Monday, March 25, 2024
mmh

8 Surprisingly Effective Hacks For Getting That Negative Voice Out

We all want good things out of life, and in order to achieve specific goals, there is a constant need to take risks and get outside of the comfort zone. But, unfortunately, the major obstacle stopping us from taking those risks or seeding self-doubt is the negative voice in our heads. Constantly hearing such negative talk is one of the worst things when trying to live the life one wishes for. It can tear away confidence and self-esteem, causing a domino effect of failed attempts and creating a new set of problems. Contrary to common belief, people who are not mentally unwell can also hear voices. So, it is not merely a sign of mental illness. However, with positive affirmations, medication, proper strategies, one can stop experiencing this condition.

You’re not alone and we’re here to help you minimize hearing voices. Here are just the perfect coping mechanisms to help get the negative voice out of your head.

5 Simple Lifestyle Changes That Can Help Cope The Problem

According to the MentalHealthFoundation UK, people may hear voices due to lifestyle changes other than mental health issues as well. Here are a few changes that can help stop hearing voices without medication.

- Advertisement -
  1. Good sleep routine of 7 to 8 hours
  2. Healthy eating habits, as extreme hunger may cause hearing
  3. Avoid taking too many recreational/prescribed drugs
  4. Reduce stress
  5. Staying busy with work or fun activities

What Does Hearing Voices Mean & What Are The Causes Behind It?

stop-hearing-negative-voices-alignthoughts

Hearing voices refers to a person hearing voices while being all alone. It’s just them and these voices present. Sometimes these voices help us, or they bring us down.

Psychologically, hearing voices is termed as an auditory hallucination that can make you hallucinate things framed by your mind. These hallucinations can occur in the form of sound, unfamiliar noises, or even the voice of someone you know in real life.

Multiple reasons lead to hearing voices in the head. In psychiatry, it is largely related to:

  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Psychotic Depression
  • Schizophrenia

On the other hand, some medical conditions that impact the central nervous system can also potentially manifest into hearing a voice in the head. These conditions could be:

  • Brain Tumor
  • Dementia
  • Epilepsy
  • Stroke
  • Seizure

Nonetheless, one research by Psychology Medicine claimed that auditory hallucination is common and may take place in 10% of people across childhood and adolescents during a lifetime.

Effective Hacks For Getting That Negative Voice Out

positive-affirmations-alignthoughts

Based on the reason causing these voices in your head, some of these coping strategies can be of help.

1. Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmation is a great tool to combat this problem.

Affirmations of self-love and encouragement can completely change your life. Once you begin overdosing yourself on positive affirmations, the negative voice will sound distant and irrelevant.

It will eventually become more natural to believe how lit you are and how things will work out instead of whatever the negative voice attempts to throw at you.

One study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience suggests that self-affirmation reinforces the brain system positively.

You can write positive affirmations on your bathroom mirror or in your car so that no matter where you are, when that voice hits, you have something as backup ready to snap you out of it.

Various positive affirmations are present on websites such as Pinterest. You can also make a collage of the ones that resemble you and your motive the most. One can also engage in listening to positive affirmations on websites such as YouTube and Spotify.

2. Acknowledge The Voice And Its Source

Trying to ignore the negative voice entirely usually makes negativity louder and more persistent.

So before you try and pretend there are no ill thoughts, accept it. Accept that at the moment you hear something that doesn’t make you feel very positive.

Acknowledge how you’re feeling and maybe even try to figure out why you’re feeling that way. Negative voices often have a source, and sometimes recognizing that source helps kill it at the root.

Negative thoughts and emotions in a small amount are beneficial for us as they drive us to our goals and aspirations. But as soon as they are the only things occupying your mind and life, it is time to take action against it.

Although it is fairly impossible to ignore negative thoughts in life, the key is to maintain the balance and learn how to cope with them.

3. TalkBack

When that negative voice creeps in your head, it can be really bothersome, especially when you’re in the middle of an important task.

One of the best things a person can do to help quiet those voices is to question them whenever they hear these voices.

Scientists suggest how people can use “cognitive appraisal” to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. In other words, we give ourselves a reality check so that the brain realizes that those constant negative thoughts have no basis in reality.

