Having a daily spiritual practice(like meditation) helps tremendously in those moments when we feel stuck. The key is to try and break the downward spiral before it gains momentum - try to catch the negative thinking early and refocus your attention on something positive (affirmations help a lot here also).Practice and continued repitition will break the negative cycle but it usually requires a lot of inner work and persistence ( DON"T GIVE UP) Good luck:-)

The question relates to me 100%. The methods I use are many. I refuse to entertain any negative thoughts (easier said than done). I choose to think about good,funny,pleasurable thoughts that make me feel good. I made it a practice also of “non resisting” anything that I would normally lose my cool or get red faced about. I'm not bottling the anger,frustration or any negative thoughts or feelings I'm experiencing but I'm facing it and getting at the root of what is eating me or making me feel the way I do. It takes balls to do this , but makes you stronger in the end.

I have been going through a negative period myself, having to do with the health of a family member, and some communication issues with my wife. Pretty much my head wasn't screwed on right today.

During lunch I went out to my car, put the seat back, and zoned for a little while (sort of a mini-meditation). This cleared my head enough so that I could get through the rest of the work day.

When I got home, I had a long, calm discussion with my wife. She was very understanding, and I think we cleared the air about some things. We each have a tendency to bottle things up until they explode. If you can provide each other with a safe space to communicate, even a little anger can be healthy, because it diffuses the pressure (letting off steam, as it were).

Now I feel much better. For the first time in awhile, I think we understand each other (or at least have an understanding). I feel pretty good as I write this. We plan to continue these conversations each day (even if it is just for a few minutes), and to gradually work through some additional issues we uncovered during the discussion today.

I think the fact that you are so strongly aware of these negative thoughts is just attracting more of them towards you. The more you are worrying about them being there, the more you are concentrating on them, and the more they will come to you.Try to relax, maybe concentrate on other aspects of life that don't have to do with this situation, which can be hard if this situation is about something really important to you, but there is always other good stuff happening in life, try to recognize it and appreciate it. You can start by trying to trick yourself that you are grateful for little things, like telling yourself 'I am grateful for this weather' or 'I am so happy that there isn't any traffic' and pretty soon it won't be tricking yourself anymore, more good thoughts about bigger things will just come flooding to you and the negative ones will be gone, you can then replace them with good ones regarding the situation you are having a problem with. Hope that helps :) And I definately agree with Michaela that you should try and break the downward spiral before it starts, you should also try her technique of daily spiritual practice.