Psychology of negativity

We are not surrounded enough by people who don't see, say and think negatively. While chalking out in my mind how to start writing on negativity, I reminded myself of a rule of writing: a thought presented in a positive register is imbued with greater impact than the same in a negative register. I was inclined to start the article as thus: People exuding positivity are now in the minority. But then, I yielded to the overwhelming majority and wrote the first sentence as above.

It is, however, natural to be surrounded by naysayers as W H Auden writes in his ballad The Three Companions. But you might be thinking how we can recognise such people. They are conspicuous by their presence which they by default make palpable as they cannot keep themselves mute for long. It is imperative to note their idiosyncrasies if you want to keep them at bay because negative thoughts are menacingly contagious.

Their thoughts are irrational as they love to distort reality. That's why they are inured to distorted cognition - overestimating threats or assuming the worst without proof. Their minds don't take long to jump to conclusions. Negative thoughts are always exaggerations, generalisations or biased judgments - the cognitive distortions.

They are their own fortune tellers. They are habitual of catastrophising the least harmful situations. They take a simple seasonal sickness as a matter of low immunity which, they assume, is an indication of fatally poor health. Adverbs of frequency like 'always' and 'never' dot their emotional outbursts in their monologues.

People with negative minds happen to be staunch believers of binarism. They always think in black and white. A single mistake seals their fate as failure. It means their thinking is always momentarily judgemental. Their veneer of perfectionism acts as a patina for their own weaknesses but acts as a lacerating scalpel for others' failings. That's why they are nosy parkers who always remain on the hunt for people's follies and secrets.

Negative people are always manipulative and scheming. Their minds remain busy in overthinking to devise traps and machinations to corral circumstances to their own benefit or for the harm of others. But the stultification of their nefarious designs culminates in the loss of their self-worth.

They always blame themselves, even for other people's reactions. They actually do proxy thinking - speculating what people would be thinking about them. If a friend leaves them on read on socials, they will deem it their own fault. Like, they must have wronged the friend, who, in reality, could not reply because of some hectic routine or having a bad hair day. Such tunnel vision emerges from their own insincerity, condescending attitude or misanthropic perception towards others.

As they are more concerned with people's opinions, they abhor social and interactive situations. Social exposure exposes the fallibility of their thinking. That's why they cocoon themselves in overthinking, hardening their self-smithed conclusions and judgements.

The nidus of negativity is the lack of sweaty hard work and the absence of sincere commitment. People who are addicted to living in their comfort zones are prone to overthinking. The mental energy is spent in spinning lame excuses and justifications for not achieving what must have been achieved. Their credo is 'when you can't achieve success, malign those who succeed in that trade by picking holes in their intentions and efforts'. It makes them rash in doomsaying. They leech your cerebral and visceral resources.

Negative thoughts are intrusive and rash in their nature. Metacognition can stop them from morphing into actions. Changing one's language in monologues can help the transition segue smoothly from negative to positive cognitive habits. Absolute language - always, never, all - must be avoided and replaced by elastic and absorbent language - sometimes, some people. A shift from biased cognition to the contextual and holistic approach dismantles negative cognitive patterns. The sublimation of binarism into the belief that humans are a mix of strengths and weaknesses can neutralise their cynicism. Above all, sincerity and altruism are the time-tested antidotes to negativity.