Having bad thoughts when hearing bad news

BookOfPsalms · Post by **BookOfPsalms** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:06 pm

When I hear bad news about someone passing away with an illness or a tragic death etc. I start to think all of the "what ifs". I want to get better but it seems that I am getting worse with that. Does anyone deal with this?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:41 pm

Please do not let what if thinking take over your thoughts. I have been dealing with this, too. This kind of thinking will steal your joy. Whenever I hear of bad news or trajedies I say a prayer, and thank God for being in complete control of everything. Then I move on. Lucinda says to stop asking "why?", and I think "what if?" should be added to this list as well. It will get better.

Lew · Post by **Lew** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:49 am

This is a problem of mine as well. Negative thoughts tend to give me the "what ifs". I am trying to work through this by thinking positive thoughts and replacing my negative thoughts with positive ones. "What if" thinking is, I think, our greatest downfall. There are several books and tapes out there that talk about this. Some great authors are Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Ekhardt Tolle, Rhonda Byrne, Thomas Richards, Robert Anthony.

There are so many books and tapes out there that this is a problem that millions of us are having. Why do we always think so negatively? Negative thinking brings us even more negativity. Put out the positive vibes and that will attract positivity.

I tend also to stay away from hard core news programs and don't watch them. I may grab a headline or two, but I don't endlessly watch these types of programs. I love the suggestion above of saying a prayer, leaving it in God's hands and moving on. There is nothing we can do about the situation, and why should we worry about a situation that we cannot control.

I wish you much luck and I know you can do it. We're all in this together.

Bob.