The Ink Chapel

What’s the best way to deal with negative thoughts?

People always tell you to “think positive.” Which is adorable.

That’s like telling someone whose kitchen is on fire, “Have you tried… not having flames?”

Or…

“Hey, remember that embarrassing thing you did in 2008?”

Why yes, Brain. I was trying to enjoy my coffee, but I’d much rather relive the exact moment I confidently waved back at someone who was waving at the person behind me. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done this)

The internet says to challenge your negative thoughts.

People recommend journaling, meditation, and deep breathing.

I’ve tried all three.

Sometimes journaling just gives my anxiety a written transcript.

Meditation lasts about fourteen seconds before my brain interrupts with:

“You’re breathing weird.”

Wonderful.

Now I’m manually breathing like I’ve somehow forgotten a skill I’ve had since birth.

Just because my brain whispers,

“You’re probably ruining your entire life with that typo.”

doesn’t mean I need to call everyone I’ve ever met and apologize.

Sometimes your brain is just… unsupervised.

I’ve started imagining my anxiety as that one friend who thinks every tiny inconvenience is the beginning of an apocalypse.

“Did your boss say ‘Okay’ instead of ‘Sounds good’?”

“Yep.”

“Well… start packing. Your career is over.”

Or…

“That person took four hours to text back.”

Clearly they hate you.

There’s absolutely no other explanation.

Negative thoughts are basically spam emails.

Congratulations! You’ve been selected to panic over something that hasn’t happened! Click here to ruin your afternoon.

No thanks.

Delete.

Report spam.

Move on.

That doesn’t mean ignoring real problems. Some thoughts are worth paying attention to.

But a surprising number are just your brain throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.

The trick isn’t getting rid of every negative thought.

Good luck with that.

The trick is realizing that just because your brain says something doesn’t mean it’s narrating reality.

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© 2026 The Ink Chapel. All rights reserved.

No raccoons were emotionally evaluated during the writing of this post. The anxiety goblin would like to clarify that it still believes sending “K” instead of “Okay” ends friendships. Human Resources has declined to comment.

Author’s Note: If you struggle with negative thoughts, you’re definitely not the only one. Humor doesn’t erase anxiety, depression, or difficult seasons of life—but sometimes it takes away just enough of their power to remind us that our thoughts aren’t always telling the truth. And if your brain is currently trying to convince you that everyone remembers that awkward thing you did twelve years ago…I promise they’re too busy remembering their own awkward thing. ❤️😂