Tuesday's Psychology Tip: Retrain Your Brain To Be More Positive

Thought for the Day: On Tuesday's I post Psychology Tips. Often, I start by sharing a 100 character Tip I have shared on HealthTap. Today I wrote a new one and will elaborate a bit on it here. The tip is on how to retrain your brain to be more positive. Current research indicates that retraining your brain can impact on both your emotional and physical health, as well as increase the length of your life. Here's the tip and then some...

TipTap: Improving Mental Health

    

DO'S AND DON'TS

Retrain Your Brain 2 Be More Positive: Think happy thoughts, Look on bright side, Reframe negative thoughts.                                           

Dr. Barbara Lavi

If you tend to be a pessimist and to see the glass half empty, there is hope. You can change your brain and improve your life. Research has shown that although you cannot change a genetic tendency towards depression, you can “greatly reduce its impact and its reoccurrence.” since, “focused,repetitive mental activity can affect changes in your brain's structure,wiring, and capabilities.” 
     By training yourself to think more positively, you can retrain i.e., expand or contract parts of your brain. When you do, you will be allocating more space for positive reactions to your life experiences and reducing the space for negative ones. It may take some time and you may need the help of psychologist who is a cognitive behavioral therapist to help you shift your view of the world into a more positive direction, but it is well worth the effort.