Of course, you’ll need to develop self-awareness around it. Otherwise, it’s going to obstruct your daily life on a subconscious level.

When you hear that voice trying to bum you out, ask yourself questions such as:

  • Is this information valid?
  • Is this relevant?
  • Can I trust this voice?
  • Is this based on facts or based on my own emotion?
  • Does retaining this information help me succeed in any way?

Once you ask those questions, it takes away the credibility of the voice because you’re able to poke holes in their negative words.

4. Write It Down

We bet you have heard about that anger control mechanism where you write a letter to whoever upset you and then never send it.

Something that helps with combating negative voices is writing it out on paper. You can have a journal to spill out all of your emotions and feelings to get them out.

Once you vomit all that negative energy onto the page, you feel free. And, you no longer hear the voice. It’s as if it has said all it needed to say, and you just left it on the page.

You close it and walk away once it’s in the journal, leaving any negative energy expressed inside. You’d be surprised how relieving it feels.

5. Visualize The Most Favorable Outcome

Visualization is probably the best way that can talk you out through the voices you hear in mind. It’s a simple technique and do wonders to instill positive emotions regarding an outcome.

According to an article published in HuffPost, visualization enhances the brain’s potential, ultimately improving one’s performance.

So, whenever you’re anxious about doing something because your negative voice is telling you, “You’ll fail,” make the conscious decision to recognize your voice that you’re going to get what you visualize, and that’s it.

6. Humanize It

Name the voices you hear in your head. Humanize them. For instance, Let’s give the negative voice the name “ABC.” Now, whenever you are feeling down, say, “ABC won’t shut up today.” or, “ABC is extra annoying today.”

When you give your negative voice a name and a personality, it detaches you from it. It puts you in the perspective of that negative voice not being a part of you.

It goes from battling yourself to battling someone completely different who doesn’t want you to feel good about yourself. That makes the battle more comfortable because you’re prepared to take the gloves off.

You can humanize your voice by imagining someone you hate rather than be someone famous or someone you don’t like in your everyday life.

Doing this allows you to believe the voice in them and everything being said is coming out of their mouth.

Hearing it from them can either agitate you where you mentally flip them off or motivate you to prove those voices wrong.

Either way, you’re not likely to listen to that one person who has been mean to you in your life.

7. Talk To A Trusted Friend

You may have some friends whom you can always turn to whenever you start hearing the voices in your head.

You can spill the negative thoughts out to them and ask their help to shut it down.

For example, your friends can present you with compliments to make you feel better for every negative voice. Doing this will excite you and remind you of all the positive things about yourself, and it tends to drown out the negative voice.

Talking to friends also allows people to get negative thoughts out of their system. Friends are the second-best option you have who would know how to stop hearing voices without medication. Friends can be our healers. They are the ones who know you the best after yourself. Talk to them, express your concerns and worries and see how it helps keep the negative voices at bay. If not, seek help from a professional.

8. Take Small Risks

The more risks you take, the more you realize that your negative voice is a liar. When you go for things you want despite that voice, you’ll keep proving it wrong, and it will end up, once again, being discredited and will no longer sustain validly.

Take risks to show yourself that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

Concluding Thoughts,

Hopefully, these things will work for you. Remember, these are a few of the many things you can do to keep those negative voices at bay. Do what you feel is best for you, mold it according to your liking, and know that you are above those voices in your head.

The mind can either be one’s best friend or greatest enemy. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the mind becomes the best friend of a person who successfully controls it. But on the contrary, a person who fails to do so becomes his greatest enemy. So make you choose one of the two wisely.

Continuously having a negative voice to knock your hustle or block your shine is frustrating and disheartening. These tips, however, give you some good ammo to fight it and get it to keep quiet.

What do you do to keep the negative voice out of your head? Have you tried any of these tips before? Did it work? Comment below! We love to hear from you!

Also, subscribe to stay tuned with us to receive our free newsletter. You can also follow us on our social media channels for more updates.

