The Small Mental Switch I Flip To Turn Off Negative Thoughts
A simple mental move to be a bigger boss of your brain
During my childhood, I suffered from unwanted and intrusive negative thoughts.
Along with therapy, I devoured every resource available on how to be a better boss of my brain. That’s when I stumbled on a small mental switch to turn off negative thoughts.
It’s such a simple little technique but it works wonderfully for me.
This article is about that small switch and how I use it to flip my internal scripts.
Here Is the Small Mental Switch
I sat in the hypnotherapist’s office with my eyes closed as he counted me down into an altered state of unconsciousness. Floating there in my mind, I listened to his voice lead me through a series of therapeutic exercises.
By that time, I had studied and practiced hypnosis for years.
As I continued to listen, intrusive thoughts knocked on the door of my brain. I knew I needed to get rid of them. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get much out of this hypnotherapy session.
I also knew that I needed to change my thinking fast.
At first, I didn’t know what to do. Ignoring the intrusive thought didn’t work. Trying to force them away only made things worse. Thanking the thought and feeling grateful for the intention or message behind the thought helped but, like a festering sore, the intrusive thought remained.
Then, I remembered a mental switch I came across when learning hypnosis and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP).
With nothing to lose, I decided to give it a try.
My intrusive thought: This isn’t working.
The flip I switched: I imagined myself in a massive control room with a control dashboard and a theater-sized screen in front of me.
This Is How I Use the Switch To Turn Off Bad Thoughts
In my imaginary control room, I pushed a button and brought the negative thought “This isn’t working” up on the screen. Right then, the words screamed at me in giant letters. I twisted a knob on my dashboard, shrinking the words down to a manageable size.
Turning another knob pushed the tiny letters out into the distance.
I took a step back from my control room and squinted at the negative thought on the screen. The letters were still there but they no longer held power over me. I could see them for what they were: just faded, faraway letters on a screen.
Not thoughts that I owned or owed any allegiance.
I walked away from the control room, letting the negative thoughts fade away into the background noise of my mind.
Exiting my mental control room, it was easy for me to slip back into hypnosis. The rest of the session passed without a hitch. When I came out of hypnosis, I felt lighter, freer, and more relaxed than I had in months.
The small mental switch had done its job.
Why This Little Mental Switch Works
My control room simulator works because it tricks my brain into looking at my negative thought in a new way.
The act of putting the words on the screen and making them small strips away their power. The words become an afterthought, a blip on the radar of my mind. It’s a bit of mental tomfoolery to separate myself from the thought.
“A reframe is not about telling yourself that your fear is wrong. Reframes are about finding another way to look at the possibilities of your life.”―Rebecca K. Sampson, Stronger Now: How to Thrive in Any Circumstance and Become Unstoppable
In other words, the switch allows me to become an objective observer of my thoughts instead of a victim participant in them.
This is an important distinction because, as we all know, our thoughts are not always accurate. They can be rooted in false beliefs or old stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we’re capable of in life.
The small mental switch is like shining a light on the negative thought to see it for what it really is: a tiny thing that doesn’t deserve our attention or concern.
I can still hear the negative thoughts but they don’t control me anymore.
This mental switch is similar to what cognitive-behavioral therapists (CBT) call “cognitive reframing.” In CBT, patients learn to reframe their intrusive thoughts in a more constructive and empowering light.
CBT cognitive reframing (or cognitive restructuring) works very well.
However, I needed something faster. That’s why I love this mental switch technique.
You can practice it anywhere without any help from outside of yourself. Therapy is important but you don’t always have quick access to a trained therapist.
Other Sneaky Ways To Use the Advanced Control Panel In Your Brain
One of the coolest things about the control panel in your mind is how many different ways you can manipulate the mental audio and visuals.
I started playing around with the controls. When someone said something to me that felt particularly painful — like an angry boss criticizing my intelligence — I splashed the video onto the theater screen in my head.
At the control panel, I reversed the video.
It sounded like gobblygook now, which I thought was funny. Then, I slowed down and fast-forwarded the video of my boss yelling at me. I snickered again. I couldn’t help it.
Feeling creative, I shrunk my boss down to the size of a GI Joe action figure. He still yelled the same hurtful words but they didn’t hit my soul the same.
Next, I traded out his voice for the voice of Goofy, the Disney character. This time I laughed out loud.
By altering the speed, size, sound, and visuals of the negative thought, I was able to take back some power. I could now see that my boss’ words were just words — they didn’t have the same impact when they were in a different context.
I also wasn’t being so serious and uptight about the whole thing. In fact, I was amused by it.
By the way, I also use the control room framework to mentally rehearse for difficult conversations or presentations. By doing this, I feel more confident and in control when I’m actually in the situation.
You can even use a related mental switch to trigger orgasms on demand.
Final Thoughts
The mental switch does not replace processing your feelings and seeking therapy from a credentialed professional. But it is a tool that I’ve found extremely powerful in my own life.
Negative thoughts will always try to creep in and steal our peace of mind. But now, we have a tool to deal with them.
The next time an intrusive thought pops into your head, hit the switch.
