This is the 1st Season of our Reading & Discussion column. I will post an article and raise some questions. You can answer these questions and discuss tightly focused on this article! Welcome to join our discussion!

Title: 3 Tips for Stopping a Negative Thought Spiral in Its Tracks

As someone who's suffered from OCD since she was six years old, I know what it's like to lose yourself to an intrusive, obsessive thought.To waste hours doing compulsions just to try to find some sort of mental and emotional relief.

Hint: It's a trap.

Here are 3 tips for stopping a negative thought spiral in its tracks.(And don't worry — I won't tell you to "move your body" or "meditate.")

1. Acknowledge the Trigger

As soon as you find yourself tempted to follow a single thought into the dark abyss, pause and ask yourself how you got here.Did you watch one of those dramatic TikTok storytimes?Did you feel an unsettling physical symptom in your body?Did you try on an old pair of pants that are no longer flattering?

Identify the exact moment you noticed an energetic shift.This will help you better understand your core fear and the thought process that led you here.Knowledge is power, as they say.

2. Distract Yourself

You know how I said earlier that I won't tell you to exercise or meditate as a solution?That's because those things often feel like work.When you're already mentally exhausted from fighting your brain — or worse: feeling detached from yourself — settling into your body can feel unsafe and simply too uncomfortable to be present.

What helps me the most is turning my attention elsewhere.Any healthy distraction will do, whether it's reading a romance novel, grabbing a coffee downtown, or even binge-watching some shitty reality TV series.Whatever takes you out of your current negative headspace should do the trick.

3. Accept the Spiral

Notice I didn't say "accept your thoughts" or even "accept yourself."Doing so is no easy feat — at least not as easy as the self-help gurus on social media make it out to be.

Rather, you're accepting the spiral for what it is.Yes, feeling anxious and ruminating on worst-case scenarios is no walk in the park.It sucks, point blank.You likely wish you could somehow alter your brain chemistry and train yourself not to catastrophize in this way, but usually, it isn't that simple.Otherwise, we'd never lose ourselves in a negative thought spiral.

But by accepting the headspace you're in, you can actively work with it, not against it.You can start to understand your triggers (as mentioned earlier), empathize with yourself, distract yourself, and avoid the post-rumination shame, should you find yourself slipping into it.The quicker you accept the spiral, the quicker you can stop it.

📚Comprehension & Analysis

These questions check understanding of the article's main points:

1.  In your own words, what is a "negative thought spiral"?

2.  The author says "Hint: It's a trap." What do you think she means by this? What is the trap?

3.  Why does the author specifically say she *won't* recommend common advice like "move your body" or "meditate"? Do you agree with her reasoning?

4.  What is the difference between "accepting the spiral" and "accepting your thoughts," according to the author?

🎁Personal Reflection & Experience

These questions invite members to share their own stories (as much as they are comfortable):

5.  Which of the three tips (Acknowledge, Distract, Accept) seems most useful or most challenging to you personally? Why?

6.  The author suggests "healthy distractions" like reading a novel or watching TV. What is one "healthy distraction" that works well for you when you need to shift your mindset?

7.  Can you think of a recent "trigger" (like seeing something online or a physical feeling) that started a negative thought pattern for you? How did you handle it?

8.  The article mentions avoiding "post-rumination shame." Have you ever experienced this feeling after a negative thought spiral? What does it feel like?

⭐Vocabulary & Expression

These questions focus on language used in the article:

9.  The article uses vivid phrases like "dark abyss," "energetic shift," and "no walk in the park." Pick one of these expressions and explain what image or feeling it creates for you.

10. What does it mean to "catastrophize" (paragraph under tip #3)? Can you give a simple example?

🤔Debate & Further Discussion

These questions encourage deeper debate and different perspectives:

11.  The author says distracting yourself is a valid strategy. Some people might argue this is just avoiding the problem. Do you think distraction is a helpful short-term tool, or a form of avoidance? Why?

12.  The advice is based on the author's experience with OCD. Do you think these tips are useful for everyone, or mostly for people who struggle with anxiety or intrusive thoughts?

13.  If you could add a **4th tip** to this list, based on your own life experience, what would it be?

14.  The article is quite personal and dismissive of some common "self-help guru" advice. Do you find this honest tone more or less helpful than a more formal, clinical article on the same topic?