Key Takeaways On Hearing Negative Voices

  • Hearing voices in our minds can obstruct us from living our best life.
  • In fact, in psychology, hearing voices is considered a sign of mental illness.
  • For instance, hearing voices is an auditory hallucination that can make you hallucinate things framed by your mind.
  • These hallucinations mostly occur in the form of sound, unfamiliar noises, or even the voice of someone you know.
  • Bipolar disorder, psychotic depression, and schizophrenia are some reasons that lead to hearing voices in the head.
  • One study shows that auditory hallucination is common and may take place in 10% of people across childhood and adolescents during a lifetime.
  • However, presenting your brain with a reality check is an effective way to deal with these voices.
  • On the other hand, research also demonstrates that self-affirmation reinforces the brain system with a positive evaluation.
  • Lastly, visualizing the most favorable outcome enhances the brain’s potential, ultimately improving one’s performance.
  • A few ways on how to stop hearing voices without medication are talking to friends, practicing positive self-talk, engaging in journaling. 
  • Ask yourself how you would be there to help someone who hears voices.

A Few Effective Hacks For Getting That Negative Voice Out

  • Positive Affirmations: You can take the help of positive affirmations to turn negative thoughts into positive ones and use them for your benefit.
  • Acknowledge the voice and its source: Ignorance in such cases is not bliss. Instead, acknowledge how you’re feeling and maybe even try to figure out why you’re feeling that way.
  • Talk Back: Question the negative thoughts/voices and talk back.
  • Write it down: Try and write down the things voices say to you. This will help you realize what the voices are saying is not true.
  • Visualize The Voice And Its Source: Visualization enhances the brain’s potential, ultimately improving one’s performance.
  • Humanize it: Humanize the negative voices in your head. Treat them the way you would treat a person who tries to criticize you and put negative thoughts in your head.
  • Talk to a trusted friend: Talking to a trusted friend helps you. Spill all the negative thoughts in front of them and ask them for their help.
  • Take risks: Risks increase the probability of putting a stop to negative voices. So prove them wrong by taking the risk.

How to stop hearing voices without medication?

A few ways on how to stop hearing voices without medication are:

  • Socialize with others.
  • Stay busy or engage yourself with work.
  • Listen to music.
  • Exercise relaxing techniques.
  • Put on earphones.

How to help someone who hears voices?

A few ways you can help someone who hears voices are:

  • Sit with them and identify their problem.
  • Engage in some distracting activities with them.
  • Help them see their voices from a logical mind.
AlignThoughts Editorial
AlignThoughts Editorial
The editorial team at AlignThoughts includes feature writers, researchers, and subject matter experts with rich domain knowledge who are always willing to go the extra mile to deliver quality content. We strive to create meaningful content with a fresh perspective that can leave an impact on your life.

More from author

How Different Types of Hormones Influence Your Health and Happiness?

Have you wondered anytime if you suddenly feel happy for no reason? There is this feeling which...

6 Signs Your Sex Life Is Bad. How To Fix Sexless Marriage/Relationship?

Many couples face the problem of lack of sex in a relationship causing terrible sex lives. If...

What Are The Social Isolation Effects And Symptoms? Innovative Ideas To Overcome Social Isolation

Social isolation is increasing, and so does loneliness. A lack of brotherhood is one of the leading...

Here’s What You Must Do If You Are Bored With Your Life!

Did you know an average adult experiences boredom for 131 days a year? Since the pandemic started,...

Related articles

Advertisment

Latest articles

Losing A Job During A Recession – What Should You Do?

Losing a job during a recession is undoubtedly a difficult and often unexpected challenge. In times of economic uncertainty, companies may face financial constraints,...

Is It A Good Idea To Take A Gap Year? Things To Consider Before Taking One

A gap year can be a great opportunity to take a break from your studies/work and explore the world. It can be used to...

Can You Work Remotely And Travel At The Same Time? Here’s How To Do It Effectively

It's no wonder that remote work culture has offered myriad opportunities to reclaim the part of our lives we otherwise would have no time...

How To Build On Strenghts To Create A Super Powerful Team?

While collaboration within a team is necessary to get the job done, every person has a unique talent, and when we combine them together...

How Entrepreneurship And Wellness Can Co-Exist?

The world is changing fast, and so are the ways in which we work. We are more agile, flexible, and independent than ever before....

Latest Videos