Have you ever found yourself stressing on mistakes you have made. No doubt, criticism leaves a very big impact as compared to compliments and bad news can take away all the attention from the bad news. This is referred to as negative bias and in this guide we are going to mention it in detail.

What is the Negativity Bias?

According to our psychiatrist, negativity bias is to get more negative thoughts. This means a person feels the thought of negativity more as compared to the joy of praise.

As per psychology, it is very difficult to take away the first bad impression and the past trauma can leave a very long-term impact. Even when we interact with someone, we remember negative thoughts more. We tend to focus on:

• Focus on traumatic events more as compared to positive ones.
• Remember insults as compared to praise.
• Focus on negative thoughts more.
• Keep aside the positive things and let the negativity affect you

For Example, You are having the best time at the office but one of your co-workers sends something which you find irritating. When you get back home if someone asks how was your day you replied with anger that it was terrible, instead it was okay!

This means even if things went good overall you still focus on one incident which was not that important.

What does the research say about different aspects?

Motivation

Some of the research says that negativity can affect your motivation to complete a certain task. People are less motivated when they gain something but instead are more motivated when an incentive will avoid the loss of something.

Bad news

Studies have also shown that if there is bad news then it can gain more attention and people prefer to focus on it for a long time.

How to overcome negative thoughts?

• First of all, you should let negative thoughts come into your mind. Do not think what if you have not done it or what if you have done it in some other way.
• Do not focus on the negative things. You can reframe the entire situation by giving equal weight to good events happening around that time.
• You should spend more time appreciating the positive moments happening around you. Focus on everything which made you happy rather than just focusing on one part which can affect your mind greatly.
• Instead of sulking all day long on negative things, you need to focus on things that uplift your mood. Trust me! It will be very pleasant and the outcome will be perfect. You can listen to your favorite music, go for a walk, read a book or cook something for you & your family members.

If you have doubts or concerns then book your initial consultation with our doctor and get a better understanding of what you should do.