How Negative Thinking Hijacks Your Brain (And What You Can Do About It)
- Sue Morrison
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
Let’s talk about your brain. It’s capable of extraordinary things, but it also has a few built-in design flaws, especially when it comes to negative thinking.
Welcome to the neuroscience of negativity!
Your Brain on Negativity: A Hostile Takeover
When you’re caught in a spiral of negative thoughts - “I’m not good enough,” “Something bad is going to happen,” “I always mess this up” - your brain doesn’t just absorb those thoughts; it reorganizes itself around them.
Under normal conditions, your prefrontal cortex (the logical, planning, decision-making part of your brain) is in charge. But when negativity builds, the prefrontal cortex takes a backseat, and your limbic system - specifically your amygdala, the brain’s threat detector - steps in to take control.
To your brain, negative thoughts signal danger. So your amygdala flips on the stress response, flooding your body with cortisol and adrenaline, preparing you for fight, flight, or freeze - even when there’s no actual emergency.
Survival Mode: Good in a Crisis, Bad as a Lifestyle
When your stress response is constantly activated, your body and brain start to pay the price. High levels of cortisol over time are toxic to neurons and can shrink your hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
At the same time, those repeated negative thoughts are strengthening neural pathways associated with anxiety, fear, and self-doubt.
The brain thrives on repetition - what fires together, wires together.
So the more you think in negative loops, the easier and more automatic those loops become.
Your Brain Believes Your Thoughts (Even the Unhelpful Ones)
Your brain has no built-in filter to distinguish helpful thoughts from harmful ones. If you feed it a steady diet of self-criticism or catastrophic thinking, it assumes that’s the norm and starts building efficient circuits to support it.
This is called neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to change and adapt. And it works both ways. Yes, negative thinking can reinforce unhelpful wiring. But positive, realistic, and self-compassionate thoughts can rewire your brain, too.
Rewiring: How to Take Back Control
To undo negative wiring, you need to repeat and reinforce new patterns — just like you’d train a muscle. Here’s how to start:
Mindfulness: Helps keep the prefrontal cortex online so it can regulate emotional responses.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Teaches you to challenge and reframe distorted thinking.
Self-compassion: Activates calming systems in the brain and quiets the stress response.
Healthy habits: Sleep, movement, and nutrition support brain health and reduce cortisol overload.
Each time you interrupt a negative thought, question it, or replace it with something more accurate, you’re guiding your brain toward new, healthier circuits.
You Can Hijack Your Brain Back
Negative thinking isn’t a personal flaw — it’s your brain’s outdated survival programming misfiring in everyday situations. The good news? With intention and practice, you can retrain your brain.
Therapy offers a space to do just that — with guidance, tools, and support tailored to how your brain works. You don’t have to untangle it all alone. Sometimes a little help is all it takes to get things rewired.
If this resonates with you, therapy can help. It’s not about fixing you — it’s about helping your brain work for you, not against you.
You’re not stuck. Your brain is changeable. And support is here when you’re ready.
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