You screwed up at work, skipped yoga, and shrank your favorite sweater in the dryer. Yup, bad days happen—and they often leave us feeling guilty, lazy, or downright incompetent. But instead of obsessing over everything you swear you did wrong, grab a garbage can. Writing down negative thoughts, and then lobbing them in the trash, might help eliminate those self-destructive ideas from the mind, finds new research. In three separate experiments on several hundred college students, researchers at Ohio State University tested the hypothesis that physically writing down negative thoughts, then throwing them away, might diminish their influence. Not only did the tactic work, researchers also concluded that it was a superior approach to merely imagining the process. (For the sake of eco-karma, we like to think that a recycling bin would be equally effective.) More from Prevention: Silent Signals You’re Stressed “This is an example of how the mind and body work together. That is, our mind controls our body, but what we do with our bodies can impact the mind,” says study co-author Richard Petty, PhD, a professor of psychology at OSU. And if you’re having a particularly good day, Petty and his colleagues determined that positive thoughts (say, “I have the best hair in the office”) can be reinforced by writing them down, then tucking them into a pocket or your wallet. Sure, trashcan therapy doesn’t mean that negative thoughts will never haunt you again—but this study indicates that the process may help diminish their grip. And hey, it’s cheaper than an hour with the shrink. More from Prevention: Made A Mistake? How To Move On Questions? Comments? Contact Prevention’s News Team!
