Breaking free from the negativity trap
8 April 2025
You’re not broken. You’re just stuck. And there’s a way out.
When you wake up tired, dread the day ahead, and feel like everything is just too much… that’s not laziness. That’s despair. It doesn’t always come with tears or dramatic meltdowns. Often, it shows up as apathy, hopelessness, or a quiet numbness that feels impossible to shake.
Think Beyond Despair: Set Yourself Free from the Negativity Trap was written for that exact moment: when you know something has to change, but you have no idea how to start.
Here’s an insight
Most people don’t spiral into negativity because they’re weak. They get there because life piled up, slowly and relentlessly, and they don’t have the tools to respond.
Your mind adapts to survive. But over time, survival mode becomes your baseline. The first step to climbing out is recognising that despair isn’t your identity; it’s a pattern. And patterns can be rewritten.
Add this to your toolbox
Catch the next wave of self-criticism or inner shutdown and gently interrupt it.
Ask yourself: “What am I really needing right now?”
Example 1: You’re zoning out, scrolling, and spiralling. Ask: Do I need to move my body? Breathe? Rest? Speak kindly to myself?
Example 2: You're stuck in a loop of "I'm not good enough." Stop. Ask: What proof do I have of the opposite? What would I say to a friend feeling this way?
Reflection prompt
If despair is a pattern, what pattern would you rather install in its place?
THINK Coaching & Hypnotherapy founder Shan Clayton wrote Think Beyond Despair to help her reconcile the path she navigated to overcome chronic depression and anxiety. The THINK Method is one of the key outcomes of that process.