Vocabulary List: "3 Tips for Stopping a Negative Thought Spiral"

A. Core Mental Health & Process Terms

These words are central to the article's topic.

1. Spiral (n./v.): A situation that gets worse and worse in a continuous, accelerating decline. (Here: a cycle of increasingly negative thoughts.)

2. Intrusive thought (n.): An unwanted, involuntary thought, image, or idea that can be distressing.

3. Obsessive (adj.): Thinking about something constantly, beyond one's control.

4. Compulsion (n.): A repetitive behavior or mental act a person feels driven to perform, often in response to an obsessive thought.

5. Rumination (n.) / Ruminate (v.): The process of thinking deeply about something, often negatively and repeatedly.

6. Trigger (n./v.): Something that causes a strong emotional reaction or activates a particular issue. (Here: the event that starts the negative thought spiral.)

7. Detached (adj.): Feeling disconnected or separated from oneself, one's feelings, or reality.

B. Descriptive & Figurative Language

These words create vivid imagery and emotion.

8. Abyss (n.): A very deep hole; a bottomless pit. (Used figuratively: "dark abyss" = a metaphor for a state of despair.)

9. Flattering (adj.): Making someone look more attractive. (Here: "no longer flattering pants" = clothes that don't make you look good anymore.)

10. Feat (n.): An achievement that requires great courage, skill, or strength. (Often used as "no easy feat.")

11. Point blank (adv.): Directly and without hesitation; bluntly. (Example: "It sucks, point blank.")

C. Common Phrases & Collocations

These are natural word combinations used in the article.

12. In its tracks (idiom): To stop something completely and immediately.

13. Lose yourself to (phrase): To become so involved in something that you forget everything else.

14. Energetic shift (phrase): A noticeable change in your mood or mental state.

15. Knowledge is power (proverb): Knowing more gives you more control.

16. Headspace (n., informal): A person's state of mind or mindset. (Example: "negative headspace.")

17. No walk in the park (idiom): Not easy or pleasant.

18. Make it out to be (phrase): To describe or represent something in a particular way, often an unrealistic one. (Example: "...not as easy as the self-help gurus make it out to be.")

D. Key Verbs

Important action words from the text.

19. Acknowledge (v.): To accept or admit the existence or truth of something.

20. Empathize (v.): To understand and share the feelings of another (or oneself).

21. Alter (v.): To change or modify.

22. Catastrophize (v.): To imagine the worst possible outcome of an event; to think about a situation as a catastrophe.

E. Additional Useful Vocabulary

23. Symptom (n.): A sign or indication of a condition (physical or mental).

24. Settle into (phrasal v.): To become comfortable in a state or position. (Here: "settling into your body" = focusing on physical sensations.)

25. Binge-watch (v.): To watch multiple episodes of a TV series in rapid succession.

You can use this list to help understand the article in more depth. Try to use some of these new words in your discussion posts!

2. The author says "Hint: It's a trap." What do you think she means by this? What is the trap?

It's really hard for me to understand what she means. I even thought of it that she means the article itself is a trap... Of course it couldn't be so 

1. In your own words, what is a "negative thought spiral"?

You watch a short video to relax but it tempts you to watch another one. Ultimately, you get more tired because you wanted to relax. 

By the way,  I thought it meant "obsession" at first and this article was about how to avoid OCD.... 

3. Why does the author specifically say she *won't* recommend common advice like "move your body" or "meditate"? Do you agree with her reasoning?

Because something like meditating makes us more anxious,  as the focus has been turned on and your brain is desperately thirsty for a target.  It is like stopping a machine that is running at full speed.

To some extent I am not sure whether it is true--I never try these ways because I always get stopped by my parents or teachers if I play too much,  or sometimes I don't realize I'm at a negative spiral at all. 

6. The author suggests "healthy distractions" like reading a novel or watching TV. What is one "healthy distraction" that works well for you when you need to shift your mindset?

English learning I think.  Another choice is my homework but I seldom turn to it. 

10. What does it mean to "catastrophize" (paragraph under tip #3)? Can you give a simple example?

consider something a catastrophe(disaster).

e.g. Parents always catastrophize online games.

1.  In your own words, what is a "negative thought spiral"?

I think it is when you think of something you did bad, you will think you are not an excellent person, then you will think of more things you did bad

2.  The author says "Hint: It's a trap." What do you think she means by this? What is the trap?

Perhaps she means negative thought spiral? Or meditation?