What do my thoughts have to do with stress? Fundamentally, thoughts are what we use to make sense of the world, and everyone possesses their own unique way, or “style,” in thinking through a stressful situation. To put things into perspective, think about how a positive event makes you feel. Perhaps you received a bouquet of flowers or someone offered to mow your lawn. Pleasant events such as these will most likely put you in a good, and maybe even motivated, mood. When something unpleasant happens, such as a flat tire or losing money, you are likely to feel stressed and negative. Generally, in a moment of stress, your mind may become “blinded” from seeing anything positive about the unpleasant situation.
This thought process is like a vicious downward spiral. When something negative happens, an unhelpful or negative thought pops in your mind, such as, “Why does he always do this to me?” Once one negative thought enters your mind, more and more negative thoughts may grow off of that, making you feel worse and worse until you’ve really had it. You might be telling yourself, “Why do I need to change the way I think? Even if I change the way I think, the problem is still going to be there!” In a sense, this is true because the event that led you to feel bad did happen. However, the point is that now you can have the power to control how that event will affect you.
Alzheimer's Assn.