ants from ever coming to the surface to annoy you.

As you train your mind to welcome positive thoughts and meditate on what is good and true you create barriers that keep the ANTs from taking over and ruining your picnic of life!

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Article Tags: ant farms, ants, byproduct, creatures, despair, distortions, emotions, failure, feelings, insect, insecticides, love, negative emotion, negative thoughts, nuts, painful emotion, pests, picnic, truth



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