A very useful trick that provides immediate results - when you notice you are going into a roller coaster of bad or anxious thoughts you need to distract your brain for a minute to break this cycle. What will work instantly is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique - try to identify:

• 5 things you can see - notice furniture, window, the sky, whatever is in your surroundings
• 4 things you can touch - touch your clothes, your nose, walls around you, pillows, etc.
• 3 things you can hear - can you hear noise from the neighbours, traffic sounds, your breathing, etc.
• 2 things you can smell - can you smell your parfum, the fresh air that comes from the outside, soap in your bathroom, food that is around you
• 1 thing you can taste - do you have bitter, fresh, sweet taste in your mouth? Or maybe you’re chewing a gum?

This is known to help people with anxiety attacks but the concept works equally well when you catch yourself spiraling bad thoughts.