Complaining may be useful at times to vent out all the stress you have for the day. But constant complaining is affecting your well-being resulting to rewiring your brain for negativity. In fact, mental health experts are saying this kind of thinking is turning people into "energy vampires."
According to The South China Morning Post, constant complaining about your everyday frustrations can "rewire your brain for negativity." US-based psychologist Travis Bradberry, an expert in emotional intelligence, explains persistent complaining can cause the hippocampus to reduce in size. This is a core part of the brain significant to solve problems and have intelligent thoughts.
"Damage to the hippocampus is scary, especially when you consider that it's one of the primary brain areas destroyed by Alzheimer's [disease]," Bradberry noted on his site, TalentSmart.com.
Constant complaining can become a brain's habit that leads to a "miserable existence." This is because neurons ramify when a particular behavior is frequently repeated. Once you feel the satisfaction of complaining, you complain even more as the days go by. You will not even feel it successfully rewired your brain, but others will notice you incessantly do it.
This will eventually make you feel down. Although you have aired all your complaints about the day, you will not feel any better. The bonds between neurons become permanent. "Neurons that fire together, wire together," Canadian neuropsychologist Donald Hebb described.
So to cut out complaining, here are some tips on how you can start feeling grateful again.
Think before you complain
Before you begin complaining, ask yourself if it will do any better. Shape Magazine reported you could focus on your reaction first before protesting. Paul Davidson, Ph.D., a behavioral psychologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA., said to analyze a situation can help you realize what you can control and not.
This, too, can make you realize what you can do to ease the situation instead of complaining. You can also try taking a deep breath and go for a walk to distance yourself from a stressful situation. From these, you can think of a better plan to solve what you are complaining about.
Alter your thinking style
Entertaining dysfunctional thoughts can lead to a series of complaints. So for you to change your thinking style, Davidson advised to analyze the situation first and look for some evidence that will support your claim. If there isn't any, then there is nothing to complain about.
Try filling someone else's shoes
"What you are reacting to may have much less to do with you and more about what another person is going through," Davidson said. So before you begin complaining about others, you should think of their situation first.
